“Freund in der Droth Freund in der Todt Freund hintern Rücken Das sind drei starke Brücken,”
“Schweig und Meig Werk und Leid Jedes Ding hat seine Zeit.”
I saw many prints of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and other Royalties, also several engravings of old English pictures by famous artists. The island is itself covered with small fir and cypress trees, and has many shady walks. We had some time to wait for the return launch, and amused ourselves by sketching the monk; Miss B. took a photo of him and promised him a copy. On our return the town was gay with people of all nationalities and costumes to see a great race being run down the principal street, by two men who ran for an hour and a half without stopping. I sat at the café and sketched some of the people.
After dinner there was nothing to be done or to see in the town, and as the drawing-rooms soon became very stuffy, I went off to my room after supper.
One afternoon while we were amusing ourselves by turning over, and I am afraid purchasing, some of the fascinating goods in one of the shops, we found a bridegroom making purchases for his bride elect, who was attended by her mother and aunt as chaperones. Both bride and bridegroom came from the Canali district, where the women wear a very charming costume of bright colours. On the head is a little red and gold embroidered cap, over it a white embroidered accordian pleated handkerchief, embroidered vest and bolero, with tassels of gold coloured silk on sleeves and bodice, a white apron with a deep embroidered hem, probably a bright blue accordian pleated skirt with a border of some other colour. About the bodice and waist are many ribbons as ornament, and a sash of many colours round the waist. We saw a good many so dressed on Easter Sunday in the town.
On April 4th we left Ragusa in drenching rain, which began the day before and continued all the journey to Mostar, but was happily fine after our arrival about 7-30. This is a journey of eight hours through the mountains of rugged grey stone. The railway goes up a great height and winds in and out of the hills, the view is more grand than beautiful. The train stops at many little stations for the sole reason of allowing the travellers to have drinks, we concluded, as at many places we stayed ten minutes for apparently no reason except that we saw the travellers flocking into a bar.