THE ISLANDS OF SARDINIA AND CORSICA. 29 



more than anything else. They are rowed in the 

 English way, while the Cagliari rowers face the bows. 

 Farther south lies the S. Giusta Lake and fisheries, 

 and last of all, those of Mercedi, each with a village 

 peopled entirely with fisherfolk, by far the finest look- 

 ing of all the natives of Sardinia, the women being 

 comparatively handsome. The contrast between these 

 and the agricultural part of the population is very 

 remarkable. 



The old Eoman city of Tharrus is within half a day's 

 ride of the town, and here the enterprising stranger 

 may well expect to pick up a few intaglios and numis- 

 matic treasures. Quite apart from more bulky archseo- 

 logical spoil, Tharrus contests with Pula and S. Antioco, 

 the honour of being the richest quarry of antique relics 

 in Sardinia, and the museums are full of inscriptions 

 and sculptuary from this old city by the sea. 



Snipe may be got at Terranova, and near Musei, and 

 at Ardara, at which latter place I was accompanied by 

 a small French chasseur ', who called his dog by blowing 

 a large horn for it, and applied to it the epithets, 

 " brigand" and " assassin," and afterwards fed it with 

 eggs. 



Oristano is healthy all the year round ; but prior to 

 the completion of the aqueduct bringing water from 

 Bonarcado, on Monte Ferru, it was deserted in 

 summer. Even now the natives assert that eating 

 the larger and coarser of the grey mullet gives fever. 



Oristano is not magnificent like Sassari, which in its 

 public buildings strives, with complete success, to 



