298 DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. XVIII.— B. P. 
I found was unknown on the Mosquito Coast. On 
telling the ladies that the King was going off to the 
ship with me for a cruise, they replied that, for his sake, 
they wished it could he extended to England, where 
they believed his presence for ever so short a time could 
not fail to benefit their country. 
It was a glorious day, not a cloud to he seen, hut 
with a strong trade-wind blowing fresh from the N.E. 
tempering the heat, when the King took his seat in 
the gig for a passage to the ship. He seemed delighted 
at the prospect of a pleasant trip, and was in better 
spirits and more communicative than I had ever before 
seen him. 
We had a sharp pull up to Cassava Cay against the 
wind; hut the cloudless sky, the bright blue sea,* and 
the beautiful surrounding scenery, made the trip a 
pleasant one, even for the men who had the warm work 
of pulling the boat. 
As we opened out the Bluff, a large number of 
canoes came in sight, running before the breeze, which 
is always much stronger outside than in the lagoon, 
and, moreover, brings with it a considerable sea. 
Nevertheless, these Mosquito craft, which the King 
told me had come from considerable distances up the 
coast, came flying along under their huge whole sails 
(I have never seen a reefed canoe sail), and in a short 
time were within hailing distance. 
* As the dry season advances, and the rains cease to fall in the in¬ 
terior, the rivers no longer discharge muddy streams into the ocean, 
but come down bright and clear; the discoloured water, therefore, 
which hinges the coast for many miles in the rainy season gives place, 
at this time of the year, to the well-known ethereal blue about which 
poets and landsmen rave so much. 
