communicated under the sea with a small fort on the opposite side of the bay fortunately for those who wish to believe it, the truth cannot be put to the test, as the passage is no longer practicable. The last works of man bestowed on Pola are the small forts constructed by the French in the late war, and which, commanding every side of the bay, render it inaccessible to an enemy. Never indeed was there a more admirable port than that of Pola; it is entirely sheltered from the wind, and is so deep that ships of tolerable burthen may anchor close to shore. When therefore the ancient gallies could enjoy these advantages, and yet from relying chiefly on their oars be independent of the wind in getting out of harbour, is it to be wondered that Pola was a favourite colony of Rome? On the gifts indeed of her imperial mistress must all her reputation rest; she exists at present but a wretched collection of hovels built with the fragments of antiquity, her population does not exceed five hundred souls, and we experienced the greatest difficulty in finding a place which could pro Under Marmont. vide us with beds. Forbidding also is the aspect of the country; large tracts of heath, covered with huge stones, are hardly rendered more pleasing to the eye by a few scanty patches of Indian corn, or even by the low copses of myrtle and some straggling olives, which the luxuriant climate have produced. The people are wild in their appearance and dress; they wear small red caps on their heads, from which the hair escapes in two long braids on each side of the head; the women delight in a profusion of finery and ornaments. Rude, however, as was the exterior of the natives, their manners are simple and mild, and fraught with great anxiety to please. Most astonishing do I conceive it, after the great fund of instruction and amusement that Pola affords, that it should both be so little visited or known by travellers*, and so neglected by literary research. Neither at Venice nor at * If we remain ignorant of the manners of Istria and Dalmatia, the natives also are equally unaware of what passes beyond their own native shores: many are transferred from one sovereignty to another, without being conscious of the cause of these revolutions. Madame de Staël is perfectly right when she says the English are the people they are best acquainted with. Our naval exploits prevent our being forgotten. Trieste could we procure any work which treated of the coast of Istria; and the inconvenience which we experienced from being destitute of information, has induced me to be rather more diffuse in my remarks. CHAPTER III. DALMATIA-POLA TO ZARA AND SEBENICO. Je me plairais a voir tous les pays où il y a dans les mœurs, dans les costumes, dans le langage quelque chose d'original. Le monde civilisé est bien monotone, et l'on en connait tout en peu de temps.-Madame de Staël. WE found our mariners at Pola true Italians: they wished to persuade us at first the wind was not favourable, and then they conjured up a thousand horrors of a dangerous sea and hidden rocks, &c. We however insisted on setting sail, and about six on a fine afternoon (July 20), took our leave of the bay of Pola. Of all situations, that from the bay is without doubt the finest for viewing the amphitheatre: it stands at the head of the port, nobly single, none of its proportions lost or concealed among buildings; a few shrubs and trees here and there shadow the outline: the elevation on which it stands slopes gently to the sea; in fact, with out considering it as a building, its site is the loveliest imaginable. We came to anchor that night in a small creek, distant seven miles from Pola, and found ourselves now completely reconciled to our bivouacking system. The next morning we started at four o'clock with a delightful breeze, which carried us to Zara, one hundred and sixty French miles, in fourteen hours. The sail afforded us a variety of novel prospects: we were embosomed amidst numerous isles consisting of barren hills, with scarcely any traces of being inhabited. At the end of the island of Orsera the lofty mountains of Croatia burst on our view, their rocky masses not even concealed by the pines or other trees which clothe the Alps. At six o'clock we came to anchor under the walls of Zara. We were detained a long time at the gates by a douanier, who could neither read nor write; and when at last we were conducted to the inn, it looked so filthy, that we did not like to abide there. We then ransacked the whole town to see if we could procure private lodgings, and were shown to such habitations, that an Englishman with his notions of comfort could hardly believe to exist. We seated ourselves at last in |