362 Mr. W. H. Simpson’s Fortnight 
he might probably long to explore those cliffs if the captain 
would guarantee that the steamer would not sail without him. 
As, however, the captain of an Austrian f Lloyd’s steamer ’ is 
too great a personage to be lightly addressed, especially on an 
occasion when his feelings are aggravated by the dread of being- 
driven ashore, he, the traveller, will have to postpone his explora¬ 
tions until the steamer arrives off Kustendje, where, if the fog 
and swell permit, he may land in the new harbour which is being 
there constructed by an English Company in connexion with the 
Danube and Black Sea Railway, of which Kustendje is the eastern 
terminus. This was my case. It had, indeed, been darkly 
intimated to the passengers that the vessel would be obliged 
to go on through the Sulina channel to Galatz—a circuit of 
200 miles for any one wishing to reach this place. Fortunately 
the fog, which had succeeded the gale, cleared up on the morn¬ 
ing of the 17th, and revealed to us the earthy cliffs which form 
the distinctive feature of this part of the coast of the Dobrudscha. 
The first object that greeted my arrival in port was a fiock 
of Little Gulls (Larus minutus) flying about in the harbour. 
This I considered a good omen, and even indulged in hopes of 
finding their breeding-quarters, as many were already in good 
plumage. This species was subsequently noticed in immense 
numbers between the 20th and 24th, especially on the first of 
the above dates. At that time the bulk of the flocks were 
frequenting a lake of fresh water called “ Sud Geul,” which 
extends for several miles in a northerly direction parallel to the 
sea, from which it is separated by a narrow isthmus. On this 
occasion the flocks of Larus minutus , associated with a few in¬ 
dividuals of Sterna cantiaca , were literally swarming in the air 
a few feet above the surface of the water, like swallows over 
a river on a summer’s evening. Ear as the eye could reach, look¬ 
ing northwards down the lake, these elegant little birds were to 
be seen on the feed, dashing to and fro most actively. In most 
of them the head and upper part of the neck were of a brilliant 
jet-black, producing a singular effect in the mass when contrasted 
with the white of the rest of the plumage. Upon those which 
were nearest, a faint rosy tinge, confined to the upper part of 
the breast, was also noticeable. This, I think, is more marked 
