We left Larnaca on the 29th of January. A native two-wheeled cart
conveyed the tents and superabundant baggage. The oxen made no
difficulty, and the gipsy-van rolled easily along. An enterprising
photographer, having posted himself in a certain position near the
highway, suddenly stopped our party, and subsequently produced a
facsimile, although my dogs, who were in movement, came out with
phantom-like shadows. These useful companions were three spaniels
--"Merry," "Wise," and "Shot;" the latter had a broken foreleg through
an accident in the previous year, but he was an excellent retriever, and
could work slowly. The others were younger dogs, whose characters were
well represented by their names; the first was an untiring, determined
animal, and Wise was a steady hunter that would face the worst thorns,
and was a good retriever.

This party was now in movement, and I intended to make a preliminary
detour from the Nicosia route to visit the springs of Arpera, about
eight miles distant, which supply the town of Larnaca.

In every country where I have travelled I have observed a human weakness
among the population on the question of "game;" there is a universal
tendency to exaggeration; but the locality of superabundance is always
distant from the narrator. As you proceed the game recedes; and you are
informed that "at about two days' march you will find even more than you
require." Upon arrival at the wished-for spot you are told that
"formerly there was a large quantity, but that times and seasons have
changed; that about three marches in your front will bring you to a
hunter's paradise," &c. As Cyprus was an island of only 140 miles in
length, there would be a limit to these boundless descriptions; but I
had already heard enough to assure me that the usual want of veracity
upon this subject was present in the accounts I had received. The