; \Sc^ssiam PICTURESQUE VIEWS OF THE ANTIQUITIES OF POLA, IN I S T III A. BY THOMAS ALLASON, ARCHITECT. THE PLATES ENGRAVED RY W. B. COOKE, GEORGE COOKE, HENRY MOSES, AND COSMO ARMSTRONG. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET; J. TAYLOR, HOLBORN; J. AND A. ARCH, CORNHILL; J. BOOTH, DUKE-STREET; AND COLNAGHI AND CO. COCKSPUR-STREET. 1819 - TO THE SOCIETY OF DILETTANTI, THIS VOLUME, CONTAINING VIEWS OF THE ANTIQUITIES OF POLA, AND BEING OF A CHARACTER THAT MAY CLAIM AN ASSOCIATION WITH THOSE WORKS WHICH ARE HONOURED BY THEIR PATRONAGE, •J/Sj SrfltcatcTf, WITH THE GREATEST RESPECT, BY THEIR OBEDIENT, HUMBLE SERVANT, THOMAS ALLASON. LIST OF PLATES. FRONTISPIECE . VIEW OF TRIESTE . GENERAL VIEW OF POLA . THE AMPHITHEATRE . THE TEMPLE OF AUGUSTUS . POSTERIOR VIEW OF THE TWO TEMPLES THE ARCH OF THE SERGII . SIDE VIEW OF THE ARCH OF THE SERGII GATEWAY . PLANS, .. VIGNETTES. ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS . FRAGMENTS FOUND AT ELIS FRAGMENTS OF STELAS . ANTIQUE STATUE OF BACCHUS 14 INTRODUCTION. The Views which compose this volume were originally drawn from the objects themselves, with the sole motive of advancing my own professional knowledge. Indeed, at the time I first turned my attention to these splendid remains of ancient greatness, I presumed that such drawings had already been made, and sucli descriptions given, of the Antiquities of Pola, by those who were fully competent to the task, as must have anticipated every attempt to offer an additional illustration of them. I was also aware that the researches of Mr. Stuart, who had acquired such distinguished reputa- *2 tion by his work on the Architectural Edifices of Greece, were about to be published respecting these ruins. On my return, however, to England, in 1816, after visiting the most celebrated remains of Italy and Greece, impressed, as l was, with the beauty and consequence of those of Pola, 1 could not but feel a proportionate surprise at the imperfect and inadequate representations of them which had been published. In this remark I do not hesitate to include the delineations of them given in the subsequent volume of Stuart (edited by Mr. Joseph Woods) failing, as it does, to afford just and accurate ideas of them. I trust, there¬ fore, that I shall not be considered as entertaining too high an opinion of my own endeavours, when I offer this collection to the public, under a persua¬ sion that it will be found to contain more correct views of these interesting and beautiful structures, than have hitherto been presented to the patrons and admirers of I he Fine Arts, among which Architecture holds such a pre-eminent rank. This work contains Views and Plans of the Buildings at Pola which appear in the posthumous volume of Stuart: they consist of the Amphi¬ theatre, tin* Temple of Augustus, and the Arch of the Sergii; to which is now added, the Archway between the City and the Amphitheatre, exposed by the French, in the spring of the year 1814, when they demolished the walls surrounding the town within which it was concealed. By their bar¬ barous and wanton spoliation of the buildings, the various ornamented parts of the I riumphal Arch, as also the Temple of Augustus, have been consider¬ ably mutilated and defaced, and consequently much changed in their appearance since the period of Mr. Stuart s examination of them : nor is it 3 improbable, that, in the course of a few years, scarce a vestige of these admired structures will be found to exist. To the particular views already mentioned is added one of the City and Port of Trieste. Having submitted these observations, which seemed to be essential in publishing a work so immediately after that by Stuart on the same subject, it may be necessary to add that I have laboured principally to supply what I conceive to be its defects. His views of most of the buildings by no means convey adequate ideas of their taste, simplicity, and elegance. This remark extends, in a great measure, to all the views from the pencil of Stuart, but particularly to those of the Acropolis of Athens, which are extremely imperfect*. It is a matter of some surprise, that the almost exclusive merit of having measured and drawn the Antiquities of Athens, &c. should have been attributed to that gentleman, when, in fact, so small a share of that valuable work was the result of his personal labour and experience. It will appear, on referring to the original materials, that Revett measured and delineated the principal part, if not the whole, of the Architectural subjects, while Pars contributed several of the Views, and the more considerable por¬ tion of the Sculptures contained in the second and third volumes; some of the Plates, also, were added by Reveley ; thus leaving little more than the Edi¬ torship to Stuart, who, it must be acknowledged, deserves no common praise for his very careful and judicious arrangement of the whole. * It deserves to be remarked, that Stuart and Revett have omitted to notice the Extwt. 5 , or swelling, in the columns of the Parthenon, the Temple of Theseus, the Propyl6a, &c. &c. when it is so very apparent, not only in those structures, but in all the remaining Antiquities of Greece. It may however be proper to state, that this circumstance has likewise escaped the observation of more recent travellers, who, from a long residence at Athens, may be presumed to have had greater facilities of ascertaining every minute cir¬ cumstance relating to these splendid ruins. 4 II will not, I trust, be understood by the preceding remarks, that. I enter¬ tain the slightest wish to undervalue the real talents for which Mr. Stuart was distinguished. Truth, I doubt not, will shield me from the charge of presumption on account of my having mentioned the defects so prominent in the work that bears his name : at the same time I feel it a duty to prevent, by my endeavours, the very important services of Mr. Revet! from being obscured by those of his more fortunate lellow traveller. It may be proper to observe, that I enjoyed the advantage and pleasure of accompanying Mr. John Spencer Stanhope and Mr. Edward Stanhope, in their tour through Greece, a part of which is related in the following pages. The former of these gentlemen is well known by his work on the Topography of the Battle of Plataea. For our voyage to Pola a small boat was engaged at Trieste, and in our way we touched at Parenzo and Rovigno. In the former of these towns are some remains of antiquity. Among others of inferior note is the foundation of a Temple of the Corinthian order, two of the columns of which are in tolerable preservation. The latter place possesses the importance that is c derived from its trade and a population of ten thousand persons. From the situation, which is peninsular and on a rock, it presents a romantic appear¬ ance. Its quarries, which furnish stone for Venice and all the neighbouring towns, form a considerable source of opulence to the inhabitants. The build¬ ings are well constructed, and of a handsome exterior. The cathedral, which is a large Gothic structure, stands majestically on the most elevated part of the town. It is remarkable for the height and beauty of its steeple, which seems to be erected upon the same plan as I hat of St. Mark, at Venice. In the afternoon of the following day we entered the Bay of Pola, when the magnificent Amphitheatre burst upon our view. Taken in all its cir¬ cumstances, it is an object which has no rival among those remains of former times that attract the researches of the Antiquarian Traveller. The town is situated at the bottom of a deep bay, which is spacious and land-locked, so that vessels find it a commodious haven at all times, secured from the tremendous hurricanes frequent in these seas. As we advanced, the walls of the town bore the appearance of a Roman fortification, with battlements, towers, &c. from a rock m the centre of the place rises a citadel, guarded by four bastions, whose ruinous state marks the destructive spirit of the French, who had been in possession of Pola a short time previous to our arrival. On entering the port we passed between two small craggy islands, about halt a mile from the shore, on which are erected two forts, for the defence 7 of the town. On landing we were detained, as usual, for a short time, until our bill of health was examined ; a very necessary precaution wherever there is any intercourse with the Levant. Of the ancient maritime towns of Istria—Tergeste, iEgida, Parentium, and Pola, now known by the names of Trieste, Capo d’lstria, Parenzo and Pola —the latter is the only place at present distinguished by any remains of antiquity that prove its former importance. These consist of an Amphi¬ theatre, a Temple dedicated to Rome and Augustus Caesar, with the remains of another structure contiguous to it, which according to the dubious tradi¬ tion retained by the inhabitants, was erected for the worship of Diana. It may with probability be conjectured, that the Cathedral occupies the site of a similar erection, from the numerous fragments which are discovered on and about it. There are also the Arch of the Sergii, and a Gateway which appears to have led to the Amphitheatre, together with remains of inscrip¬ tions, columns, cornices, and ornaments, scattered over the town. Palladio and Serlio both mention a Theatre, of which, however, there is not anv vestige, but its site is easily recognized. The population of Pola is even diminished since the periods when it was visited by \\ heler and Stuart, and at this time does not exceed seven hun¬ dred souls, while every thing around displays an air of poverty and wretch¬ edness. Idle chief occupation of the inhabitants is fishing, which supplies the lower classes with food, and affords an article for exportation. They have likewise an abundance of every kind of provision, which is cheap and of the best quality; and it is owing only to the indolence of the inlia- 8 bitants that they are not plentifully supplied with the finest water. The surrounding country is beautifully diversified with hills and fertile vallies, which, where cultivated, produce excellent corn, wine, and oil, with fruits of almost every description. The neighbouring hills and rocks are also said to abound with curious and valuable plants. It must seem an extraordinary instance of political negligence that a town so circumstanced should be suffered to remain in such a ruinous and impo¬ verished state. When we consider the fertility of its soil, the advantages derivable from its fisheries, and its having the finest port in the Adriatic, which may be said to command those of Trieste and Fiume, it must create no common surprise that the Austrian government should be so in¬ sensible to its importance as not to encourage, by every possible means, the increase of its population and the extension of its trade. Besides, no part of the maritime possessions of this empire is so well calculated for a naval station to protect its ports, or so capable of overawing the coasts of Italy and Dalmatia. This inattention is only to be accounted for by its distance from the seat of government and the proverbial unhealthiness of the climate itself: though the latter objection might be soon remedied, as the marshes behind the town, to which its unsalutary air is attributed, might be easily and effectually drained. Sir George Wheler, an eminent antiquary and Oriental traveller of his day, describes its origin, on the authority of Callimachus, as a colony of the Cliolei, who pursued the Argonauts by sea, and having miscarried in their expedition, were fearful of returning. They therefore voluntarily 9 banished themselves from their country, and settled here, giving their new city the name of Pola, which signifies, according to Strabo, Exile. Some writers have maintained that the name of Istria was given by the Cholci, who before their disembarkation at Pola arrived at the Danube, which was then called Ister; but Spoil, who was the companion of Wlieler in his Travels, treats this notion with the ridicule it deserves. He justly remarks, that if they had come to the Danube, they must have been obliged to carry their vessels upon their shoulders, before they could disembark at Pola, that river having no communication whatever with I lie Adriatic sea. The town must in time have arisen into consideration and prosperity, the Romans honouring it so far as to render it a part of their empire, when it received the title of Respublica Polensis. This is evident from the inscription found on one of the sides of the base of a statue raised in honour of the Emperor Severus, and which may still be seen at the entrance of the church at Pola. From the beauty and perfection of what still remains of the ancient city, it may be presumed that its principal buildings were of the Augustan age; at which period its population must have been very numerous, as the Amphi¬ theatre alone would have accommodated twenty thousand spectators. The port was a convenient station for part of I he Roman navy, during their wars in Illyricum and Pannonia, when Istria was annexed to Italy. The inscrip¬ tions, which are still to be seen, confirm the opinion that Pola remained in a flourishing state from the time of Augustus to Cincinnatus. How long- before or after this period this place enjoyed the prosperity which it could then boast, it would be a fruitless attempt to discover. n A 10 To give an additional interest to the foregoing account of Pola, I shall add a description of Istria and Dalmatia, to the former of which it may be said to belong. These connected countries, not having been within the usual route of travellers, are comparatively but little known. I am there¬ fore induced to give a description of them, with remarks on their ancient and modern history, as well as the origin, manners, and customs of their present inhabitants. For this addition I must acknowledge myself indebted to the instructive and ingenious Itinerary of F. L. Cassas. Jj 12 THE AMPHITHEATRE. This magnificent structure is situated without the town, and is one of the most striking, beautiful, and perfect monuments of Antiquity. The majesty of its mass—the delightful verdure of the coasts which it crowns—the calm state of the water which approaches its walls and reflects its august figure— the almost religious veneration which arises in the mind on viewing such splendid remains of grandeur—all conspire to awaken a sensation of pleasing melancholy, which words cannot adequately describe. The walls of the Amphitheatre are still entire, and Jts form is suited to its character, being an ellipsis, whose largest diameter is nearly North and South, and measures 436.6,'; its shortest, 346.2 : in the more perfect parts its height is 97 feet. I his splendid edifice