The Beturn 



thing which is real, this Lotos-land of the 

 South, " plac'd far amid the melancholy main." 

 The great mountain wall which for the last 

 hour or two before our arrival we have been 

 circumnavigating, the main range which runs 

 from east to west of the island, is an effectual 

 barrier against the northerly winds which pre- 

 vail in winter. On the north side of the island 

 the winter climate is wet and windy, but Fun- 

 chal faces the south and the sun. With the 

 thermometer never falling within fifteen degrees 

 of freezing-point, we seem, and are, very remote 

 from the misery of London in the grip of a 

 freezing fog. And when we consider the des- 

 perate struggle for life under such circumstances 

 we may be pardoned for feeling something of 

 the suave man magno of Lucretius, so aptly 

 paraphrased by Mr. Mallock ; 



" When storms blow loud, 'tis sweet to watch at ease 

 From shore, the sailor labouring with the seas : 

 Because the sense, not that such pains are his, 

 But that they are not ours, must always please." 



And although it is true that we are withdraw- 

 ing ourselves for a season from the life of our 

 own time and our own people, it is yet possible 

 that while we " pace serene the porches of the 



9 



