IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 3 



All the authorities seemed to agree in this, 

 that Dalmatia offered a delightful climate, lovely 

 scenery, and, above all, something new. This 

 really was the great attraction. When your 

 neighbour at every dinner-party is equally familiar 

 with Cairo and Calcutta, Boston and Bendigo, 

 Eeykjavik and Eio, it is really an achievement 

 to discover a country with which the British 

 tourist has not yet familiarized himself. That 

 this is the case with Dalmatia, I think I can 

 easily prove. When I first thought of going 

 there, I wrote to ask the great — the only — Cook 

 the fare to Spalatro. I need hardly say that he 

 promptly furnished the required information, but 

 he also added that he himself could not person- 

 ally book us beyond Trieste. This settled it. A 

 country to which Cook had never " personally 

 conducted " the pavid spinster or the plethoric 

 publican was indeed a terra incognita. To be 

 sure, our authority went on to say that there 

 were no hotels except in the principal towns (and 

 he might have added that they were uncommonly 

 indifferent even there), but this to us was only 

 holding out an extra inducement. Had we not 

 slept peacefully many a night under canvas in 

 the Far East, lulled to sweet repose by the long- 

 drawn snore of the faithful chokedar* Tents and 

 camp gear presented no difficulty. Then we were 



* Watchman. 



