OUR LAST WEEK IN FUERTEVENTURA 59 



old friend and companion Don Ramon, after about an 

 hour's travelling, and then we are left to ourselves with 

 no sound but the soft tread of the camel and now and 

 again the strange cries of its driver. 



The question of leave-taking reminds me of that of 

 remuneration for board and lodgings. Among people 

 of such good manners one's natural impulse would 

 be to scout any idea of payment, but the inhabitants 

 in the out-of-the-way places in these islands are poor, 

 and sentiment must not override common sense. Any 

 allusion to the matter, however delicately put, is 

 generally met with a positive refusal to take anything, 

 and yet they expect something. I usually found that 

 the most satisfactory way was to leave what I intended 

 to give them in an envelope, so that in opening this 

 after my departure they might avoid the embarrassment 

 of being " insulted"- to use a Gilbertian phrase in my 

 presence. 



One man with whom I stayed for a short time 

 provided me with a donkey to ride, much against my 

 own wish ; I was on good enough terms with the animal 

 until it took to falling down, which it would do without 

 the slightest warning. After it had repeated these 

 performances two or three times I said I thought I 

 would walk ; this evidently seemed to be the donkey's 

 wish too, but they would not hear of it. " Montese, 

 Sefior" they said, " montese, montese" and so I was 

 forced to get up again. Its next obeisance was made 

 on the edge of a steep ravine, down which I narrowly 

 escaped rolling ; this strengthened me in my resolve to 

 walk, and I ultimately had my own way. I think the 

 donkey, being Spanish, was too polite to kick me off, 