is scarcely exceeded in magnificence by that of the Colliseum at Rome, while in dimensions if is in a very small degree only inferior to the Amphitheatre of Verona. The exterior is rusticated, having two orders of Tuscan pilasters, one above the other, the lower being placed upon pedestals. The whole circumference is divided into seventy-two arches, the two at the extremities being higher and wider than the rest. The height is divided into three stories, and, by its particular construction, displays an uncommon lightness and elegance of effect. The whole is con¬ structed of Istrian stone, which is ot a very superior quality, and both in appearance and durability equal to the finest marble. It is placed on the western declivity of a hill, which a little below its surface is solid rock. The Architect appears to have availed himself of I Ins situation to lessen the expense, which an erection of such spacious dimensions must have required, if it had been on level ground. This circumstance has, however, wise diminished the grandeur of its principal aspect. in no- 14 THE TWO TEMPLES. These Temples, which bear the character of the most splendid aera of Architecture, occupy one side of llie modern piazza, or market-place, which was the site of the ancient Forum. From their present appearance it is evi¬ dent. that, in their perfect state, they were exactly similar, as well in dimen¬ sions as in ornament ; the porticos of both ranging in the same line. They are about seventy feet apart, and built of a curious speckled marble of great beauty. The most perfect of them is dedicated to Rome and Augustus Caesar. Il is of the Corinthian order, of the prospect prostylos, having the intercolumniation of two diameters, with this exception, that the central intercolumniation is two diameters and a quarter. The pediment is sus¬ tained by four columns, and forms, with the two lateral ones, an open portico, leading to the interior of the edifice. The basement ranges round the building, to which was an ascent by a flight of steps in front; but no vestige remains of them. The bases of the columns are without plinths; the capitals are wrought with olive leaves, and the volutes are invested with foliage of oak. The circumference of the frieze is exquisitely sculptured in foliage, and the modi 11 ions and cornice have a richness and delicacy of effect which rival the best works of the Augustan age. The inscription in I he frieze of the portico consisted of metallic letters inserted in the marble and projected from the surface. The holes, in which they were fixed, remain, so that they may be readily traced, and the consecrated character of the structure may from hence be determined. In the tympanum of the pedi¬ ment a circular channel is sunk, in which a medallion of bronze must have . 16 been fixed, as appears by the tinge of green in several parts of it. Stuart conjectures that il contained a bust of I lie emperor Augustus. Phe other temple is said by the inhabitants to have been dedicated to Diana; hut the authority of Vitruvius is by no means favourable to such an opinion, as he informs us that the ancients used to consecrate the temples which were built in their public squares to Mercury and Isis, as the tutelary divinities of Traffic and Merchandize. 13u I indeed of this structure so little remains, that it would be difficult to conjecture, with any degree of probability, in whose honour it was erected. The building which now connects these two temples is the residence of the Austrian commander, though it may be sup¬ posed to have originally formed a portion of the two sacred buildings, as in the triple temple ol Minerva Polias, in the Acropolis of Athens. I ARCH OF THE SERGI1. This is a beautiful and elegant structure, very justly admired for its simplicity and admirable proportions. This line monument consists of a single arch, with Corinthian columns, which support the entablature, and is one of the principal entrances to the town, under the name of Porta Aurata. Il appears to have been built, as one of the inscriptions announces, at the expence of a Roman lady, named Salvia Posthuma, as a testimony of affec¬ tion to her husband, Sergius Lepidius, AEdile and Military Tribune of the 29th Legion, and to testify her regard to two others o! her family w ho commanded in those countries. There are three pedestals on the top of the arch, each of which probably supported an appropriate statue. In the centre was the figure of the Roman to whom the monument is consecrated ; on the right, that of his father, Lucius Sergius, AEdile and Duumvir; and on the left, his uncle, Cneius Sergius, who was likewise iEdile and Duumvir for five years. The inscriptions are on the interior front towards the town, and facing the port. On this side also the architecture is perfect, and altogether exposed : but on the opposite side, towards the country, the building has been left unfinished ; neither the mouldings are wrought nor the ornaments and capitals more than hosted out; it is probable, therefore, that this side has been always enclosed as it is at. present. The costliness of the building exhibits, in a strong light, the wealth and power of a people, among whom private individuals could raise such splendid monuments to the memory of their relatives and ancestors. It would be difficult to determine the time of its erection, as the inscriptions offer only the names of the persons to whom ; A 20 they relate, and the offices which were borne by them. This arch appears to have been a proud memorial of pious affection ; but does not bear any mark of a sepulchral character. It is built of the same stone as the Amphi¬ theatre, but the mouldings and ornaments are not so exquisitely wrought as those of the Temple of Augustus. GATEWAY. This Gateway originally consisted of three arches, and probably formed a communication from the town to the Amphitheatre, as it is situated imme¬ diately opposite that edifice, and, from its style and construction, may be supposed to have been erected about the same period. The columns are about sixteen feet six inches in height, with capitals singularly composed of foliage, &c. supporting a frieze surmounted by a cornice, highly enriched with modillions. The key-stones and spandrils have several small square perforations, for receiving metal for the support of sculpture : there also appears to have been an inscription in the sunk pannel of the fiieze. 1 he existing remains consist only of two arches, which, excepting the capitals of the columns, are in good preservation. The Mr. Stanhopes and myself accidentally discovered this piece of archi¬ tecture. The French, who had quitted the town a short time previous to our arrival, had reduced to ruins the walls and citadel, and within the former this Gateway was enclosed and concealed. On examining ibis scene of wanton demolition, a portion of the cornice was discovered : that circum¬ stance, on further inspection, encouraged an excavation, by which we were enabled to take the necessary dimensions for the restoration of the whole. ' REMARKS ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY I STRIA AND DALMATIA, ORIGIN, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS PRESENT INHABITANTS. II ISTRIA AND DALMATIA. Istria and Dalmatia are entitled to the particular attention of all lovers of philosophy and the fine arts; and, perhaps, they have reason to complain of the indifference with which they have hitherto been treated. The writers who have described them are now known to very few; a circumstance which must be referred to the dryness of their detail—to an absence of regard to the human race, (an essential qualification in the individual who travels for his own information, and the improvement of human nature in general), and to that want of sagacity which ne¬ glects the analysis of things, in order to adhere to an uninteresting description of objects. The progress of reason has developed this important truth, that every book, to be useful, must engage the heart; and that the subject, which is intended to make a durable impression, must be founded in sentiment. It is probably the ignorance of this precept that has hitherto rendered education a long, laborious, and frequently an unsuccessful task, and consigned so many books to the dusty shelves of our libraries. If an appeal were made to the heart, rather than the mind, none would be found averse from study; there being no science, however abstract, which is not connected with sensibility by some thread : it belongs to genius to discover that thread, and bring it into action. Istria is a peninsula with a very wide entrance, advancing into the northern part of the Adriatic: its longitude, reckoning from the meridian of Paris, is comprised between 11.15 and 12.30; and its latitude between 44.55 and 45.50. Dalmatia, with its little dependent isles, and the different parts bordering on Hungary and Turkey, forms what is called Illyria, a name which has been revived in modern times by the Austrian government. It is situated on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, and extends in lon yet knowing how to dissemble her resentment, she dismissed the ambassadors with a feigned moderation; but they had scarcely quitted the palace before she caused them to be massacred. As soon as the news reached Rome, the Senate made every preparation for re¬ venge, and perhaps this was the only war in which the Romans could not be reproached with sacrificing equity to policy. War was declared against the Illyrians with unprecedented solem¬ nity, and they were attacked by a naval and military force at the same time. The two consuls divided the command between them; Cn. Fulvius Centumalus commanded the fleet, and L. Poslhumius Albinus the army. Teuta was at that time engaged in a war with Greece, and saw with alarm the formidable preparations that Rome was making against her. She doubted her ability to contend with two such powers; and in tliis critical situation she attempted to sooth the anger of the Republic. In order to settle the terms of peace, she disavowed the murder of the ambassadors, and pro¬ posed to deliver up the assassins. Negotiations were commenced; but, in consequence of a considerable advantage which the Illyrians had gained over the Greeks, Teula’s hopes and vanity were rekindled; she broke off the conferences, and recalled her envoys. This fresh injury did but increase the resentment of the Romans, who now meditated nothing but the reduction of this perfidious queen. 30 The first campaign was successful. Centumalus, at the head of the fleet, made himself master not only of all those islands which serve as a barrier to the Dalmatian coast, but likewise of all the fortresses and important posts on the continental shore. Albinus on his side, at the head of the legions, penetrated the interior of Illyria, and, by successive defeats, drove Teuta to the very borders of her dominions. ‘Winter suspended the military operations, but not the anxieties of Teuta: she perceived the depth of the abyss into which her imprudent and criminal conduct had hurried her. It was not to be disguised, that unless the commencement of a second campaign were prevented, she and her son would be undoubtedly stripped of their posses¬ sions, perhaps made prisoners, and destined to adorn a consular triumph ; a custom which was the master-piece of Roman policy, as it infused a panic into the minds of sovereigns; and thus assisted the Republic, more efficiently than the terror of its arms, to grasp those pro¬ vinces which victory had not acquired, and was the origin of treaties beneficial only to the Romans. Teuta, finding herself in this humiliated condition, resolved to send ambassadors to Rome to sue for pardon: she endeavoured to excite their commiseration towards her son, who, she pleaded, should not be made to suffer the punishment due to her imprudences: she excused herself under the plea of that weakness which was common to her sex, the bad counsels by which she had been surrounded, and the influence of those circumstances which had hurried her away in opposition to her own inclination. This was concluded by a request to the Senate to dic¬ tate the conditions of peace: they were severe, but nevertheless such as she had reason to expect, and as her perfidy merited. The kingdom of Illyria was declared tributary to the Republic ; and the Senate decreed, that such portion of it as was most convenient to the Roman govern¬ ment should be dismembered. The islands of Corcyra, of Pharos, and of Issa, the city of Dyrrachium, and the country of the Attintates, were added to the Roman dominions. With these conditions, the Senate consented to replace the young Pineus on the throne; but Teuta was required to renounce the regency in favour of one Demetrius of Pharos, whose machi¬ nations had been useful to the Romans during the Illyrian war. I he prudence of the Senate cannot be recognized in this choice. Demetrius lost no time in turning his duplicity against his benefactors, and making them repent of the predilection with which they had honoured him. Illyria was no sooner reduced to peace, than Rome was involved in a war with the Gauls, which however was happily terminated by the famous victory of l.'elamon ; notwithstanding much previous fluctuation of success and the defeat at Clusium had rendered the aspect of affairs extremely alarming. Demetrius considered this a favourable opportunity of throwing oft the yoke ; and, having raised some troops, penetrated into those countries which had been ceded by treaty, expelled the feeble garrisons, and carried fire and sword to the very territories in alliance with the Republic. The Romans dissembled all resentment during their contest with the Gauls; but, as soon as it was terminated, they turned their whole force against the traitor who had taken advantage of their perplexities. The two consuls, M. Livius Salinator and L. iEmilius Paulus, marched against him. Demetrius was unable to resist such armies; and being beaten on all sides, he shut himself up in Dimala, the strongest and most important place 31 in Illyria. Here he sustained a long and painful siege; but the city was finally taken, and Demetrius was compelled to shelter himself in Pharos, his native country. He alone being the object of their hatred, the town of Pharos was carried by assault, plundered, and ordered to be razed. The traitor, however, had the good fortune to escape the punishment he so richly deserved, by flying to the protection of the King of Macedonia. Pineus was permitted to reign, and affairs were re-established according to the treaty with Teuta; thus convincing the world that the sole object of the war was to punish Demetrius. If Pineus was not so perfidious as Demetrius, he was