ly, I was very
comfortably housed, and fully appreciated a clean bed after the rough
'shakes down' to which I was accustomed. That the kitchen was
luxuriously stocked, I am not prepared to say; but the priest was
profuse in his apologies for the absence of meat, proffering as an
excuse that Roman Catholics do not eat it on Friday, a reason which
would scarcely hold good, as I arrived on a Saturday. Of eggs and
vegetables, however, there was no lack. Vegetable diet and dog Latin are
strong provocatives of thirst, and the number of times that I was
compelled to say '_ad salutem_' in the course of the evening was
astonishing. The old priest appeared more accustomed to these copious
libations than his younger assistant, who before he left the table
showed unmistakable signs of being 'well on.' Both vicar and curate wore
moustachios, and the flat-topped red fez, which distinguishes their
profession. The curate had received a certain amount of education at one
of the Bosnian convents, whence he had been sent to Rome, where he had,
at any rate, attained a tolerable proficiency in Italian, and a few
words of French. Another occupant of the house, who must not be allowed
to go unmentioned, was the priest's mother, a charming old lady in her
ninety-seventh year. Age had in no way impaired her faculties, and she
was more active and bustling than many would be with half her weight of
years.

In the evening the nephews made their appearance, having dined with the
domestics. The remaining hours were devoted to singing, if such can be
termed the monotonous drawl which constitutes the music of the country.
In this one of the brothers was considered very proficient: the subjects
of the songs are generally legendary feats of Christians against the
conquering Turks, which, however little they may have conduced to bar
the progress of the invaders, sound remarkably well in verse. Sometimes,
as in the present case, the voice is accompanied by the guesla, a kind
of violin with one or three strings.

The priest, although a man of small education and strong prejudices,
appeared to be possessed of much good sense. He deplored the state of
things in Herzegovina, and said that much misery would ensue from it,
not only there, but in all the neighbouring provinces. As an instance of
the severity of the government demands, he mentioned that 1,400
baggage-horses had been recently taken from the district of Livno alone,
as well as more than 400 horse