THE CAMP AT SPARTIVENTO 145 



and beautiful. Cagliari rises on a very steep rock, 

 at the mouth of a wide plain circled by large hills 

 and three-quarters filled with lagoons ; it looks, 

 therefore, like an old island citadel. Large heaps 

 of salt mark the border between the sea and the 

 lagoons ; thousands of flamingoes whiten the centre 

 of the huge shallow marsh ; hawks hover and 

 scream among the trees under the high mouldering 

 battlements. — A little lower down, the band played. 

 Men and ladies bowed and pranced, the costumes 

 posed, church bells tinkled, processions processed, 

 the sun set behind thick clouds capping the hills ; 

 I pondered on you and enjoyed it all. 



' Decidedly I prefer being master to being man : 

 boats at all hours, stewards flying for marmalade, 

 captain enquiring when ship is to sail, clerks to copy 

 my writing, the boat to steer when we go out — 

 I have run her nose on several times ; decidedly, 

 I begin to feel quite a little king. Confound the 

 cable, though ! I shall never be able to repair it. 



' BoNA^ October 14. 

 ' We left Cagliari at 4.30 on the 9th and soon got 

 to Spartivento. I repeated some of my experi- 

 ments, but found Thomson, who was to have been 

 my grand stand-by, would not work on that day in 

 the wretched little hut. Even if the windows and 

 door had been put in, the wind which was very 

 high made the lamp flicker about and blew it out ; 



£ 



