the central portion of the
boat and flapping pieces of sailcloth, apparently intended to shield the
very varied merchandise which was being brought on board, and we found
that it was possible to shelter beneath it by observing the direction of
the wind and keeping to leeward. The crew comforted some women who
feared the roughness of the waves (one of whom carried a new hat in a
large paper-bag, which became rather dilapidated under the attentions of
the wind and the frequent showers) by saying it would be all right when
we got round the point behind which Nona lies; and as the boat was very
buoyant and seaworthy we found it possible to enjoy the passage
notwithstanding the doubtful weather. As we turned down the bay to Val
Cassione, however, the wind shifted a point and blew dead against us,
and we began to think that the boat was very small for such a sea. The
women and a child had to disembark here, and were almost in tears, and
the length of time that the boatmen took to make up their minds to come
out from the harbour and face the choppy sea did not reassure them. Nero
marched bravely up and down the deck, giving vent every now and then to
a rather cracked crow, and we wondered how he escaped being blown
overboard! Fortunately he carried very little sail, only two feathers
remaining in his dilapidated tail; but his spirit was high, and he was
always ready to respond to the challenges of the engineer.

As we rounded the point after leaving Val Cassione the wind shifted
again and the weather improved as if by magic. The clouds gradually
melted away, and the blue of the sky palpitated through the grey; the
sun shone warm upon the barren, featureless coast, adding colour to the
dispiriting grey of the limestone spotted with the dark green of shrubs,
a characteristic of most of the Dalmatian islands, and the Velebit
Mountains became clear, in some places to the summits, though the
greater part of the chain was still cloud-capped and barred with heavy
purple shadows.

The party at lunch consisted of the captain, the engineer, and a priest
who was now the one passenger beside ourselves. We comfortably filled
the table in the little cabin. The captain said that since the
phylloxera damaged the vines two-thirds of the Dalmatians (the country
people) had emigrated. He seemed to hold them in slight estimation,
perhaps because he was a sailor, which he said none of them are in that
part of the country (a statement we had an op