16th century.

When Mr. French retired, he bought a small cottage in the seaside village. The cottage was built in the late 16th century, but it was in a very good condition. Mr. French was looking forward to a quiet life. But in the summer holidays he got a shock. Hundreds of tourists came to the seaside village. Mr. French’s cottage was the most interesting building in the village and many of the tourists came to see it. From morning till night there were tourists outside the cottage. They looked through the windows and many of them even went into Mr. French’s garden. This was too much for Mr. French, he decided to drive the unwelcome visitors away, so he put up a notice in the window. The notice said: "If you want to satisfy your curiosity, come in and look around, price 5 pounds." Mr. French was sure that the visitors would stop coming, but he was wrong. The number of visitors increased, and Mr. French spent every day showing them around his cottage. "I come here to retire, not to work as a guide," he complained. In the end, he sold the cottage and bought a small modern house. It is an uninteresting little place and no one wants to see it, but it is certainly quiet and peaceful.