yacht coming from an unhealthy port, and the passengers and crew wishing to see Gibraltar without first doing seven days' quarantine, can easily manage it by anchoring off Algesiras and going across to Gibraltar, three miles and a half, in a little steam ferry-boat which runs morning and evening. It only shows the farce of the whole system of quarantine that this should be the case. Had we even had cholera on board, there was nothing to prevent us from going into Gibraltar whenever we liked. The guide-book informs you that Algesiras was once a town of magnificence and note, but few traces of its early splendour are now to be found. There is one good Plaza and a market-place, the shops being under a funny little colonnade surrounding a large open space. In the chief church here I noticed, among the other usual ex-votos, two splendid switches of human hair. If the young women who presented them really cut them off their own heads, it shows a depth of gratitude with which one does not generally credit lovely woman.

CHAPTER V

THE wind showed no signs of shifting, so we arranged with the manager of the "Hotel Victoria" to provide us with animals for a ride round to Gibraltar, as we thought we might just as well go and see the races, about which we had heard so much.

We were also still doubtful whether, if we went across in the ferry-boat, we would be allowed to land; while the boy at the hotel, who was to be our guide, assured us that he would take us into Gibraltar without any trouble. Our Berthon was alongside about 9.30 next morning, and we quickly stowed ourselves away in her, for were we not going to see the races, and the rank fashion and beauty of Gibraltar ? Alas! we were doomed to disappointment, for while, no doubt, the élite of Gibraltar were present, beauty was conspicuous by its absence, and with the exception of one young lady, daughter of a high official, we did not see a good-looking woman on the ground.

The painful recollection of my disappointment -which is still too vivid-must be my excuse for this digression. We had gone about fifty yards from the Chiripa when we heard the Commodore-who had been unable to join us, as he was still very seedy, having strained himself at amateur shot drill at Ceuta, and felt quite unequal to any exertion-hailing us; looking round we saw both Orvis and the Commodore pointing at something which, however, we were unable to discover, so keeping in the even tenor of our way, we arrived safely at the Mole. We found the boy waiting for us with three sorrylooking steeds, caparisoned in queer-looking saddles of the Mexican type, a sort of arrangement which raises you almost six inches above your gee. We walked our horses through the town, as the pavement did not permit of fast riding, and at the same time we had to keep a sharp look-out for holes, as in the middle of the street, every here and there, one came across a drain, minus its iron grating, or else set so low in the surrounding stone that should your animal step in it the results would be nearly as disastrous. Once clear

of the town we took to the sands and had an exhilarating gallop. It is about ten miles round to Gibraltar, and the coast road is intersected by two rivers, the Guadaranque and Palmones, over

which we were ferried. The boats were worked by means of a wire rope, which, stretching across the river, was carried on board. The ferry-men had long pieces of leather with a large lump of cork at the end; when everybody was on board they walked forward, and without stooping, with a mere turn of the wrist, succeeded in hitching the wire rope with their leather, and putting the end over their shoulders walked aft; when they reached the end of the boat, with another turn of the wrist they disengaged their leather and commenced again de novo. The neatness with which they always caught hold and released their leather commanded our admiration. I had a try

myself, but failed to catch once in half a dozen tries. Once over the Palmones, we cantered into the little Spanish village on the edge of the neutral ground, and leaving our horses at a little Fonda, crossed the neutral ground and entered the lines without the slightest difficulty. We lunched at the "Hotel Royal," and as we had a decent meal, we came to the conclusion that they had got over the excitement caused by the marriage.

The race-course, just inside the lines, is certainly not one of the best, and the ground was as hard as a brick. We got there in time to see Captain H- — come in second, to a horse called the

E

Camel, for the first race; but the less said about the racing the better. The only noticeable feature of the meeting was the absence of "bookies," all the betting being done on the Pari Mutuel system, under the management of the officers of the garrison, and confined to members of the garrison library, jockey club, and officers in the army and navy. It was the first race-meeting I had ever been at where it was impossible to purchase a drink. It is true that the soldiers had their canteens there, but then they were some way down the course, and we did not know whether they were open to the public.

We saw two amateur "bookies" doing a thriving silver business among the soldiers. The gentleman who called the odds was a sergeant in the fusiliers, and his clerk-a private. The prices they laid were nearly as bad as the prices we now have to put up with in England. In a field of nine, I heard them offer three to one, bar two,

and an outsider romped in.

When we got back to the hotel, where we had left our horses, we found only two, and our guide was also missing. After waiting about half an hour, we saw him galloping towards us from the racecourse on one of our gees, accompanied by a friend on the other. Both the wretched animals were in a fearful lather, and our guide had been