covered with ivy, which at present conveys the water to one of the mills. Some have supposed this to be the aqueduct of Trajan, which extended as far as Zara; but there are no concurrent vestiges to support the idea. We left the cascade at three o'clock, and arrived at Sebenico at seven. The creek is about 15 miles, forming itself at every turn into a succession of numerous lakes, but all the same barren forbidding scenery. We found H-w-ll just arrived at Sebenico, and hunting about the streets for accommodations, having been detained the two days by contrary winds. We met with our old difficulty in procuring rooms, but we had now learned to be less particular in our choice. Sebenico, situated in a soil which it is impossible for art or industry to convert to any cultivation, and obliged to depend for its provisions on extraneous supplies, cannot boast of having been a favourite residence of man. The Romans never thought of settling on its huge barren rocks; but in later times it was a more convenient port than Scardona to carry on commerce with Turkey. The origin, indeed, of Sebenico is curious, inasmuch as it is connected with that extraordinary race of people of whom the Venetian annals still tell many a tale, the fierce invincible Uscoques. This little nation (for so it may be called) possesses such a romantic history, that it has tempted me to collect, as far as I am able, from the natives and history, some of the outlines. The Uscoques were a band of pirates of the most savage and determined bravery. On the summit of the rock where now are the ruins of the citadel they first made their retreat: by degrees their power became more extensive, and their numbers and their plunder increased: they then constructed a few more huts at the foot of the rock with poles, which they term sebica, and hence rose the name of Sebenico. After the fall of Scardona many of the inhabitants joined the adventurous band; and their power and their renown rose to such a crisis, that their name carried terror through the Adriatic, and they have even ventured into regular wars with Venice, the first naval nation of the time. In fact, the corsairs of Lord Byron's muse were realized in the Uscoques; and the ruins which still crown that hill I could almost fancy to be Conrad's watch-tower, which "beetled o'er the bay." The first check that they received was the insurrection of their more peaceable citizens, who, tired of this barbarous life, delivered Sebenico into the hands of Venice July 12, 1412. These brigands, however, though deprived of a settled home, were not the less formidable: fostered by the policy of Austria, they long scoured the Adriatic sea, till 1616, when they were completely subdued and dispersed.* Their manners and their intrepidity still, however, are preserved in their descendants; who, at the present day, are to be found in that wild country near Hungary, between Carlstadt, Næustadt, and Agram. So much do the Italians dread them even now, that they have taken the same precautions that Cyrus did with the Lydians, and most severely punish them if they find them wearing arms. Near the waterfall of Scardona we saw a small chapel, which tradition says once belonged to this singular race. The town of Sebenico has been most strongly fortified, but all the works border on the middle of the seventeenth century: the walls bear the date of 1646. Two forts are erected on * The Uscoques, we find, were in 1549 settled at Segna, placed there by the Austrians to be a barrier between Croatia and Turkey. They were driven from it to the mountains by the Venetians in 1576. the hill which overlooks the town: one was built in 1649, the other ten years later, as this inscription over the gateway testifies: VALIDISSIMUM HOC IN HOSTES MUNIMENTUM AMPLIUS The town of Sebenico consists of narrow streets like Zara; but its cathedral is the handsomest religious edifice we had seen since we had left Venice. Its northern entrance is a superb specimen of Saracenic, rich with oriental profusion, while its near approach to Gothic has long rendered me a proselyte to its style. The traffic of Sebenico appeared to us to be particularly lively; but this might be owing to there being a fair during the time we were there. To this circumstance we were greatly indebted for seeing one of the customs of the Morlaques, the name of the natives of Dalmatia. On the festival of St. Anne they assembled in their great square and danced their national dance, which they term in Sclavonic "kolo," or circle. They hold each other's hands across, that is, the right of one person holds the right of the other, and, ranged in a circle, they proceed slowly round and round in a kind of step, and to the sound of a song or shout which they utter. After a certain time this changes to a quick dance, called "skorigori," or high leaps, which is merely performing the same round quicker, and setting to one another with the most extravagant leaps. The women as well as the men are very much addicted to this amusement, and are equally riotous in the exercise. There was a wildness in the scene that I had hitherto been quite unaccustomed to. The shadowy light of the moon upon the rich Saracenic architecture of the cathedral, the fanciful costume and rude shouts of the dancers, the time, the place, and the action were in perfect but strange unison. Some fireworks closed the festival; mere rockets and catherine wheels, which the good people thought superb. We did not stay at Sebenico longer than was necessary, for the inn was not only infamous, but infested with vermin. To give an idea of what are called inns in Dalmatia, I find impossible; but Baron Polnitz, speaking of those in Spain, mentions some of their traits. "On ne |