the walls,
on which the flooring of the upper stories must have rested. At the main
entrance an oak case is rivetted into the wall to receive the beam,
which barred the door. At the foot of the hill is a ruined church, in
which some large shells of about thirteen inches diameter were strewed
about. One of these was lying on the road side, as though it had been
rolled from the castle above.

Having now seen all the lions of the neighbourhood, I bethought me of
leaving Mostar once more, but this time with the intention of working
northward. The ordinary route pursued by those whom business calls from
Mostar to Bosna Serai is by Konitza, a village situated on the frontier,
nearly due north of Mostar. To this course I at first inclined, but was
induced to change my plans by the prospect of some chamois-hunting, in
the valley of the Drechnitza. Having laid in a supply of bread and other
necessaries, we, i.e. M. Gyurcovich and myself, made an early start, in
hopes of reaching our destination on the same night.

Following the right bank of the Narenta, our course lay for a short time
through the northernmost of the two plains at whose junction Mostar is
situated. These, from the smooth and round appearance of the stones,
with which their surface is strewed, lead to the supposition that this
at one time was the bed of an important lake: this idea is confirmed by
the legends of the country, which affirm the existence of rings in the
sides of the mountains, to which it is rumoured that boats were moored
of old. Whether this be true or not, the appearance of the place lends
probability to the statement.

Shortly after leaving the town, there is a small square tower close to
and commanding the river, which is here fordable. As we proceeded
farther north it becomes rocky and narrow, and some small rapids occur
at intervals. The bad state of the roads, and the ill condition of our
baggage horses, rendered it necessary to halt several hours short of the
point which we had intended to reach that night. Having, therefore,
cleared out an outhouse devoted in general to looms, green tobacco,
hens, cats, and the like, we made our arrangements for passing the
night. While thus engaged a peasant brought me a tolerably large
specimen of silver ore, which he stated that he had found in the hills
on the Bosnian frontier, where he assured me that any amount was to be
obtained. His veracity I have no reason to doubt, although unable to
proceed