venture to allow a year to
elapse without a visit to the springs; they generally remain there for
two or three days, and during that time drink at stated hours gallon
after gallon of the medicated fluid. The following night I arrived at
Boosovatz, where I left the Travnik road, which I had been retracing up
to that point. The water of the Bosna is here beautifully transparent;
and at about an hour's distance is a spring, the water of which is
considered the best in Bosnia. The Pacha has it brought in all the way
to Serayevo, yet, notwithstanding this, I saw many persons in the
village suffering from goitre, a by no means uncommon complaint in
Bosnia. The cause for the prevalence of this affliction is difficult to
understand, unless we attribute it to the use of the river water, which
is at times much swollen by the melting snow.

10th November: rain fell in torrents, much to my disgust, as the scenery
was very beautiful. The road, which is a portion of the old road
constructed by Omer Pacha, skirts the banks of the river, which winds
sometimes amongst steep wooded hills, at others in the smooth green
plains. At one point we were obliged to ford it; the stream was rather
deep and rapid, and I certainly experienced a sensation of relief when I
saw my baggage pony fairly landed on the opposite bank, without further
injury to his load than a slight immersion. The fishing of the Bosna is
not so good as that of the Narento and some other rivers of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Let me not be accused of a partiality for travellers'
tales, when I say that trout of 60 lbs. have been killed in the latter
province. In external colour these are veritable trout, the flesh,
however, having a yellowish appearance, something between the colour of
trout and salmon; the smaller fish are of excellent quality and are
very abundant. Three hours after leaving Boosovatz we reached Tzenitza,
a small town where a little trade is carried on. While sitting in the
public room of the khan, the post from Brod arrived en route to Bosna
Serai. The man who carried it came in wet and mud-bespattered, and
declared the road to be quite impassable; a bit of self-glorification
which I took for what it was worth. Had I not been pressed for time I
should have myself been inclined to give way to the importunities of all
concerned, to postpone my journey to Vranduk until the following day;
but seeing no prospect of any improvement in the weather, I deemed it
prudent t