certainly not more grateful. When Rome was driven to the last extremity by the fatal events of the second Punic War, Pineus neglected to imilate the example of those states in alliance with her, which had vied with each other in rendering their assistance. Although Hannibal was at her gates, she could not be blind to an indifference that bordered on treason. With scarcely a vestige of power but what was within her walls, she yet preserved the characteristic pride of her government, and immediately sent an order to Pineus to pay without delay the tribute that was due, or to give hostages as a guarantee for the payment: and such was the terror inspired by the Roman name, that the order was instantly obeyed. History is silent with respect to these countries for nearly a century subsequent to that period; when Dalmatia was subjugated by L. Ceecilius Mctellus. The pride of the Republic, con¬ tinually augmented by illustrious conquests, was insensibly deteriorating the virtues of the ancient Romans. Vanity, the usual concomitant of ordinary talents, was beginning to make men of mean pretensions aspire to those honours which had been reserved for such as had disinguished themselves in war; the pomp of triumphs and titular honour was become the object of the consuls and generals; and, as is usually the case, men without talents and genius, endeavoured to supply their want of virtue by the glittering appearance of it. Many of their unjust wars and easy conquests, which contributed nothing to the glory of the Roman name, must be attri¬ buted to this puerile ambition. Among them may be reckoned the reduction of the Japodes, a people of Illyria, inhabiting the district between the Save and the Adriatic Gulf, which cost Sempronius Tuditanus but one campaign, and gained him the honours of a triumph: then again the war with the Dalmatians, which was undertaken without any obvious reason, and fomented by the cabals of L. Ceecilius Metellus. Jealousy and pride were equally active in the intrigues of this man. His relative, Quintus Metellus, had some years before obtained the triumph and assumed the pompous title of Balearicus, for an easy conquest of the Balearic islands. The desire of emulating this fortunate kinsman stimulated Cajcilius to leave nothing unattempled which might procure him the same honour, and, by his intrigues, he obtained the command of an army with which he subdued Dalmatia. It was easy to foresee, that a people without soldiers, unac¬ quainted with military tactics, and who were merely attached to piracy, a branch of the profession of arms that disgraces it, would not resolve to contend with a power which had just astonished the world by the destruction of Carthage: so that Ceecilius Metellus and his army found no great obstacles in gathering laurels, as they wished it to be imagined; 32 for they were received rather as friends than as conquerors. That general passed the winter at Salona, and his abode there was signalized by festivities and games. The Dalmatians sub¬ mitted to the laws of the Republic without: opposition : and the pretended conqueror returned to Rome, where he received a triumph, and the name of Dalmaticus was added to his own. Istria and Dalmatia were quiet spectators of the famous commotions which agitated Rome for nearly a century. Lucullus, Sylla, Marius, Cinna, Carbo, Pompey, and Crnsar, were suc¬ cessively the great actors on that theatre of heroism and of crimes; and finally, by the overthrow of Antonv, the dominions of the Republic were subjected to the despotic will of Octavius. Xlie good fortune of one man changed the organization of the world ; and, in the division of the provinces, art full v made by Augustus with the Senate, Dalmatia fell to the share of the latter. Augustus effected this change under the pretext of relieving the Senate from a portion of their heavy burthens; but his real object was, to possess himself of all those frontiers which were continually occupied with troops; a position which enabled him alike to awe the Senate and the bordering enemies. The Senate did not perceive the snare which Augustus had laid for them; and as, in looking at the new organization, they merely had in view the increase of employments to dispense amongst their creatures, they did not exclaim against a disposition which gave the last blow to expiring liberty, and would provide the successors of Augustus additional pretexts for increasing their tyranny. The Senate, by the avarice of the Proconsuls, or the excessive exactions of the Questors, abused the feeble right which remained to them. The pro¬ vinces revolted, as Augustus had foreseen, and the Emperors were eventually obliged to unite them with the Empire, in order to prevent future insubordination. Such was the origin of those seditions which agitated that vast power for so many ages; such the first and probably most active cause of the decline of the Roman Empire ; and which at least prepared the event which we are about to relate. Dalmatia, as before observed, was governed by the Senate; but it had not been subject to their conlroul more than sixteen years before commotions were excited by excessive taxation, and the barbarous manner in which the taxes were collected. Augustus dispatched Tiberius with troops to quell these disturbances, and took the province under his administration. Tran¬ quillity was re-established but for a time ; the exactions continued, and consequently the cause of discontent and the seeds of revolt remained. These occurrences look place in the year of Rome 741. In 757, eight years before the death of Augustus, this same Tiberius had subdued a great part of Germany. To strengthen these conquests, it was necessary to reduce the newly- acquired power of Marabodnus, whose talents and ambition made him formidable to the empire. Marabodnus was descended from one of the most illustrious families of the Marcomans, and, having been educated at the court of Augustus, was perfectly skilled in the arts and tactics of the Romans, which easily gained him an ascendency over his barbarous countrymen. Reing chosen chief of the Marcomans, and finding himself constrained by the neighbouring power of Drusus, whose victories appeared an obstacle to his projects of grandeur, he induced his 33 countrymen to make a general emigration. He fixed his new empire in Bohemia, where, with an army of eighty thousand men, disciplined according to the Roman system, he was enabled to command considerable respect even from the Roman Empire. Tiberius appreciated the talents of the new enemy too highly to attack him with the legions he had under his command : he therefore entrusted them to Sentius Saturninus, with orders to penetrate Bohemia by the forest of Hercynia, whilst he collected at Carnunta, an important town on the Danube, not only the legions of Pannonia, but also the numerous levies that he had made in Dalmatia, and which lie had ordered Valerius Messalinus to bring him. In the midst of the preparations for the overthrow of Marobodnus, an unexpected insurrection of the most alarming nature suddenly broke out in Pannonia and Dalmatia. Whether all equally resisted the despotism of the Romans; whether the heads of this revolt, (who by a singular coincidence were of the same name, Bato), had concerted measures with an extraordinary secresy; whether Marobodnus himself, who was equally versed in policy and war, had secretly fomented it in order to make a grand diversion in his favour, or finally that these three causes concurred, either separately or together, to veil the transactions; it is nevertheless certain that Rome had not prepared to stifle it in its birth, and that the Dalmatians and Pannonians had lime enough, after they had thrown off the yoke, to muster forces sufficient to maintain their independence. The numerous levies that Tiberius had ordered exhibited the youth of the two nations, and revealed their strength. They perceived that it was belter to employ it in breaking their own fetters than in augmenting the insupportable power of their masters; so that the insurgents were soon armed to the amount of two hundred thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry. It was not to be wondered at that such an insurrection was dreadfully sanguinary in its first effects. Every Roman citizen, merchant, or traveller, was destroyed, and all the garrisons were either massacred or enslaved. Sirmich and Salona were the only towns that made re¬ sistance: the first was besieged by the Pannonians, and the second by the Dalmatians. In short, this insurrection was characterized in its commencement by that ferocity which we expect to find in a barbarous people who have been oppressively governed. The news of the revolt spread the greatest consternation at Rome, and caused Tiberius to suspend his operations. A treaty was hasLily concluded with Marobodnus, who on this occa¬ sion did not act with his usual policy. Had he taken advantage of this circumstance, by seconding the efforts of the Pannonians and Dalmatians, instead of accepting the proffered terms of peace, Tiberius would have been placed between two fires, and eventually defeated; but he was thus allowed to direct the whole of his forces against the two provinces; and one of those great opportunities of consolidating power, which rarely occur twice, Marobodnus suffered to escape him. Cecina Severus, Governor of Massia, was the first to collect a sufficient number of troops to march against the insurgents : he attacked the Pannonians, and compelled them to raise the siege of Sirmich. Soon afterwards, Messalinus came up with the advance of the army K 34 of Tiberius. Bato, the Dalmatian, although not yet cured of a wound he had received at the siege of Salona, marched to meet him, and, in a pitched battle, gained a complete victory. Nothing could exceed the anxiety which prevailed at Rome during the first conflicts. Augustus, either under the influence of a timidity natural to him in war, or from a just appreciation of the rashness with which a nation will contend for its liberty, declared solemnly in the Senate, that unless great precautions were used, the enemy would be at the walls of Rome in ten days. The Capitol had not experienced such dismay since the first invasion of the Gauls. The most active preparations were made for the defence of the city, and in levying troops; all the veterans were ordered to join their standards: by a decree of the Senate, the rich Roman citizens and ladies were compelled to send as many of their most robust slaves to be enfranchised and enrolled as their means would allow; and many Senators and Roman knights emulated each other in offering their personal services, and actually set out as volunteers. It might be said, that Hannibal had repassed the mountains. Messalinus, however, gave a brighter aspect to affairs, notwithstanding his ill success, and defeated the Dalmatians in his turn by drawing them into an ambuscade. Tiberius proved the importance of the contest by the force which he brouo'ht to his assistance. According to Suetonius, he had five legions with him, and an equal number of auxiliaries, among which were Rhymetalus and Rhascuporis, Kings of Thrace. Tiberius pursued his usual system of observation, slowness, and indecision, which sometimes even appeared like pusillanimity. Those authors, who, like Velleius, have dishonoured them¬ selves by their commendations of Tiberius, make this conduct redound to the honour of his humanity: but it is impossible to ascribe such a feeling to the man whose artful tyranny on the throne caused the shedding of so much blood. It is better to attribute this system to his hatred to Rome and a desire of prolonging his absence, as he was not at his ease in the Capitol during the life of Augustus. Augustus conjectured this to be the cause of the delay : and, at the beginning of the second campaign, he sent Germanicus, at the head of some new levies, with orders to press Tiberius, either by his counsels or his example, to put an end to the contest. The early events of the second campaign seemed to justify the advice of Tiberius. “ We should not,” said he, “ despise the enemy we have to encounter, nor give regular battle to men whom despair urges on to conquest; we should, on the contrary, harass them by continual skirmishes, and finally reduce them by removing all hope of subsistence. Cecina Severus and Plautius Sylvanus did not adopt this system, and suffered in consequence. These generals were returning incautiously from Mresia, where they had been to repress some seditions among the Dacians and Sarmatians. The Pannonians awaited them in a defile, surprised and surrounded them, and but for the firmness of five legions they would have been completely routed. Victory pronounced in favour of neither; but it was one of the most sanguinary battles during that war. The loss was considerable on the side of the Romans; and independently of private soldiers, such was the havoc among the officers of distinction, that there were few illustrious families in Rome that had not to mourn a relative. Germanicus was more successful against the Mazeans, a people of Dalmatia, whom he defeated in a pitched battle, whilst Tiberius con- 35 tented himself with taking possession of their posts, intercepting their convoys, and desolating their lands. Tiberius, by adhering to this plan, eventually succeeded in subduing the Pannonians without coming to a decisive engagement. The insurgent chiefs in vain attempted different methods to prevent them from falling again under the yoke ; but fatigue and want were more imperious than the desire of liberty. All the flower of their youth, which was collected together on the banks of the Balhinus, threw down their arms, and implored pardon of the conqueror. They had now no chief on whom they could depend; since Bato, the Pannonian, who had proved himself the most zealous promoter of the revolt, and whose genius had hitherto directed their affairs, had been made prisoner in a skirmish, and Pinneus his colleague had been seduced by brilliant promises. He was one of the first to advise submission, and the multitude, being without a head to direct them, was compelled to give way. The conditions of the treaty were milder than they had reason to expect; and peace was thus re-established in Pannonia. The moie haughty and courageous Dalmatians, with perhaps more deeply rooted causes of resentment, did not imitate an example which they imputed to pusillanimity; but they were not blind to the effects of a peace which exposed them to the whole force of the Romans. A fourth campaign was however necessary to reduce them, and like brave men they yielded only to superior power. Tiberius then divided his army into three bodies: the command of the first was