192 MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 



went right away as far as we could get, some eight 

 miles or so, to a little marsh below Villa Boa. We saw 

 myriads of wild-fowl in the bay, but quite unapproach- 

 able. Found a few snipes, but awkward to shoot. A 

 nice alder tarn, most likely-looking place for woodcock, 

 but saw none." 



^^ January 2nd, 1879. Beautiful morning, but very red 

 sunrise — a bad omen. The doctor and I went off after 

 breakfast in cutter across the bay to a wooded point and 

 wandered about through fine woods intersected at short 

 distances by granite walls very wearisome to surmount ; 

 not much undergrowth, but here and there patches of 

 brambles and boggy springs. We only saw one wood- 

 cock, which escaped us. The doctor had a shot at what 

 he calls grouse-red-legged partridges. We cruised along 

 the north shore after luncheon and shot a {qv^ water birds." 



" January ith. Strong wind in morning, rather better 

 about II. Started in cutter, but it came on to blow and 

 rain furiously, and we could not do much. Conversed 

 with a native sportsman who lies up on one of the rocky 

 islands ; he tells me that he sometimes gets a heavy shot 

 at sleeping ducks wafted down to him by wind on tide. 

 He knows of only five sorts of ducks — mallard, wigeon, 

 teal, scoters, and mergansers. I noticed several peculiarities 

 of the Gallician dialect — e.g., the ' g' strongly aspirated, as 

 Vijo for Vigo, etc. He always addresses me as ' sinore ' 

 instead of senor, and put many u's in place of o's." 



