226 THE SALT OF MY LIFE 



passage to Funchal. On the morning of our 

 arrival,, tunny were strewn in careless profusion 

 on the beach. They were pointed out to us by 

 an agent of Messrs. Blandy, who came on board 

 as soon as the anchor was down, and he further 

 raised our hopes by saying that the bay had not 

 been so full of those fish within the memory of 

 man. Later in the day, after we had settled in 

 our quarters at the Palace Hotel, which, like most 

 of the rest, is the property of Mr. Reid, I had the 

 courage to seek out Mr. Faber, who quickly put 

 me at my ease, and indeed almost made me regret 

 that I had not written more fully. Both he and 

 Mr. John Blandy told us that tunny had not been 

 so cheap for years. Indeed, the poorer class of 

 natives would not buy any meat, so plentiful was 

 that satisfying fish in the market. Both predicted 

 great and immediate success, and, with our hearts 

 singing of triumph on the morrow, a triumph 

 which we had promised to cable home, we fixed 

 3 a.m. next morning for the first essay and inter- 

 viewed the Reis (captain) of our boat, that he 

 might understand to bring her round to the private 

 steps of the hotel. How great a convenience that 

 private landing was throughout our stay can be 

 appreciated by those who know how keenly the 

 sensitive angler feels marching through busy 

 streets in his indecorous clothes when he has no 

 fish to show the crowd. We retained the services 



