the
banks show a long line of thick tall shrubs, one mass of glorious pink
and green. Set these in a little valley, framed by mountains whose
rocks gleam out blue and purple colours such as pre-Raphaelites only
dare attempt, shining out hard and weirdlike amongst the clumps of
castor-oil plants, cistus, arbor vitae, and many other evergreens,
whose names, alas! I know not; the cistus is brown now, the rest all
deep or brilliant green. Large herds of cattle browse on the baked
deposit at the foot of these large crags. One or two half-savage
herdsmen in sheepskin kilts, etc., ask for cigars; partridges whirr up
on either side of us; pigeons coo and nightingales sing amongst the
blooming oleander. We get six sheep, and many fowls too, from the
priest of the small village; and then run back to Spartivento and make
preparations for the morning.

"_June 18._

"The big cable is stubborn, and will not behave like his smaller
brother. The gear employed to take him off the drum is not strong
enough; he gets slack on the drum and plays the mischief. Luckily for
my own conscience, the gear I had wanted was negatived by Mr. Newall.
Mr. Liddell does not exactly blame me, but he says we might have had a
silver pulley cheaper than the cost of this delay. He has telegraphed
for more men to Cagliari, to try to pull the cable off the drum into
the hold, by hand. I look as comfortable as I can, but feel as if
people were blaming me. I am trying my best to get something rigged
which may help us; I wanted a little difficulty, and feel much
better.--The short length we have picked up was covered at places with
beautiful sprays of coral, twisted and twined with shells of those
small, fairy animals we saw in the aquarium at home; poor little
things, they died at once, with their little bells and delicate bright
tints.

"_12 o'clock._--Hurrah, victory! for the present anyhow. Whilst in our
first dejection, I thought I saw a place where a flat roller would
remedy the whole misfortune; but a flat roller at Cape Spartivento,
hard, easily unshipped, running freely! There was a grooved pulley
used for the paying-out machinery with a spindle wheel, which might
suit me. I filled him up with tarry spunyarn, nailed sheet copper
round him, bent some parts in the fire; and we are paying-in without
more trouble now. You would think some one would praise me; no--no
more prai