inti listed to Lepidus, the second to Sylvanus, and the third he reserved to himself, taking care to keep Germanicus near him. These three armies penetrated Dalmatia by three different points, and in their progress laid every thing waste without distinction, as if they had resolved to transform one of the most beautiful countries in Europe into a desart. The Dalmatians, reduced to despair by this atrocious conduct, shut themselves up in Andetrium, at that lime a considerable town near Salona, and in Arduba, an equally important place, resolvino- to be buried beneath their ruins, and witness the utter extinction of their nation, rather than submit to the Romans. . Tiberius besieged Andretium, and Germanicus Arduba. Bato the Dalmatian, who was in Andretium, perceiving, after a siege of some months, that the city could not hold out for a much longer period, and aware of the individual danger he should have to encounter, if it were stormed by the enemy, preferred falling gloriously in the combat to beino- at the mercy of a conqueror from whom he could expect no pardon. lie therefore made a sortie at the head of some equally bold companions, and was fortunate enough to pierce their ranks and make his escape. Notwithstanding this desertion, the besieged defended themselves with unabated obstinacy, until the town was carried by assault, and most of the inhabitants were put to the sword. The inhabitants of Arduba were not disposed to make so obstinate a resistance; but all the Dalmatians who had fled thither, either from the country or the towns which the enemy had completely ruined, were convinced that nothing was to be expected from the conqueror’s clemency, and resolved to resist to the last extremity rather than listen to a com¬ promise. Arduba was therefore soon divided by these contending opinions; and, as if they had not foreign enemies enough to contend with, discord armed these madmen against one another. The streets and public places became the theatre of their intestine combats; and the women of Arduba, from a caprice, or rather from a madness but too common in civil wars, declared in 36 favour of the Dalmatians, who were strangers to the town. The inhabitants were the most power¬ ful, and opened the gates to the Romans. The women, enraged at the triumph of their opponents, set fire to their own houses, and taking their children in their arms, threw them¬ selves into the flames, and were buried in the smoking ruins: some, who were prevented from destroying themselves in this manner, plunged into the river, which flowed beneath the walls of the city, and perished in it. Such was the dreadful catastrophe of a war which had occupied the greater part of the Roman forces for four years; a catastrophe which resulted from the system pursued by Tiberius, a system which, far from being considered as conformable to humanity, should be regarded as the effect of a savage policy, which prefers the cowardice of gradually reducing the enemy to despair, and from despair to crimes more sanguinary than battles, before the honor of a brave conflict. The Dalmatians, as we have seen, evinced much greater magnanimity in this war than the Pannonians: notwithstanding the overwhelming power of the enemy, and their numerous disasters, they were uncouquered ; they resisted the conquerors of Europe, of Asia, and of Africa, for four years, and had to contend with two of the greatest generals of that time ; and, what was still more difficult to surmount, they struggled with the fortune of Augustus. This war, however fatal as it was to them, had a greater influence on the fate of the world than might be imagined. It was the first important rebellion the Romans had to suppress: it taught nations the possibility of shaking off the Roman yoke; and perhaps the origin of the decline of the empire may be dated from that period. Tiberius attached so much importance to the submission of Bate the Dalmatian, who had escaped from Andretium, that he condescended to make a separate treaty with him, although he had scarcely a friend left: his life and liberty were granted to him, with an assurance that his condition in life should be above want. Being questioned in the presence of Tiberius and a numerous retinue as to the cause of the rebellion, “ Romans,” he replied, “ the responsibility is with yourselves alone: instead of shepherds you send wolves to superintend your flocks.” It would be irrelevant Lo my subject to describe the honors that were decreed to Tiberius and Germanicus : I shall content myself with observing, that if this war originated the decline of the empire, it also inflicted an immediate wound, by increasing the burdens of the people. Tiberius was proceeding to Dalmatia to quell some disturbances, when he was recalled to Rome by the death of Augustus. Soon after his elevation lo the throne, Drusus was appointed to succeed him; and then began the subversion of Marabodnus, King of the Marcomans; but Dalmatia had no share in that event, except its being occupied by the army of observation under Drusus. Nevertheless Tiberius and Caius passed from the throne to the tomb; and the tide of human calamities, swollen by the crimes of the Caesars, was already inundating the surface of the world. The continuation of tyranny had made conspiracies more frequent; the senators had abandoned the empire to play the parts of spies and conspirators; and the soldiers, by affixing a price to their tumultuous services, had secured themselves a prepon¬ derance in all revolts. Dalmatia became the theatre of one of those famous conspiracies, which 37 were almost always fatal to their promoters: it was there the legions made their first attempt to destroy an Emperor in order to sell their voles to his successor, and set the first example of that savage military inconstancy which massacres the idol to-day which it had raised but yesterday. The imbecility of Claudius, the excesses of Messalina and the freedmen, and the unexpected murder of Silanus, excited considerable apprehensions among the principal Romans respecting their personal safety. Vinicianus, who, after the death of Caius, had been nominated Emperor, imagining himself particularly exposed by this very circumstance, fled to Furius Camillus Scri- bonianus, who at that time commanded a considerable army in Dalmatia. Being intimately connected by the ties of a long friendship, and equally adverse to Claudius, they soon con¬ certed measures for a revolt. Camillus, who was sure of the affection of his troops, or at least fancied himself so, declared himself without hesitation, and they immediately look the oath of fidelity to him. According to Suetonius, he caused himself to be proclaimed Emperor; but Dion declares, that he acted in the name of the Senate and the Roman people, and affected to desire the re-establishment of the Republic. There is no doubt however as to his revolt, and that he was soon joined by a number of senators and knights. Perhaps he should have taken advantage of this first emotion, and marched immediately to Rome, where he would have surprised Claudius; but he was satisfied with commanding him by letter to abdicate the empire; and the pusillanimous emperor actually deliberated in council whether lie should obey. Camillus now experienced the fatal effects of his delay : the ardour of the legions began to subside; and the edifice that had been raised by courage, but not supported by prudence, was thrown down by credulity. It happened that the force which was applied to raise the standards met with an unusual opposition; an accident which, though trivial in itself, was fatal to Camillus and Ins partisans; since il presaged the opposition of the gods to the expedition, and their protection of Claudius. The fury of the soldiery was then directed against the author of their defection, whom they compelled to seek shelter in the little island of Issa, whither he was pursued by a common soldier, named Volaginus, who murdered him in the arms of his wife. From that period to the reign of Decius, Istria and Dalmatia do not appear on the theatre of political events. The decline of the Roman Empire was daily evincing itself by the most alarming symptoms. The throne, by turns the prey of a slave, a soldier, or a conqueror, inces¬ santly sold to the highest bidder by an unbridled soldiery, or yielded to intrigue by a corrupt and impotent senate, the object of every ambitious man, and yet the scaffold of all who dared to place themselves upon it, was so far from being the centre of power, that it was become the very focus of anarchy, and the inextinguishable torch of civil wars. If a spark of virtue honored the purple of the Cassars, as was the case with Valerian—if an occasional beam of glory restored the splendour of the Roman arms, as in the reign of Aurelian—they were but as feeble flashes piercing the clouds of a gathering storm. Nothing was now wanting to accelerate the ruin of the empire but an invasion from the barbarians; and it was under the administration of Gal- lienus that those invasions assumed a terrific character. L 38 Gallienus, in the midst of buffoons and courtesans, unacquainted with every kind of imperial pomp but pleasures and vices, who could console himself for the loss ol six provinces with an epigram, and who opposed nothing but bons mots to the influx of his numerous enemies, was at last roused from his lethargy by an invasion from the Goths. These hordes had already subdued Illyria and the whole of Dalmatia, whence they penetrated Thrace, Macedonia, and even as far as Thessalonica, the fall of which might lead to the subjugation of all Greece. The emperor was then in Gaul, fie hastened into Italy, where, if any credit is to be given to the doubtful historians of those times, he gave proofs of extraordinary courage in his contests with the barbarians; but there is every reason to believe that the Goths had plundered and quitted the country previously to his arrival. It was not so with Illyria: and if they were expelled from it, and forced to recross the Danube, it was to be attributed to the anarchy which then delivered the purple to the most enterprising. Ingenuus, Regillicnus, and Aureolus, had been each pro¬ claimed emperor by his own army ; and although armed against each other, as well as against Gallienus, who pretended to be the sole legitimate sovereign, they yet felt a common interest in preventing the spoliation of their country by the Goths. Istria and Dalmatia were indebted for the expulsion of the Goths, or Scythians, as they are sometimes called, to the arms of these usurpers, and not to Gallienus, who merely came to profit by their victory, and to contend with ihose Romans who had delivered the empire from the barbarians. It is difficult to form an idea, amidst these continual conflicts, of the oppression under which the unfortunate inhabitants of these countries must have groaned, overwhelmed as they weie by generals eagerly disputing the sovereignty, by hordes of savages breathing nothing but pillage, and by a voluptuous emperor, whose sole object was revenge: perhaps the abject condition of their present inhabitants may be traced to those disastrous times. II we carefully examine how far the mind may be degraded and stupified under the influence of extraordinary public calamities, we shall be convinced that the impression extends from race to race, and that it is almost impossible for the descendants of an enslaved people to be of a generous nature. Following the order of events as they relate to the subject of our enquiries, we come to the reion of Diocletian, and are astonished to perceive how inattentive that prince was to his native country during a considerable period ot his reign. It is very certain that the name of Dalmatia would have had no place in the annals of Diocletian but for the circumstances of his birth and residence there subsequently to his abdication. His first name was Diodes, which he derived from his native town Dioclea or Doclea. This place is no longer in existence, but it was not far from Narona, the modern Narenta. All writers admit the obscurity of his birth, but differ as to the profession of his parents; some pretending that he was the son of a scribe; others, the son of a slave, and that he himself was the slave of a senator, named Anulinus, who afterwards set him at liberty. It is certain, how¬ ever, that the name of his mother, and the town where she resided, was Dioclea. Be it as it may, he commenced his career as a soldier, and marched to Gaul. He was a private at Tonores when lie heard that famous prediction which all historians have noticed, frivolous as 39 it may appear; a prediction which was fulfilled rather by his talents, and the concatenation of circumstances, than by destiny. Being reproved for his economy by a female, he replied jestingly, that he would be liberal and magnificent enough when he became emperor. « Do not imagine that a jest,” said the woman, looking fixedly at him; “ you will be Emperor, but you will first have killed a wild boar.” It is necessary to know that aper is the Latin for a wild boar, since this lamentable pun afterwards caused Diocletian to commit murder merely to fulfil the prediction; I say merely, because there was not the least necessity for such a crime. The prophecy naturally made a deep impression on this ambitious youth, whose mind was open to prejudice through his natural ignorance; but he was sufficiently acquainted with the imperial palace to know that many had entered it who were as obscure as himself. By ridiculously ad¬ hering to the letter of the oracle, he became a most determined hunter; and it is no difficult matter to guess that wild boars were the animals with which he particularly waged war; yet he never found their skin metamorphosed into the imperial purple. Tacitus, Probus, and Carus, succeeded each other on the throne; and Diocletian merrily observed, that he killed the boars but others eat them. In the meantime, he did not perceive his progress in war, that his talents were improving by exercise, and that he was advancing to the throne more by his exploits than his destruction of boars. His merit at last procured him the command of the guards of the palace, when Numerian, the son of Carus, was emperor. Numerian, after the assassination of his father, was compelled to abandon the war with the Persians, and was returning with his army through Syria and Asia, when he was secretly poisoned by Arrius Aper, his father-in-law. A slight indisposition had obliged the Emperor to confine himself to a litter, with the curtains closely drawn, to exclude the rays of the sun : Aper, not having matured his plans, availed himself of this circumstance to conceal the murder; but putrefaction at last betrayed the crime, and the