aas's
-- filled the venerable-looking commander with astonishment,
not unmixed with awe. He was dressed after the same fashion
as the man we first met, except that his shirt was not made of
brown cloth, but of pure white linen hemmed with purple. The
kilt, however, was identical, and so were the thick rings of
gold around the arm and beneath the left knee. The rowers wore
only a kilt, their bodies being naked to the waist. Good took
off his hat to the old gentleman with an extra flourish, and
inquired after his health in the purest English, to which he
replied by laying the first two fingers of his right hand horizontally
across his lips and holding them there for a moment, which we
took as his method of salutation. Then he also addressed some
remarks to us in the same soft accents that had distinguished
our first interviewer, which we were forced to indicate we did
not understand by shaking our heads and shrugging our shoulders.
This last Alphonse, being to the manner born, did to perfection,
and in so polite a way that nobody could take any offence. Then
we came a standstill, till I, being exceedingly hungry, thought
I might as well call attention to the fact, and did so first
by opening my mouth and pointing down it, and then rubbing my
stomach. These signals the old gentleman clearly understood,
for he nodded his head vigorously, and pointed towards the harbour;
and at the same time one of the men on his boat threw us a line
and motioned to us to make it fast, which we did. The row-boat
then took us in tow, and went with great rapidity towards the
mouth of the river, accompanied by all the other boats. In about
twenty minutes more we reached the entrance to the harbour, which
was crowded with boats full of people who had come out to see
us. We observed that all the occupants were more or less of
the same type, though some were fairer than others. Indeed,
we noticed certain ladies whose skin was of a most dazzling whiteness;
and the darkest shade of colour which we saw was about that of
a rather swarthy Spaniard. Presently the wide river gave a sweep,
and when it did so an exclamation of astonishment and delight
burst from our lips as we caught our first view of the place
that we afterwards knew as Milosis, or the Frowning City (from
mi, which means city, and losis, a frown).

At a distance of some five hundred yards from the river's bank
rose a sheer precipice of granite, two hundred feet or so in
he