210 BIRD-HUNTING 



a good shot. He was also the most enthusiastic 

 sportsman I have ever met, and would cheerfully 

 go through any fatigue and discomfort for the sake 

 of a little shooting. The enjoyment he would get 

 out of these rough days on the lagoon was quite 

 infectious, and he was quite as enthusiastic in 

 watching and observing birds, and would spend 

 hours in the reed-beds noting the intervals of time 

 in the booming of the Bitterns, and trying to watch 

 them at close quarters. He did succeed in finding 

 a nest with four eggs. Unfortunately this was after I 

 had left, for it is a nest I have never yet been lucky 

 enough to see, and a photograph of a Bittern's nest 

 is, as far as I know, not yet an accomplished fact. 



He was also much interested in archaeology, and 

 possessed a fine collection of coins and objects of 

 art. The place is full of remains of Greek sculpture, 

 and as he was known to be a buyer, the treasure- 

 trove of the neighbourhood was certain sooner or 

 later to be offered to him. A beautiful female head 

 in marble, and an exquisite little torso, were among 

 his choicest possessions. I have seen carved marble 

 capitals used as door-steps to the rude huts of the 

 peasants, and sticking out of the town wall ; and 

 they are frequently dug up in working the fields. 

 The remains of an old Roman road across the lagoon 

 are still to be seen, and on the hill commanding 

 the town are the ruins of an ancient castle, either 