criminal was arrested. Diocletian, in con¬ sequence of his acknowledged merit, was now immediately proclaimed Emperor. Having ascended the tribunal of turf, which had been raised agreeably to the practice of that time, he called Apollo to witness that he had not participated in the bloody deed : the name of Aper reminding him at the same moment of the early prediction, (the fulfilment of which he con¬ sidered essential to his security on the throne), he rushed from the tribunal, and plunged his sword into the body of the unhappy culprit, with this exclamation from Virgil_ “ Gloi iarc, Aper j yEne® magni dextrfl cadis.” It is lamentable to see a great man sully his reputation with the murder of a villain who should have suffered by the hand of the executioner, and under the frivolous pretext of accomplishing a prediction, which had been previously fulfilled, because he was proclaimed Emperor before the destruction of Aper. A deplorable example of the arbitrary sway of credulity and superstition over their victims, and of the baseness to which a man naturally noble may be impelled by their influence! Authors are more divided upon the merits of Diocletian than of any of the Ceesars. By some, he is stigmatised with the appellation of a bloody tyrant; by others, he is extolled as a magna- 40 nimous Emperor: such will be the case in all ages whenever the tribunal of history is occupied by the spirit of party. To form an impartial opinion of Diocletian, we must consider that the opportunities of imbibing the social virtues of Trajan, or the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, were denied him in early life, but that nature had been equally lavish to him of the great quali¬ fications for governing. It is doubtful whether those persecutions, which have drawn such reproaches upon Diocletian, ought to be ascribed to him or to his colleague, Maximian Hercu- lius, whose ferocious disposition is generally acknowledged. But when men, urged by the spirit of party, and especially a religious spirit, endeavour to acquire repute by the sufferings of their parlizans, the selection of an antagonist, whose character may be aspersed with ad¬ vantage to the cause, is not a matter of indifference; for the triumph of opinions appears the more or less imposing, in proportion to the character and influence of their opponents. Catholicism derived more glory from the opposition of Diocletian and Julian than from the persecutions of a Caracalla or lleliogabalus; and perhaps the Trajans and Antonines would have been distinguished by a preference, had not their numerous virtues rendered the sup¬ position too palpably gross. It is remarkable, amid the many reproaches that have been cast upon the memory of Dio¬ cletian, that no one should have censured him for his indifference towards his native country. But why do I say indifference? He treated it almost as an enemy, by including it in the department of Galereus Ceesar, the basest of men. When infirmities and misfortunes reminded Diocletian that he was a man before he was an emperor, he remembered Dalmatia; and, in the midst of his distress, came to seek an asylum in those regions which he had neglected in the days of his grandeur. There is no life, however obscure, which cannot be rendered glorious by the love of its country: there are no honours, no eminent qualities, which may not be tarnished by the neglect of it. After a reign of twenty years—after having strengthened those powers of the empire which were falling to decay—the vanquisher of his competitor Carinus, in the campaigns of Illyria and Dalmatia—the conqueror of the Persians, the Egyptians, and the Germans—the arbitrer of the destinies of the Carpians, (a people whom lie entirely removed to Pannonia),—skilful in the choice of his lieutenants—economical of the public funds, but a friend to the arts and the pomp of the throne—successful in all his undertakings, if we except the choice of his coadjutors; at the age of fifty-nine his organs were impaired by a long and dangerous sickness; and the ambitious Galerius, taking advantage of his condition, persuaded him to abdicate the govern¬ ment. It was in this humiliated state that he proved himself still greater than he had been upon the throne; and we find a particular gratification in collecting those expressions which paint the character of a man whom grandeur had ceased to attract. He retired to Saloua in Dalmatia, and thither he transferred that taste for edifices which he had proudly indulged during his reign ; and the same hand that had covered Nicomedia with so many circuses, palaces, and temples—that had surrounded the empire with so many fortresses, and had raised those famous Thermre at Rome, whose ruins still excite our admiration—relieved from the reins of the world—built that palace of Spalatro, whose existing walls form too large a girdle for the town they inclose. In this palace, the last of his works, this truly great and heroic man suffered himself 41 to die with hunger, rather than fall by the daggers of his successors, whose fortune he had promoted. Illyria, and consequently Istria and Dalmatia, were cruelly afflicted with the exactions of Galerius. If Lactantius may be credited, his enormities in those countries exceed all idea. Every one was required to prostrate himself when he passed, in imitation of the obedience re¬ quired by the Persian monarchs: the slightest faults were visited with the most barbarous punish¬ ments: the cross and the stake were the most common; but decapitation was sometimes conceded as a favour to such as had recommended themselves by eminent services. Bears were bred in his own palace to afford him the gratification of seeing his victims smothered and devoured by those animals. The tribunals were encumbered with ignorant and venal judges; eloquence was considered as a crime; literature passed for necromancy; the profession of an advocate was interdicted, and lawyers were banished. A list of every kind of property was taken : nothing escaped taxation; and he, whose declaration was suspected, was delivered over to the torturer. Informations were encouraged ; weak and innocent children were stimulated to accuse their parents; age, diseases and deformities were subject to impositions; years were added to children’s ages, to exact greater contributions; the years of the aged were lessened, to extort the price of exemption : inspectors were multiplied ; to have paid was no security against a second demand ; nor was even the tomb a barrier against these vexations. Such was the lamentable condition, for many years, not only of Istria and Dalmatia, but of all the countries subject to the will of that monster. At length a dreadful disease, the fruit of his debaucheries, tormented him for a year, and then terminated his existence. After his death, the government of these provinces devolved upon Licinius; an event which did not meliorate their condition. The long contests between him and Constantine merely changed the character of their calamities. In the end, Licinius, having suffered a defeat, destroyed himself; which left to Constantine the undisputed command of the empire. We shall conclude the ancient history of these provinces with the death of his son, Crispus Cassar, who was exiled to Pola. Crispus was the son of Minervina, Constantine’s first wife. This amiable and accomplished youth, the conqueror of the Franks in the West and of Licinius in the East, enriched with the exterior graces, the good qualities of the heart and the charms of wit, provoked the jealousy of Fausta, his step-mother, by being the offspring of the first marriage, or, not improbably, by refusing to indulge her criminal passion. It must however be allowed, that the priority of his birth, which deprived her own children of the prospect of succeeding to the throne, was a sufficient motive to crime in such a woman as Fausta. Love was nevertheless the pretext of hatred : and, like Phcedra, she flies to her husband to accuse her son-in-law of a design lo outrage her virtue and the paternal bed. The imprudent Emperor, without distrusting the pre¬ judices of a step-mother, suddenly forgetting the ties of nature, as well as the services and virtues of a son whom he had so frequently admired, ordered him to be loaded with chains, and con¬ ducted to Pola, where executioners were directed to offer him poison. All the inhabitants of Pola shuddered at the intelligence of the death of Crispus, whose youth and mildness of disposition M 42 had rendered him so dear to the empire; but no one was found sufficiently courageous lo un¬ dertake his defence, and, by saving his life, perform the most signal service to the father: they were contented with lamenting his death, and admiring his firmness. This young man neither reproached his father, nor uttered a malediction against his enemy: he submitted to his sentence without a murmur, and swallowed the poison with an unaltered countenance. Whilst the people of Pola were honoring his remains with a magnificent funeral, and sprink¬ ling his ashes with tears and flowers, the Imperial parricide was distracted with remorse. The mother of Constantine, enraged at the death of a grandson whom she had always loved, watched with unremitting attention the conduct of Fausta, who, since this fatal deed, was become the object of her irreconcileable hatred. She found no difficulty in discovering, that whilst this Empress affected the most rigid virtue, she was abandoning herself to the most shameful debaucheries, and was daily defiling the Emperor’s bed by criminal intercourses with the vilest slaves. She was now accused by Helena before the Emperor, who, with a caution for the o-uilty which he had neglected to use for the innocent, resolved to be convinced before he condemned. Soon convinced of the truth, and much less enraged with her affront than at the reflection on the crime which she had caused him to commit, he ordered her to be plunged in a bath of boiling water. This wicked woman was the daughter, the wife, and the sister of an Emperor, and the mother of three. Here terminate the few events relative to Istria and Dalmatia, which preceded the transfer of the seat of government to Byzantium, and we have found scattered in the frequently obscure and mangled histories of antiquity. Still less order prevails in those historians who wrote under the Lower Empire: and it seems that our acquaintance with the events of these two provinces is rendered the more uncertain, and our difficulties of throwing any light upon their history become the greater, as we descend to those times which border on our own. In short, how are we lo discern with accuracy the events peculiar to two countries which occupy so small a portion of the globe, amid the confused stale of Europe, occa¬ sioned by the impolitic division of the empire by the successors of Constantine, the frequent inundations of barbarians, the continual troubles of the court of Byzantium, the rising pre¬ tensions of Catholicism, the perpetual contests ol heresies, the conquests of the descendants of Mahomet, and the long and sanguinary struggles between the Roman priesthood and the Germanic Empire! It is scarcely possible to follow the political progress of the great empires with any exactness through the prejudices, the spirit of party, and frequently the ignorance and credulity of historians. Notwithstanding these difficulties, we shall continue to give, as far as possible, an idea of the share which the great powers, who constantly surrounded those countries, compelled them to take in the tide of events that flowed from the reign ol' Constantine to the latter ages. The fierceness, the courage, the spirit of liberty, that firmness in reverses, and perseverance in their resolutions, displayed by the Dalmatians in their famous insurrection under Augustus, astonish us at their present state of inactivity and cowardice. W e cannot recognize 43 in them the descendants and heirs of those Dalmatians who intimidated the conquerors of Carthage, of the Gauls, of Mithridates and the Cimbrians: and this perhaps is the moment for touching upon the cause of their degradation : I am inclined to attribute it to the different people of which they were composed. Beginning with the Dalmatians at the time of their emer¬ gence from obscurity, and following them to the reigns which preceded that of Diocletian, we discover no material alteration in the national character: piracy, maritime pursuits, intestine troubles, an inclination for revolt, and even a kind of restless desire of glory, are all characteristics of a people fond of war, fit for bold enterprise and susceptible of generosity, had wise laws directed their movements, and had that mixture of ferocity, wildness, and noble feeling been tempered by the arts, the liberal sciences, and social intercourse. If the exploits of individuals can be considered as a symptom of the national character, we may estimate that of the Dalma¬ tians, not only by the excellence of the soldiers with which they fed the Roman armies, but also by the many emperors which these countries supplied to the throne; since Illyria, as I have already observed, was more productive in this respect than the other provinces of the empire. In mentioning Illyria, I mean to say Dalmatia, for they were the same people, and were influenced by the same laws, religion, and opinions ; and, in short, to avoid every sort of doubt or obscurity, I shall again repeat, that Illyria was originally but a small part of Dalmatia, and that if it became the generic name of these countries, it was because the kings of Illyria, the predecessors of Teuta, subdued the whole of Dalmatia and Liburnia, and transferred the name of their own kingdom to the whole extent of country which they had conquered. The condition and manners of the Illyrians must have been unquestionably improved by their intercourse with the Romans in the time of the Republic, when that people were distinguished by superior genius and magnanimity : but we have to expect very different results from their mixture with the Goths or Scythians, whose only virtue was rashness—who were without laws, without principles, without discipline. This was the first step towards the decline of the national character: but how must that fall have been accelerated by Diocletian and Constantine, who transplanted the two whole nations of the Carpians and Sarmatians into these regions! Here then we have two new nations settled in the original one, bringing with them a mind humbled by irreparable defeat, and deprived of that energy which man loses on quitting his native country. What could be hoped from such a mixture but a vicious posterity? If to the grand attack on the primitive character of the Dal¬ matians be added, the long abode of many of the emperors in Illyria, and the contagious in¬ fluence of their depraved courts, together with their tyranny, which is ever more destructive than the vices, of the national character of the people: if to this second scourge be added the presence of Attila and his Huns, and the population which must have resulted from their practice of violating females: if moreover we contemplate the passage of the Saracens in these countries, the usurpations of the Croats and Sclavonians, the amalgam of the Greeks of the Bosphorus, the incursions of the Mussulmans; and, as a conclusion to so many moral revolutions, the alloy of Venetian knavery, and the inoculation, (if I may venture to use the term), of the crafty blood of Italy; then will our astonishment cease at the extreme difference to be observed between the modern and ancient Dalmatians; and we shall be easily convinced, that their veins cannot possess one drop of the fierce and untameable blood which resisted, for four years, those Roman eagles that had but recently triumphed in the plains of Pharsalia, and under the walls of Aclium. 