86 BIRD-HUNTING 



Judge of my relief when, a very few minutes 

 afterwards, a cheery voice shouted out from the 

 doorway, and in perfect English too, ' Hullo, Mr. 

 Lodge ! what can I do for you ? ' The obvious 

 reply was to beg him to get me out of this bother 

 as soon as possible ; and in ' less than no time ' my 

 things were bundled back into the portmanteaux 

 and boxes, and I was on my way to the Consulate 

 with my new friend. The gun and cartridges had 

 to be left for the time being, but they were restored 

 two or three days later. 



This was my first introduction to Baron B , 



the Austrian Consul, the best sportsman and most 

 jovial companion I ever had the good luck to meet 

 anywhere. A keen naturalist, good shot, and full 

 of enthusiasm for whatever he undertook, I could 

 not possibly have met a man better qualified to help 

 me in my difficult search ; for besides his power as 

 Consul, he spoke fluently all the languages and 

 dialects of the country — Servian, Turkish, Italian, 

 and Albanian, besides German, Magyar, French, 

 and English. 



On arrival at the Consulate he lost no time in 

 fulfilling his promise to show me Pelicans from his 

 windows. Sure enough, with a prism binocular, I 

 could see on the lagoon beyond the town seven or 

 eight Pelicans resting on a small island, and after 

 lunch we walked out to see them nearer. 



