BOOBY AND MAN-O'-WAR BIRD 



201 



after tlie intercession for protection of Flamingos, was now 

 required before the specimens I desired could be taken le- 

 gally. As a matter of fact, the statute read "the Governor 

 in Council may grant," etc., and we esteemed it a rare exam- 

 ple of official courtesy and good judgment, that rather than 

 hold us over Sunday until the Council could be assembled, 

 we were permitted to depart, leaving the permit to be issued 

 in our absence. 



The " Physalia " 



On March 31, therefore, we left Nassau for Cay Verde, 

 distant two hundred and thirty miles. The air was absolute- 

 ly calm ; the water of mirror-like smoothness and as clear as 

 a lens, revealing, with astonishing distinctness, even 

 grains of sand at a depth of four and five fathoms. 



The Bahaman Banks, except at their margins, might be 

 called the deserts of the sea. The water is so shallow that 

 the heavy seas quickly raise what may be termed a sand 