44 We have observed that Dalmatia was once governed by the Senate, and consequently by the Emperors: they had annexed Liburnia to it, and then the whole formed a single province under the name of Dalmatia. Three principal towns had been chosen as the residence of those authorities which were intermediate between Caesar and the people; namely, Scardona, Salona, and Narenta. Here the tribunals and the palaces of the Praetors were established, together with the choice of those garrisons which were destined for the preservation of the country. Affairs remained in this state until the time of Diocletian, when the form of the government was changed by a division of the empire among four emperors, (for such they may be styled;) two bearing the name of Augustus and two Caesars. A certain number of provinces was then added to Illyria or Dalmatia ; and being thus extended, Illyria became one of those great governments which were ruled by Praetorian Prefects. Particular governors were subservient to them, according to the number of provinces included in those governments. Illyria, thus or¬ ganized bv Diocletian, comprised seventeen—namely, the two Noricas, the two Pannonias, the two Dacias, Maesia, Savia, Valeria, and the Dalmalici, for Western Illyria: then Achaia, Thes- salia, the two Epiri, Prevalitana, Macedonia, and the isle of Crete, lor Eastern Illyria: so that in this organization Dalmatia experienced no other change than that of being called the Dal- matici, instead of Dalmatia: and such was the division at the death of Constantine. His three sons inherited his empire, but not his talents. It was rather the love of singularity than policy or wisdom, or even his ascribed aversion from Rome, that determined Constantine to remove the scat of empire to Byzantium. The character of this emperor does not appear to have been well appreciated. Each following his own opinions, has ascribed motives to his conduct without attempting the examination of his character ; whereas it is his character alone that can give a clue to his conduct. Contradiction was its leading feature: to think differently from others, and to resemble no one, he considered glory. He embraced Christianity solely because his predecessors were Pagans: he detested philosophy because Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Antoninus, were philosophers; he was every where ostentatious but at Rome; and there he was sordid and niggardly, because twenty emperors had made that city the theatre of their profusions: he overthrew Maximus, Maximian, Severus the Second, and Licinius, less to reign alone than to oppose the custom of associations in the empire: he transferred the seat of government to Byzantium, less from resentment towards Rome than because she enjoyed metropolitan glory for a thousand years. Constantine was neither a politician by character, a conqueror from ambition, nor a Christian from conviction:—he desired to perform what others ad neglected : in short, he wished to be extraordinary. His children added to the father’s error by dividing an empire which he had already shaken to the centre by removing the seat of power. The younger Constantine look the Gauls and all the country north of the Alps: Constantius had the East, Egypt, Asia, and Thrace; and Constans, Italy, Africa, Greece, Sicily, Macedonia, and Illyria, which comprehended our Dal¬ matia. The two latter died : their portions returned to Constantius; and Dalmatia was re¬ annexed to the throne of the East. From the reign of Constantius to that of Theodosius, Dalmatia at one time formed part of the Eastern, at another lime a part of the Western Empire, according to the dictates of the prevailing power. 45 When the empire was divided between Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius, the Western division, including Dalmatia, fell to the latter. In a period of eighty years, that is, from Honorius to Augustulus, this empire entirely crumbled away. The Goths in Italy, the Suevi, the Alani and the Vandals in Spain, the Franks in Gaul, the Saxons in Great Britain, divided the ruins of Roman grandeur in Europe, which they daily snatched from weak and voluptuous emperors, who either languished at Ravenna under insolent ministers, or fell by the dagger of the assassin. Finally, the Heruli, under Odoacer, marched from the Euxine sea, and made themselves masters of Italy. Augustulus fell; the kingdom of Italy was formed, and Odoacer became its first monarch. The emperors of the East envied him the possession of Dalmatia, which at that epoch was desolated by a civil war. Aetius, one of the greatest generals of that age, and the only one who had presented an invincible front to the influx of the barbarians, had met with an unmerited death from the hand of Valentinian the Third. Marcellianus, one of the friends of Aetius, to revenge his death and punish Valentinian, had attempted to wrest Dalmatia from him, and procure the sovereignty of that country for himself: but, to ensure success, it was necessary to expel the reigning Goths; and the only expedient he had recourse to, was to arm the Dalmatians against them. The Goths however prevailed, after a dreadful war. The Eastern emperors considered the weakened state of the two parlies a favourable moment for gaining possession of Dalmatia, and separating it from the Western Empire. Justinian, who then reigned at Byzantium, entrusted Mundus with the execution of his pro¬ ject ; and that general, after a long and terrible conflict, in which each party had been alter¬ nately successful, expelled the Goths, and annexed Dalmatia to the Eastern throne. This peace was not of long duration. It would seem that a scarcity of great men stimu¬ lates a proportionate desire of dominion among men of moderate talents; and such was the prevalence of that passion in those ages of confusion, that the ambition of the meanest officers had no limits but the Imperial purple; and whilst twenty barbarous nations were multi¬ plying monarchies in an hundred countries, the lowest centurion pictured to himself the empire of the world in the little town which was entrusted to him. Hence all the governors, sent into Dalmatia after its conquest, affected the sovereignty: armies were required to reduce them, and every promotion was the signal for a new war. Acumius, a Hun, was particularly dis¬ tinguished by this spirit of usurpation; and he would most probably have succeeded in makino- himself independent in Dalmatia, had he not fallen in a battle with the Bulgarians, who had endeavoured to disturb his new power. After his death, the timid and jealous Emperors of the East sent no more governors into Dalmatia to become their rivals in power; so that it fell a prey to the Avares and Huns, whose excesses even surpassed the depredations of the Goths : they gave the last blow to the miserable Dalmatians, and almost extinguished the race. It was thus that every horde of barbarians secured the possession of the country they had conquered: they first made it a desart. N 46 Heraclius was too weak to hold Dalmatia, so that he abandoned Liburnia and Dalmatia as far as Cettina to the Croats, and the remainder to the Servians, on condition that they expelled the Huns. lie reserved but a few places, which formed what was called the Theme of Dalmatia. These Croats inhabited the Crapack mountains, which separate Hungary from Poland. In the beginning of the seventh century, a part of them, finding a restraint in the narrow confines of their country, emigrated, and settled on the shores of the Adriatic Gulf. It was to these men that Heraclius yielded Liburnia and part of Dalmatia. The part which they occupied, and from which they drove the Avares and Huns, extended along the coasts of Istria, Liburnia, and Dalmatia, as far as the river Cettina, and in breadth as far as the Save and the Unn. They left Trau, Spalatro, and some islands, to the Emperors. They were at first governed by five brothers: but Porga, the son of one of them, succeeded them in power under the title of Ban. The dynasty of the Bans of Croatia and Dalmatia lasted a considerable time; but the events of their reigns arc involved in great obscurity. The only event of note is their seven years' war against the Franks, who had subdued Macedonia, and whom they at last expelled in the reign of the Ban Crescimir. The Servians or Sclavonians derived their origin also from the Cropack mountains; and in consequence of the territory ceded to them by Heraclius, they founded a monarchy, which extended from the coasts of Dalmatia to the Save and the Danube. But we know as little of their early history as we do of that of the Croats. This obscurity continues to the reign of that savage conqueror, Basil the Second, who subdued Bulgaria, Bosnia, Raseia, and the whole ol Dalmatia. But how did he triumph? History does not afford two examples of such atrocity. Having defeated these nations in a pitched battle, (A. D. 1014), wherein five thousand were killed, and fifteen thousand made prisoners; he ordered the fifteen thousand to be divided into companies of one hundred each. This monster then directed ninety-nine men in each company to be deprived of their sight: “ Let every hundredth man lose but one eye,” said the barbarous Emperor, “ that he may be enabled to lead his comrades to their king.” The miserable objects were then dismissed: and such was the effect produced by this horrible spectacle upon their sovereign, that he suddenly died with grief. Venice had been founded long before this period. Seventy-two islands, inclosed in small lakes, and dependent on the Padouans, had afforded a safe retreat to some of the continental sufferers under the fury of Attila. At first each island formed a separate tribe under the government of a tribune, and the whole was protected by the Padouans. This state of things continued from the seventh to the eighth century. In 709, the tribunes of twelve of the islands assembled, and resolved to form a whole of the seventy-two parts, and to establish a republic under the government of a doge. The administration of affairs vibrated between the sovereign power of the doge and the democracy until 1289, when the doge, Peter Gradenigo, founded the aristocratic government, which lasted until 1797- 47 The first conspicuous appearance of the Venetians in the annals of Dalmatia, was in the time of Grescimir the Second, sirnamed the Greal, when the Emperor Basil, the perpetrator of that dreadful crime, entered into alliance with them. As a security for their remuneration, it was stipulated, that all those towns which they had undertaken to defend for the Emperor, should be delivered into their hands. The Venetians remained undisturbed masters of them, not only during the contest for Croatia and Dalmatia between Carlomau and the Greeks, but after the expulsion of the latter; for Carlomau, being desirous of commanding the energies of a maritime nation against the Norman pirates, who at times infested the Dalmatian coast, confirmed them in possession. By fomenting the hatred which was rising against Carlomau, and receiving Spalatro and Zara under their protection, the Venetians incurred the resentment of their ally, who punished them for their perfidy by expelling them from the continent. The sovereignty of the Adriatic Gulf was of the greatest importance to the Venetian com¬ merce; and to consolidate that sovereignty, it was necessary to possess the coasts which formed the Gulf. Having nothing to hope from Carloman, they applied to Alexis Comnenes, Em¬ peror of the East, and, by dint of a splendid remuneration, induced him to transfer his right to Croatia and Dalmatia to the State of Venice. It now became necessary to enforce their pretensions, and they were soon engaged in a long and sanguinary war. Ordelafe Falieri opened the first campaign: he first made himself master of Zara, Belgrade, Trau, and Spalatro: and had he not died of a wound which he received in a battle with the Hungarians near Zara, he would probably have effected a complete conquest. After his death, the war became more obstinate, which occasioned a fluctuation of success. The length of the contest gave rise to new pretenders, and confusion increased in proportion to the multiplication of competitors. Neeman, for instance, king of another part of Dalmatia, pretended that neither the Vene¬ tians nor Hungarians had any title to the countries they were disputing, and that he alone had a right to govern them ; and to prove his assertion, he entered the lists with both. In the mean¬ time, Bela, the brother of Stephen, King of Hungary, had married the daughter of the Emperor Manuel, and had resolved to obtain Dalmatia as her marriage portion. Manuel, having determined to second the pretensions of his son-in-law, entered Dalmatia at the head of an army, and attacked the Venetians, the Hungarians, and the troops of Neeman, or his successors. Scardona, Sebenico, Salona, Spalatro, Trau, and fifty other places, soon fell into his hands; and, as each party had three enemies to contend with, the war was carried on with inconceivable fury and confusion. The same town was taken and retaken by different conquerors, and changed both masters and government five or six limes in the space of a few months. The fury of the war abated upon the accession of Bela to the Hungarian throne. The Greeks returned to Constantinople; and the King of Dalmatia, exhausted by the unequal contest, withdrew his troops, which left the Venetians and the Hungarians to dispute the territory. The Popes mediated between Bela and the Republic ; but fatigue was more efficient than negotiations, and each preserved what he had usurped, without