22 
LETTERS FROM 
till the packet touches here on her return to 
England from the Ionian islands, by which 
time it is supposed that any latent infection 
will either have declared itself or have be¬ 
come extinct. Notwithstanding this prohi¬ 
bition, a large tin box, closely soldered up 
on all sides, containing, as we were informed, 
a suit of clothes for an officer in the garri¬ 
son, was sent on shore with no other purifi¬ 
cation than a very slight and partial w ashing 
of the outside of the box with salt-water. 
Our purchases are effected without any con¬ 
tact between the parties. The articles are 
deposited on the w r ide plank reaching from 
our vessel to the quay-wall, and our money 
is indeed treated as “ filthy lucre,” for it is 
always received in a pair of tongs, and well 
washed in the sea by the health-guardian. 
When we wish to send a letter on shore we 
drop it into a tin box which is placed on the 
