At night the soft breezes, redolent of the perfume of the garden below, are wafted through the latticed windows; the band seems to play the last number on the program with irresistible rhythm; the tuneful songs of Austrian sailors, as they return to their ships in the harbour of Gravosa after an evening of revelry, swell out upon the night air and die away—and before you realize it the morning sunlight is streaming through the Venetian window-shades, forming bars of gold that stretch across the polished floor, while the sea glitters and dashes musically against the bases of the cliffs just a little beyond your window.
Truly, Ragusa is the fairy city of the Adriatic.
THE SEA FORTS OF RAGUSA.
CHAPTER XIV
THE BOCCHE DI CATTARO
Steamer-day at Gravosa—Ragusa from the Sea—The Bocche di Cattaro—Castelnuovo—Cattaro and Her Mountain Background.
I can assure you that it will be a hard matter to tear yourself away from Ragusa. You will want to stroll through her narrow streets, or watch the market-people in the public square, or play long sets of tennis on the excellent courts in the shadows of the turreted town walls, or sip “citronade” indefinitely under the awnings of the street cafés near the Corso. There is a weird, delightful charm about Ragusa that is well-nigh irresistible.