48 IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 



the difficulty of getting supplies ; nor do I suppose 

 there is anywhere in Europe a place of equal 

 population where supplies are as difficult to obtain 

 as they are at Morter. Even the wine — it was a 

 week before the vintage — was out, and had it not 

 been for the kindness of our excellent cleric we 

 should have been unable to get any fit to drink. 

 With the greatest difficulty we got a quarter of a 

 pint of milk a day from Bettina. Of twelve eggs 

 brought us six were bad, and unheard-of exertions 

 were necessary to procure a small chicken at 

 famine price — elevenpence. The usual Dalmatian 

 price is sixpence to eightpence for a fair-sized one. 



The whole of Morter, except some acres of 

 barren rock to the southward, being cultivated like 

 a garden, it goes without saying that there is little 

 or no game on it. There are some few partridges 

 and hares, but altogether it may be said to afford 

 no sport, so there was really no reason for pro- 

 longing our stay. So we settled to leave on 

 Saturday, after only four nights in this camp. 



Of course the wind, which, however strong, 

 would have been fair, dropped as soon as ever this 

 decision was arrived at and all arrangements finally 

 made. As the result of this, our journey (seventeen 

 miles, the longest boat voyage we made in 

 Dalmatia), took us over five hours. The priest 

 and his coadjutor were good enough to say they 

 would come with us as far as Stretto, the chief 



