I then got a quail and
a hare, and had no other chances, although the appearance of the country
would have suggested an abundance of game. Upon nearing the seashore I
saw that extensive sand-dunes had invaded the heights for many hundred
yards, completely choking the vegetation and forming clumps or mounds of
sand, topped by tufts of the shrubs that lay buried deep beneath. I
walked along the fatiguing ground until I reached the shore exactly
opposite the abandoned wreck, which lay within a cove, into which she
had evidently been run for security.
My dogs found several hares among the clumps upon the sand-dunes, which
gave them some exercise and amusement, but I did not obtain a shot.
Upon my arrival at the camping-place I found my wife surrounded by a
large crowd of women and children beneath a shady tree, all of whom had
brought presents of eggs and bouquets of wild flowers. It was difficult
to persuade these good simple people that we did not require presents as
an etiquette of introduction; they would insist upon placing their
little offerings upon the ground, and leaving them if we declined to
accept them. The principal wild flowers were cyclamen, narcissus, and
anemone. The cyclamen completely covered the ground throughout all the
low woods and thickets. I could only find two varieties, the snow-white,
with claret-coloured centre, and the rose-colour; but the blossoms were
quite equal in size to those usually grown in our glass-houses in
England.
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