finery here, which supplies the whole of the Austrian States with that article. Its wax-manufactory is equally flourishing and these two important establishments occupy many hands. It also contains several considerable commercial houses; and, in short, is held in such high value by the court of Vienna, that the government has conferred on it many peculiar exemptions.

It was here that the Consul Bertrand, and the son of the Prince of Pars, separated from M. Cassas, to return to Trieste; the adventures at Carnero having disgusted them with a maritime excursion. As to our author, his love for the arts rendered him above fear for his personal safety. Having hired an armed boat with three vigorous seamen, he left Fiume in company with M. Grappin, on the 11th of June; and after a voyage of five hours, they stopped to dine at a convent in the isle of Veglia, or Veggia. M. Cassas did not find this isle to correspond with the praises bestowed on it by different geographers. Far from being as rich as they have represented it, the territory appeared to be dry, rocky, badly cultivated, and interspersed only with shrubs; and though it produces wines and silk, the quantity is far short of what had been stated. The only town here bears the same name as the island. Its port is tolerably commodious, and the galleys from Venice generally belay in it. It was here that M. Cassa first heard the Illyrian dialect spoken; and he observed that the breviaries of the priests were written in that language. The name which the Sclavonians give to this isle Kar, and the authors of the French Encyclopedia suppose it to be the Curica of Ptolemy and Pliny. It is the island which Strabo has denomi nated Cyractica, and is remarkable in having for a long time formed a separate state. Count John Frangipani ceded it in the fifteenth century to the republic of Venice.

After passing the heat of the day at Veglia, our two voyagers left it; and proceeded on their voyage, having on their right the isles of Urbo, Selva, Melado (sometimes called Zapuntello), and Uglian; and to their left the isle of Pago, the Punta Dura, &c. These islands, according to Constantine Porphyrogenetus, were formerly inhabited: they have at present some residents; but notwithstanding the cultivation employed by them, the produce is insignificant. The soil is so stony, and water is so scarce, that corn will not thrive there; the olive-trees can scarcely take root, and the grapes are rare and meagre on the vines. Here is found an abundance of the same marble as is contained in the high mountains of Italy, principally at Terracina, Piperna, and the environs of Caserta. It is hard, whitish, calcareous, and splits in the mortar like flint. It is but slightly affected by the artificial acids. When polished, the effect of the air acts but slowly on its surface; and it is only after many centuries that

it becomes rough, and that the grains of which it is composed are distinguishable.

The learned Fortis supposes that the Dalmatian islands are the melancholy remains of a country which was once partly destroyed by some great terrestrial commotions: and he believes that he can recognize in the ostracities which he has observed, the matter which composes those extensive strata of calcareous stone which he considers as the foundation of all the isles in question; particularly as the ostracites do not belong to the present seas in this quarter, but could only have been deposited by an extensive and different ocean, that at one period covered the soil.

The most fertile spot is undoubtedly Uglian, or Isola Grossa. It would produce every thing in abundance, if it were not, like the rest, unprovided with water: the inhabitants have none but what they collect in cisterns; and the richer or more delicate individuals, who cannot accustom themselves to this kind, are obliged to send for it from the Continent. The Uglianites are distinguished from the other insular inhabitants by their mild and amiable manners, their candour, and their hospitality. The Italian character has taken less root in the isle than on the coasts of the Continent. Even the costume has little resemblance to that of the other Venetian possessions: the women in their dress somewhat resemble the Morlachian females, who have already been described.

Notwithstanding the dryness of the land, the winged insects are so numerous, as to be insupportable, and it is difficult to protect the fruits and other productions of the earth against their ravages. The Illyrian snails mentioned by Pliny, and which the Romans considered as one of the most delicate luxuries of their tables, are found here in great abundance. It is known that Fulvius Herpinus had at his country-seat ssveral reservoirs, or beds, in which he reared this species of insects for the express purpose alluded to.

Most of the approaches to these islands contain numerous rocks, which render their navigation difficult and dangerous: but what is even worse, these rocks afford refuge, to the banditti who infest the seas in this quarter, and who conceal theinselves in the recesses during the day, in order to avoid the search made after them by the Venetian gallies, while at night they board! and capture such barks, as risk the navigation of the chamel without being armed. Our travellers were alarmed lest they should have woeful experience of the audacity of these marauders. We have already said that, in order to avoid the heat of the day, they did not quit Veglia till seven o'clock in the evening ofɔca Those who are unacquainted with the beauty of the evenings in Italy, can form no idea of the spectacle afforded by nature in

these regions when the sun has sunk below the horizon. The absence of this luminary causes a cessation of heat: the calorific clouds disperse, the sea and the mountains towards the west are deprived of their purple tinge, and the sky exhibits nothing but one vast expanse of azure, beneath which innumerable zephyrs gently move; while every thing adds to the majestic silence of night, as it gradually advances, embalmed with the odour of delicious flowers. At this charming period every thing tends to produce the most pleasing and voluptuous sensations, and the opening mind gratefully contemplates the magnificence of the scene. It seems scarcely possible that such should be a period of preparation for the commission of crimes; but the human heart is corrupt, and this reflection deprived our travellers, in a great degree, of the pleasure they would have derived from such a evening as that which we have depicted. In the midst of the most sublime spectacle of the omnipotence of the Creator, they were obliged to recollect that they were men, and to provide for their personal security. They accordingly put into a small creek, formed by rocks; where they landed, and, tearing off a number of branches from some contiguous trees, spread them over their boat, which by this means, together with the obscurity afforded by the shade of the rocks, was rendered scarcely perceptible. They then retired to a short distance, and concealed themselves among some bushes.

