14 Voyage of the Novara. 



buxom lass on his shoulder, he has waltzed away many a 

 happy hour. The whole village, with all its familiar faces, 

 seems to revive in his memory during the playing of the 

 melody, — now he fills his glass; now he clinks it merrily 

 with that of his companion ; now he presses his sweetheart 

 more closely to his side: Lol suddenly a shrill whistle 

 pierces the air, the music ceases, the call is heard '* to fall 

 in," and the yet dance-stricken sailor, suddenly, as if awaken- 

 ing from a sweet reverie, is once more standing on the deck 

 of the Novara! 



The frigate, in the Mediterranean also, maintained her 

 superiority as a sailer. The corvette Caroline was able to 

 keep the prescribed distance from the Novara only by the latter 

 reefing some of her sails. As some magnetic observations 

 were to be made at Gibraltar, and, as we had to ascertain 

 the results of the various chronometers on board, on the 

 12th of May we signalled the corvette to take her own time 

 and rejoin us at Gibraltar, as we were anxious to avoid un- 

 necessary 'detention. 



The acquisitions of the naturalists had, as yet, been very 

 scanty : to their great annoyance they could not even obtain 

 any of the tortoises, which, from time to time, approached the 

 ship, though they were repeatedly fired at, and on one occasion 

 a boat was launched, in the hope of catching some of them. 

 The specimens which we saw were from fifteen to twenty 

 inches in diameter ; they mostly floated quietly on the sur- 

 face, and seemed sleeping or basking themselves in the sun. 

 The night of the l6th May was exceedingly boisterous, 



