containing the usual accommodation for travellers. We had excellent coffee, fruit, roast lamb, wine and raki, and what was still more agreeable, both the hanji and the inhabitants behaved to us with a degree of courtesy and attention which could not be exceeded in the most civilized village of Western Europe. The Boulouk-bachi, with the principal men of the place having smoked the tchibouque with us, mounted their horses, and accompanied us by the most direct pathway through the mountains to the next village. This courteous escort was repeated by the inhabitants of each village, whether Arnout or Slavonian, till we got to the little town of Roujaia.

After crossing the torrent of the Ouvor, and witnessing its sudden disappearance in a cleft of the rocks, we ascended the strong defile of the Jarout Planina, lined with a fine forest of majestic oaks. On gaining the summit we found another of those green plateaus, so frequent in these mountains, and saw before us the stupendous Jelieb, with its rocky peaks, each resembling a sugar-loaf, and shooting up to a height of at least seven thousand feet.

Our route from here to Roujaia was altogether of an Alpine character. On every plateau we found extensive forests of firs and pines. The principal species of pine were the Pinus picea, the Pinaster, Pinus mughus. The Pinus picea and the Pinus

brucia attained the highest elevation. In favoured situations these trees were intermingled with the Larix Europea, the Fagussylvatica, Juniperus nana, Arbutus uva ursi, Vaccinium myrtillus. In the lower region, among the oak-trees, the wild pear, apple, cherry and plum flourished in great abundance, and, above all, the beautiful Tilia argentea, which always gives a lively picturesque effect to the foliage of a forest. The Populus alba and nigra also arrive here to great perfection, forming a magnificent arbour, which effectually excludes the rays of the sun. The wild vine might be seen twining itself in the branches of trees at an elevation of nearly three thousand feet, and fields of maize several hundred feet higher, while rye, oats and barley throve remarkably well at an altitude of nearly four thousand feet.

The inhabitants of the few villages through which we passed, appeared well supplied with the necessaries of life; always located on the fertile banks of some mountain torrent, their industry was rewarded by abundant crops of the finest corn, particularly maize, and they appeared to be fully aware of the advantages of irrigation. In favoured situations, the vine arrives to great perfection, and several of our choicest fruit trees of Western Europe are no stranger to the orchard. As may be supposed, in a moun

tainous country like this, the climate varies according to the situation; in some places we were exposed to the burning heat of Africa, in others to the chill cold of the wintry north; and, singular enough, should the wind, even during the height of summer, happen to blow from the Steppes of Bessarabia and Krim-Tartary in South Russia, and no lofty mountain intercepts its progress, all vegetation for the time is suspended, an event as much dreaded by the mountaineers, as the Simoon to the traveller in the desert. Happily, this wind never endures longer than twenty-four hours at a time, and its visit is not a frequent occurrence.

It would appear that the geographical position of these mountains is peculiarly favourable to the physical development of man, since the inhabitants are comparatively the finest race in European Turkey, or, perhaps, in Europe. Still, there is a decided difference in the characteristics of each race-Arnout and Slavonian-they are both equally well grown ; if the gigantic proportions of the Slavonian denotes more physical strength, the tall, spare figure of the Arnout, all bone and sinew, renders him an equal match for his more Herculean neighbour. The women also, that we frequently met with in the mountains, accompanied by their ferocious dogs of the ancient Greek race, were fine specimens of the

fair sex; or, perhaps, more strictly speaking, of an Amazon; since each damsel carried in her girdle a poniard, and not unfrequently a pair of pistols: truth to say, they were well-formed, and agile in their movements; and when tripping barefoot across some mountain-torrent, displayed a foot and ankle that would have excited admiration in a ball-room. They seemed to possess considerable vivacity and quickness of intellect, if we might judge from the prompt wit of their repartees.

As we approached Roujaia, and ascended Mount Krouschitza, we had to pass along the side of a succession of the most frightful precipices; here we observed several rapid torrents disappear at our feet in caverns, and break forth into cascades at a considerable depth in the gorge beneath us. On reaching the summit of the Krouschitza, we had a magnificent view of the encircling chain of mountains, the Jelieb, the Haila, Prokletia, Koutsch and the Plava, over which rose the stupendous Kom. Here the Ibar has its source, and also the Makva, which passes through Roujaia. The Ibar is seen rushing through a magnificent defile formed by a high range of calcareous mountains, called the Vratche.

In Roujaia, we passed the night at the house of the Boulouk-bachi, captain of the district-a worthy Arnout-and had every reason to be grateful for

his hospitality, rendered to us with true Oriental courtesy. Roujaia merely consists of from eighty to a hundred houses, grouped together for the mutual defence of the inhabitants, the more pretending residence of the chieftain forming the principal object in the landscape.

At the first dawn of day, we were again in the saddle, on our way to Gousnee; we followed the course of the Makva, under the shelter of a fine forest of fir-trees; this we exchanged for a most fatiguing pathway conducted up the steep sides of the Dobro Planina, through a forest of gnarled beech and pine; however, we had a far more difficult task before us, in the ascent of one of the lesser heights of the stupendous Mount Plava, which must be crossed on our route to Gousnee. At length, worn out with fatigue-for we had to walk nearly the whole of the way-we attained the summit, from whence burst upon us one of the finest and most extensive prospects we had yet seen; there was the whole extent of the mountains of Tchernegora, a perfect chaos of rocks and precipices, with the same encircling chain we described above, but now more fully developed, and heightened in effect by the lake of Plava, glittering like molten silver in the depths beneath; streaks of snow still lay in the crevices of the pinnacled rocks above us, and tiny lakes in the