t

It was now eleven o'clock, and the pale light of the moon had succeeded to the mild darkness of the evening, which slowly retreats towards the west, where the twilight continues to linger till a late hours All nature was enveloped in silence. Even, the tidel only transmitted at long intervals a few gentle waves towards the chasms in the rocks, and the monotonous harmony of their motion was almost lost in the immensity of space; when suddenly a faint noise was heard at a distance, which excited the vigilance of our travellers, who soon ascertained that it was occasioned by regular strokes of the oar. The sound gradually increased; as did the alarm of our party, who knew not whether it proceeded from friends or enemies. At first they were in hopes that the strangers would pass; but in this they were deceived, for the bark approached nearly alongside of their awny though this was not perceived by its crew. At length they' landed, vand began to pry about them; while their arms struck against the very bush which concealed our adventurers, whose sensations maybe more easily conceived than described the slightest emotion, sigh, or even breathing, might cause their destruation 11.In a short time they heard the banditti swearing at each other. They are not here," said the voices; "they have aymin979 silt to yiimod sit ditiv

"

gone further on, and we have missed them." Having thus regretted the loss of their prey, and that they had not been able to shed blood, they accused each other of tardiness and negligence, and each endeavoured to acquit himself of blame on such a noble occasion: indeed a eivil war seemed nearly breaking out among them, because they had lost the opportunity of committing a crime; while our travellers were themselves the unfortunate objects of their search, and at this instant were close to them! At last, they resolved to put off again in pursuit of the fugitives; expressing their hope that they should overtake them, and vowing vengeance for the fatigue they had thus fruitlessly experienced. With this intent they re-embarked; and the friendly oar soon dissipated the fears of our party, and delivered them from any further information of the projects of the banditti.

This adventure was sufficient to disgust them with nocturnal' navigation, while it tended to deter them from passing the night' at a distance from inhabited places: they therefore impatiently waited for the return of day; and, as soon as it appeared, gladly quitted a rock at which they had been in danger of termi nating at once their adventures and their life.

They continued, during the day, to cruize along the coast, the aspect of which was as wild and desolate as can be conceived, till they arrived at Zara. Rocks projecting at intervals, barren and shapeless thickets; no soil nor cultivation; the heavy verdure' of aromatic plants, mustic shrubs, fennel, henilock, and rue; a burning sun, producing a degree of heat almost insupportable; and the remembrance of the perils which they had escaped the preceding night;-such were the subject and the reflections which, during fourteen hours, fatigued their eyes, their senses, and' their imagination. At length, they reached Zara; where they waited upon Dr. Stratico and Captain Gerousi, two enlightened and amiable men; who by the most affable reception, endeavoured to make them forget the storms of Carnero, and the pirates of the Punta Dura.

Zara is the most considerable place which was possessed by the Venetians on the Continent; and is a bulwark against which the Turks have often made violent, though useless, attempts. The nearer you approach to this town, the more distant seem the isles which skirt the coast; the chafinel becomes wider, and the navigation less dangerous, particularly for large vessels. It was known to the Romans by the name of Jadera. According to Pliny and Ptolemy it was a Roman colony, and the capital of Liburnia; that is to say, of that space of country comprised be-' tween the rivers of Zermagne and Kerka, called by them the Tedanius and the Titius. In the middle age it bore the name of

Diadora, and it is the only town which has survived both the hand of time, and the wars which so long ravaged these unfortunate countries. M. Cassas does not coincide with the opinion of Fortis, who asserts that in the progress of centuries it has rather risen to prosperity than continued to decline. On the contrary, he says, every thing indicates that it was once more considerable than it is at present: but particularly the ruins of certain public monuments, which, from their nature, must have been situated within the town, though their remains now lie at a distance without the walls;-these being now not more than two miles in circumference, and containing in their compass five thousand in

habitants.

But however this may be, Zara, by its situation, is a town of the first importance. It is built on a tongue of land, or peninsula, which was attached to the Continent by an isthmus of only about 30 paces in width, and which is now intersected by ditches; so that Zara no longer has any communication with the main land except by draw-bridges, and is entirely surrounded by sea. At the head of the bridges just mentioned is a fort, which renders the approach difficult. : Its citadel, the fosses of which are cut in the rock, is excellent; and there have: been added three bastions, which are countermined, lined with free-stone, and covered with counterscarps. The curtins are defended with excellent ravelins; and the whole is surrounded with covered ways and glacis. This fortification was the residence of the superintendant general of Dalmatia.

The Venetians acquired the above-mentioned town at the beginning of the fifteenth century; at the time of the fraudulent negotiation which was entered into with them by Ladislas, king of Naples, who pretended to be likewise king of Hungary. In 1498, Bajazet, emperor of the Turks, attacked it with success; but the Venetians soon retook it, since which time it has been subject to their dominion.

In 1154 its bishoprick was changed into an archbishopric, the suuffragans of which are the bishops of Arbe, Vegia, and Ossuero., Our readers are, doubtless, surprised to hear of bishops in such small islands as these; but no one is ignorant with what prodigality such dignities were formerly lavished in Italy.

The public buildings in Zara are mostly magnificent: particularly the arsenals on land and water, the magazines, or ware - . houses on the quay, the civil and military hospitals, the barracks, and the palaces of the superintendant (who has two one in the town, and the other in the citadel already mentioned, in which latter he chiefly resides). The port is tolerably large, affords a convenient anchorage for vessels, and is defended by strong batteries.