Large heaps of salt
mark the border between the sea and the lagoons; thousands of
flamingoes whiten the centre of the huge shallow marsh; hawks hover
and scream among the trees under the high mouldering battlements. -
A little lower down, the band played. Men and ladies bowed and
pranced, the costumes posed, church bells tinkled, processions
processed, the sun set behind thick clouds capping the hills; I
pondered on you and enjoyed it all.
'Decidedly I prefer being master to being man: boats at all hours,
stewards flying for marmalade, captain enquiring when ship is to
sail, clerks to copy my writing, the boat to steer when we go out -
I have run her nose on several times; decidedly, I begin to feel
quite a little king. Confound the cable, though! I shall never be
able to repair it.
'Bona: October 14.
'We left Cagliari at 4.30 on the 9th and soon got to Spartivento.
I repeated some of my experiments, but found Thomson, who was to
have been my grand stand-by, would not work on that day in the
wretched little hut.
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