any definitive treaty. The Doges of Venice continued the title of Duke of Dalmatia, and afterwards received that 48 of Sclavonia from the posterity of Bela; nor were the successors of Neeman ever enabled to dispute it. Such was the political situation of this province between 1131, when Bela became King of Hungary, and the year 1251 ; and it is easy to imagine that much secret fermentation existed in the midst of so many unsettled interests, and that a single spark was sufficient to rekindle a flame. The ambition of an individual, named either Radic or Stepco, de¬ livered these unhappy countries once more to the scourges from which they had now been free for some years. Ladislas and Stephen, both nephews of Bela, and sent successively from Hungary to Dalmatia with the title of Bans of Sclavonia, treated the people with such in¬ solence and oppression as to excite universal discontent. Stepco regarded this state of the public mind as a favourable opportunity for his own promotion, and by a pretended concern for the afflictions of his country, by reproaching his fellow-subjects with their lame submission, and at the same time dissembling the dangers which they would incur by insubordination, he finally succeeded in causing a general insurrection. As he had long meditated this project he had secretly procured arms, formed magazines, collected provisions, and provided himself with such individuals as could be intrusted with subordinate commands: in short, by his ad¬ mirable dispositions, he made himself master of Croatia, Dalmatia, as far as the river Narenta, Chclen, and Bosnia. Thus this usurper, without daring to assume the kingly title, established an authority which he pronounced hereditary in his own family. His two sons, Paul and Gregory, enjoyed it without opposition; but Mladin, the son of the former, in whom their power afterwards centered, was not equally fortunate. The Venetians, who had not abandoned the hope of obtaining a part of Dalmatia, harrassed and disturbed him by continual expeditions. Mladin, finding himself unable to oppose them, in consequence of the defection of most of his nobility, had recourse to Charles or Charobert, King of Hungary. The court of Hungary still deeply resented the revolt of Stepco: it seized this opportunity of revenging itself on his grandson, and, with a shameful violation of the rights of nations and hospitality, loaded Mladin with chains, and sent troops to take possession of his dominions. Thus Dalmatia was once more subjected to the kings of Hungary. Lewis, who succeeded Charles, particularly aimed at the expulsion of the Venetians: the consequence was, that he waged war with them, and carried it on with such determination, that in 1381 the Doges were compelled not only to evacuate the few places they still held on the coast, but also to renounce the title of Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia. This event must have overthrown, at least for a considerable time, all the hopes of the Venetians; and every thing seemed to predict that they were not destined to rule in these countries. But who can reasonably calculate on events, without estimating the necessities in which particular sovereigns may be placed, at a future time, by well or ill founded pretensions? The Emperor Sigismund, and Ladislas or Lancelot, King of Naples, both claimed the crown of Hungary. Lancelot, who merely possessed the title of King of Hungary, without an inch of the territory, was always much embarrassed in his efforts to resist the Duke of Anjou and the 49 Pope, who stirred up many enemies against him. This ambitious intriguer, as pretended King of Hungary, sold the city of Zara and its territory to the Venetians for one hundred thousand ducats: so that those republicans entered Dalmatia by virtue of an agreement, which violated all laws both human and divine, and gradually look possession of all the maritime places. We have noticed the concessions which the Emperor Ileraclius made to the Croats and Sclavonians, who emigrated from the Crapack mountains. The latter occupied the country situated between Moravia, the Drim, and the Lim, and spread north and south from the Danube and Save to the plain of Cernizza: this was Servia. Blastemir, one of their kings, who was contemporary with the Emperor Basil, the Macedonian, (not the cruel Emperor of that name), took advantage of some troubles in Dalmatia, and conquered it. Thence the title of Kings of Dalmatia, which was assumed by his successors, so frequently confounded with that of the Kings of Servia, which was annexed to it, because it was their title prior to the conquest. As Blastemir assumed the title, he must have overthrown the ancient Kings of Dalmatia: nevertheless, some of their descendants recovered the kingdom from the Servians, and then the true dynasty began again : yet the Servians did not renounce their title. This is the cause of that confusion and obscurity which are to be observed in some negligent writers, who, in their relation of facts, have not been able to point out, whether they belonged to the true Kings of Dalmatia, or to the Kings of Servia, who arrogated the title. It is unquestionable, that, at the time of Stepco’s insurrection, Dalmatia had not belonged to the Kings of Servia for a considerable time, but to the descendants of Bela, King of Hun¬ gary, from whom it was wrested by Slepco. It was so perfectly independent of the Kings of Servia, that we see Mladin, the grandson of Stepco, who lost Dalmatia by his arrogance, paying homage to the Kings of Servia for Bosnia, with which they had invested him, but not for Dalmatia. Lewis, King of Hungary, deprived the Kings of Servia of Bosnia. I shall only speak of Bosnia, because it was the gate through which the Turks afterwards introduced themselves into Dalmatia, and merely to give the reader some idea of the Uscoques, who were descended from no particular people, but were a hastily-collected nation of pirates and malefactors: they were, however, the most formidable and implacable enemy of the Mus¬ sulmans and Venetians for eighty years; and being, in the end, rather destroyed than conquered, they disappeared from the earth as rapidly, and, if the expression may be used, as silently as they appeared upon it. When Charles of Hungary became master of Bosnia and Dalmatia, he gave the first of these two provinces, with the title of Ban, to Stephen, a nobleman, who had conspired against Mladin. In process of time, the descendants of this Stephen usurped the sovereign power; and at last one of them, whose name was Twartk, in the year 1366, took the title of King of Bosnia, with the consent of the Kings of Hungary. Stephen Tuerthon, one of his illegitimate children, was the third King of Bosnia. In his reign, two nobles, Ostoia Christich and Ostoich, both under the pretext that the reigning sovereign was not the son of Twartk, caused themselves to be proclaimed king. Tuerthon now called in the Turks to his assistance; and this was the 50 epoch of their first entrance into these countries. To assure himself of their protection, he agreed to pay them a yearly tribute of twenty thousand ducats: thus animating them with a desire to extend their influence over other countries which they had not yet visited. By an agreement, which was settled between the competitors for the throne, a portion of the territory was allotted to each, and the whole was to vest in the survivor of the three. At the expiration of twenty years, Tuerthon was possessed of the whole of Bosnia: his successor, Stephen Thomase, was of the sect of Manicheans; a circumstance which of itself drew down upon him the hatred of the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvin, second son of Huniade Corvin, that hero whose exploits against Mahomet the Second are so celebrated. Matthias is described as a great man; but he did not hesitate to commit a crime in order to get rid of Thomase. Not having the means to contend with him, he resolved to effect his assassination; and one shudders to learn that the instruments he employed on this occasion were no other than the brother and son of Thomase, Radiroi and Stephen. The widow of Thomase, to revenge her husband’s death, had recourse to Mahomet the Second, who appeared at the head of a considerable army, and took possession of the whole of Bosnia, and part of Dalmatia. Stephen, abandoned on all sides, sought the clemency of Mahomet, and sued for quarter; but the haughty Emperor was so indignant at the crime with which he stood charged, that he slew him with his own hand. Such were the first causes which attracted the Mahometans to the shores of the Adriatic, and gave the Venetians such troublesome and jealous neighbours. It was at this epoch that they established the seat of their Dalmatian government at Bagnaluch upon the Cettina, after having destroyed Jaicza, the capital of Bosnia, which had cost them a siege of several years. A knowledge of the events which occurred in these provinces, from the time of Constantine to the advent of the Turks, is sufficient to impress us with the deplorable condition of the people during an anarchy which lasted for so many ages. Ravaged by the Huns, the Goths, the Saracens, and the Normans; always oppressed and never defended by the Emperors of the East; by turns the prey of the Croats and the Sclavonians ; constantly the object of some ambitious and intriguing men, whom revolt led to war, war to power, and power to assassi¬ nation, or the scaffold; an irresistible temptation to the Venetians; a perpetual cause of restlessness and jealousy to the Kings of Hungary, who were always ready to foment such troubles as would harrass and expel the Venetians; Dalmatia, the victim of the policy of its neighbours, of the ambition of Kings, Emperors, Doges, and frequently of its own citizens, without any national laws, without any direct constitution, without any other government than what fluctuating circumstances produced, now required nothing but the presence of the Turks to increase the discontent which was handed down from race to race as a portion of inheritance. The oppressed, the persecuted, the unprotected Dalmatian necessarily ex¬ perienced that restlessness, that desire of change, which wretchedness and the hope of a better condition engender, and was perpetually bartering the misery of his own abode for that of a new asylum : kings, nations, sultans, private nobles, and even magistrates, were alike objects of terror to the inhabitants ; and their wretched life was spent less in seeking after peace, which they required, than in studying the kind of sufferings which they might avoid. 51 The habit of emigration from town to town increased to such an extent, and the refugees were so multiplied, that they began to form a distinct race in the Dalmatian nation, and re¬ ceived a particular name. Scoco, whose true meaning is a deserter, was the name given to them ; but it has been tranformed into Uscoques, either by a corrupt pronunciation, or a translation into other languages. The spontaneous formation of this class of refugees was a moral accident, a national disorder, which grew in the political body of Dalmatia, and which might have been healed by wise and vigorous laws, a sound government, and a regular and impartial administration of justice. But what is not abused by policy! Far from re¬ forming abuses, it frequently turns them to its own advantages; and that which is merely error in its origin, frequently becomes in its hands the instrument of crimes! The refugees, or Uscoques, as we shall hereafter call them, retained a lively sense of their injuries ; and although in a scattered state they were too weak to retaliate, yet, as soon as a few were collected together, they appeared in arms against the very places which they had deserted, surprized their persecutors, laid waste their property, and carried off their cattle. These men would naturally be joined in course of time by others less pure in design than themselves, and consequently the very name of an Uscoque would soon become odious. As their numbers increased, they perceived the necessity of a strong hold capable of protecting themselves arid their cattle. Clissa, the property of a feudal lord, named Crusich, appeared, from the im¬ portance of its situation, the best suited to their projects; and,-as the possessor anticipated a considerable harvest from the predatory warfare of the Uscoques, he opened the gates to them. It was from that place that they disquieted the Turks by their frequent and well combined excursions. The Turks, desirous of revenging themselves, made vigorous preparations for besieging the town ; which so alarmed the Uscoques, that they interested Pope Paul the Third, and the Emperor Ferdinand, in their behalf. They who are conversant in history know the obstinacy with which the Turks then carried on their enterprizes, and that they were rarely compelled to abandon them either by obstacles or the courage of their enemy. The siege of Clissa lasted more than a year, and they who survived it transferred their warlike ardour and their future hopes to Segna. Dalmatia was now open to the Mahometans; and they spread themselves into the canton of Zara, took possession of the Castle of Nardin, not only menaced all Croatia and the whole coast, but also filled the Emperor Ferdinand with just apprehensions. Segna, which is situated at the end of the Gulph of Quarnero or Carnero, belonged to the family of the Counts Frangipani. The Turks did not dissemble their design against this place, which .they were urged to destroy by their animosity towards the Uscoques; and the Sultan found a sufficient pretext in his pretended right to Hungary for attacking it. Ferdinand, who ascribed the loss of Clissa to the error which had been committed in leaving the Uscoques to their own means, conceived that a contrary plan should now be adopted with regard to Segna; and, instead of extinguishing the torch of war, by using his authority to disperse men, whose depredations had exceeded the limits of a reasonable revenge, and who were generally considered as a band 52 of robbers, he committed the unpardonable error of depriving the Frangipani of their pro¬ perty, and reuniting Segna to the imperial crown: he also assigned this place especially to the Uscoques, and added a considerable stipend to this first mark of his protection : it was covering rapine and murder with the mantle of authority. The hostility of the Turks was loused the more by this step; all the neighbouring powers were alarmed at it; and Ferdinand created a host of declared or concealed enemies. It might be supposed, from the importance attached by Ferdinand to the Uscoques, and from the dread with which they seemed to inspire the Mussulmans, the Venetians, and the different maritime nations of Italy, that the number of these pirates was considerable; but it is unquestionable, that they never exceeded two thousand, and that, at the lime the Emperor made these arrangements in their favour, their number was scarcely six hundred. There were three very distinct classes of them—namely, the Casalins , the Stipendiaries, and the Adventurers. The Casalins were such as had received their birth in the town, and whose fathers possessed a house and property there. They who carried arms and received pay were the Stipendiaries, and were divided into four companies under the command of four captains, to whom they gave the title of Voivode. The Adventurers were nothing but vagabonds, men without resources, or rather criminals who had escaped the laws, or who had been banished for their offences from Turkey, Dalmatia, and Italy. The Uscoque. chiefs enlisted these men, and manned their vessels with them: every bark carried about thirty; and they used to plunder and frequently destroy the merchantmen: nor was it easy to pursue those brigands, in consequence of the numerous islands which lay along the Dalmatian coast, and which were for the most part inhabited. If Ferdinand’s conduct was impolitic, that of the Venetians was not less so; indeed, it had a character of barbarity. Without wishing to excuse the principles of the Uscoques, that are equally condemned by reason and humanity, it must be confessed, that in the commencement of their career they only directed their attention against the Turks, their natural enemies, and the Jews, who participated in the commerce of the Levant; and, according to every appearance, would never have deviated from that design, had not the Venetians excited their animosity by the most unprovoked ill-treatment. The Uscoques, who felt the necessity of keeping upon good terms with the inhabitants of Dalmatia, for the sake either of insuring themselves a retreat, or procuring provisions with the greater facility, spared them for a considerable period. If they took bread, wine, cattle, or made use of their vessels, they did not omit to make a just compensation; but the Venetians, regardless of this conduct, gave no quarter to any Uscoque who fell into their hands. It is true that they were robbers, but the Venetians had not suffered by their depredations. This injustice, and the precarious situation to which they were reduced by the scarcity of pro¬ visions, and the precautions of the Turks, at last determined the Uscoques to retaliate upon the Venetians cruelty for cruelty. They generally made their attacks whenever a number of them was collected together either at weddings, in the markets, or at their country-houses. Cattle and horses were their particular attraction; but if money was suspected, they carried away 53 hostages, and detained them until it was delivered up to them. The Turks were accustomed to take precautions against these sudden incursions, by placing posts and sentinels in advance to give notice of their approach ; by which means they were enabled to secure themselves and their cattle in the towns. In consequence of these measures, the Uscoques found their pursuits more dangerous and less lucrative; and as the necessity of existing rendered the desire of plunder more im¬ perious, they turned their attention to the sea, which promised a more abundant harvest. At first they were satisfied with ravaging the islands, and carrying off the flocks; but they soon grew bold enough to attack merchant vessels. Alarm was spread among the merchants of Venice, Naples, Romania, and the boundary of Ancona: the senate of St. Mark, the court of Rome, and the cabinets of Sicily and Spain, re-echoed with complaints. It then became necessary to fit out vessels of war, in order to convoy the traders; and this extraordinary ex¬ pense increased the ill-humour of the governments. The Turks, on the other hand, happy in a pretext for attacking Venice, pretended to believe that the Uscoques were protected by the republic, and threatened it with a rupture, unless those pirates were chastised. All the courts of Italy that were interested in this affair interceded with the Emperor, to induce him to with¬ draw his protection from the Uscoques, and to make him sensible of the dishonour which such patronage reflected on his power: but whether the Uscoques had provided powerful mediators at his court, by apportioning to them a share of the booty, or that the imperial cabinet was not averse from feeding the animosities between the Sultans and Doges, whom it inwardly regarded as enemies, it is certain that nothing satisfactory was obtained by their solicitations, and that all was reduced to vague promises and crafty answers. The Venetians, anxious to silence the Turks, now had recourse to the most wanton bar¬ barity towards the Uscoques; which the latter retaliated by every cruelty and excess that could be devised. Assassinations and massacres did not relax their rage; it extended even to the dead bodies of their enemies : they mangled and tore them in pieces, and frequently formed a most ferocious dress with the fragments. Neither age nor sex was spared; nor did the re¬ collection of some previous act of kindness from the victim ever excite their mercy. The bloody heads of their prisoners were the usual ornament of the riotous processions which followed their victories; and even their women revelled in the horrid triumph. They gloried in professing the Christian religion; and had the doctrines of Christ been preached by men who possessed some notions of philosophy, their veneration for that worship might have been turned to the advantage of their morals, and their depraved life might have been insensibly ameliorated: but, on the contrary, one sees the court of Rome sometimes more eager than any other to exasperate their ferocious dispositions by acts of injustice. For instance, they once deputed to the Pope a Jacobin monk, named Cipriano Guidi, whom the inquisition threw into the dungeons of the Holy Office, instead of availing themselves of this man’s interposition to disseminate among the Uscoques some ideas of natural and social rights. We find the Archbishop of Zara, and a bishop of Segna, deliberately discussing the means of extirpating them, forgetting that the object of their mission was by preaching, to soften and convert them. The errors of those 54 miserable beings arose rather from the criminal neglect of the ruling powers, than from their own natural instinct. It is necessary, however, to give a faithful picture of the Uscoques, and not to allow the supposition that their boldness was founded in real courage; for crime and courage are rarely associated. The arms which they used, a hatchet, a light gun, and a stiletto, did not betoken valour, but rather necessity, and the habit of escaping. The gun was useful in an ambuscade, the stiletto for the unexpected attack, and the hatchet to dispatch those who had fallen into their hands. Their great talent was to surprise : they rarely resisted where they found opposition ; and flight was practised among them as other troops practise the evolutions : they abhorred the Turks and Venetians, and never appeared to repulse their troops, but hid themselves during their slay, and came forth at their departure: their expeditions were always regulated by their numbers; and whenever the emperors made use of them in their armies, or in the defence of towns, the signal of defection or flight invariably proceeded from them. This deplorable state of things lasted from 1530, or thereabouts, since it was in 1537 that the Turks possessed themselves of Clissa, to 1C18, when in a treaty concluded at Madrid, between the Emperor Matthias, Philip III. King of Spain, and the Republic of Venice, it was deter¬ mined that the Uscoques should evacuate Segna; and that different places of residence should be allotted to each of their families. By this dispersion, their strength was annihilated, piracies ceased, and tranquillity was restored. But it is difficult to refrain from regretting that eighty years of plunder and wars had elapsed before the leading powers resolved to execute what humanity had dictated from the commencement It was yet a fortunate circumstance that the Morlachians, a savage people, whom we shall presently describe, were never associated with the Uscoques. Dannisich was the only Morla- chian who ever united his fortune to theirs; and perhaps his personal resentment towards the Ragusans, who had killed his father, had induced him to join this body, because they were at that time desolating Ragusa. He so distinguished himself by his ferocity in those expeditions, that he attained the rank of captain, or voivode, among the Uscoques; and committed such cruelties in that capacity, that the Ragusans were compelled to have recourse to Pope Gregory XIII. who, at their solicitation, sent for him to Rome, and settled a considerable pension upon him, upon condition that lie ceased to molest Ragusa. It is beyond a doubt, that unless the union of the Uscoques and Morlachians had been prevented by some cogent reasons, the power of the Venetians would have been annihilated, (nor would the dominion of the Emperors and Kings of Hungary have shared a different fate), and an empire of pirates would have been eventually established on this coast, not less fatal to the Adriatic than those of Algiers and Tripoli are at this day to other parts of the Mediterranean. Several historians conceive, that the Morlachians originally emigrated from Albania; others again, judging by their dialect, discover a greater affinity between them and the Bulgarians: it is, however, impossible to decide upon their origin, all traces of it being lost in the obscurity 55 of ages. Although a country of Croatia, which occupies the southern part of the Gulph of Venice between Istria and Dalmatia, is especially called Morlachia, yet it must not be sup¬ posed that this is the only abode of the Morlachians ; for they are spread throughout Dalmatia, and principally in the mountains of Inner Dalmatia, and occupy the valleys of Kotar, the banks of the rivers Kerka, Cettina, and Narenta, and extend towards Germany, Hungary, and nearly to Greece. Although they inhabit Dalmatia, their features, their manners, and their language, stamp them as a nation distinct from the natives of the country ; and it is easy to discover, that they have been thrown into these regions by some great political event, to which we have no clue. There is every inducement to believe, that the true Dalmatians are a posterity of the Romans; and I have elsewhere demonstrated, that the ancient Dalmatians disappeared entirely, either through war, oppression, or the endless intermixture occasioned by the perpetual inroads of the barbarians. There even exists between the Italian Dalmatians and the Morlachians a kind of hatred and reciprocal contempt, which evidently proves that they did not spring from the same source. The Morlachians themselves have undergone different modifications both of features and national character; and these doubtless resulted from the varieties in their places of resi¬ dence. Those of the plains of Scign and Knin, and the delightful vallies of Kotar, are affable, hospitable, mild, humane, and obedient to legislative discipline: they are robust, but somewhat low in stature ; their eyes are blue, their hair is of a light, colour, their noses are flat, and their faces broad ; while they have generally a fairer and more lively complexion than the other Dal¬ matians. The Morlachians of Douare, and the Vergoraz mountains are, on the contrary, violent, ferocious, proud, rash, and active : they are of a slender shape, their limbs are strong, their hair and eyes chesnut and brown, and they have a long countenance, with a yellowish complexion and surly look: their mountainous abode also makes their way of living more savage and laborious. Surrounded by sterility, their real wants become more imperative, and en¬ courage a violent inclination for plunder, which is not repressed by the fear of punishment, because their habitations are very difficult to approach. Some learned men have imagined that they may have descended from the Ardii Varates , mentioned by Strabo, who lived on the banks of the Narnia , and whom the Romans removed from the sea-coast, in order to destroy their predatory habits. These Morlachians of the Vergoraz plunder the Turks rather than the Christians, and only attack the latter in extreme cases: they are, however, faithful in their promises, sensible of the confidence reposed in them, and incapable of stripping a traveller who relies on their protection; and you may traverse their country without molestation, pro¬ vided you take care to be accompanied by one of them : they prefer cunning before open force, and have a marked repugnance to shedding blood. If by chance you catch them stealing, and claim the article which they have but that moment pilfered, they surprise you with the coolness of their answers, and the obstinacy with which they persevere in the lie. A Mor- lachian unties your horse, and leaps upon it before your face, and when you attempt to recover it, he maintains, without being the least disconcerted, that the animal is his property : he wives the pedigree of the horse, the history of the man who sold it to him, the description of the fair where the purchase was made, and can always command twenty witnesses to prove the truth of his assertion: he then concludes by walking off with the horse, and ridiculing the 56 clumsiness of your attempt to rob him. A traveller rests at the foot of a tree, and lays aside his sabre to be more at his ease: two Morlachians come up to him ; and whilst one is talking with the traveller, the other neatly draws the sabre from the scabbard, fastens it to his side, and then coolly joins in the conversation. “ Some one has stolen my sabre, exclaims the owner, after a fruitless search. “ That is unfortunate,” replies the thief; “ but why do you not manage as I do ? I always keep mine in my hand.” Many anecdotes of the same kind might be related. However, when we contrast with this vice the sincerity, the confidence, the simplicity, and even the honesty of these men in their general as well as private affairs, we are almost induced to believe that their notions of property are entirely different from ours; that the action of thieving partakes of that disinterestedness which makes them consider every thing they have as common to all ; and that their effrontery and inclination to tricking have arisen from their lonf intercourse with the Italians, by whom they must have been frequently duped. But all the robberies committed in the mountains of Morlachia are not to lie ascribed to the Morlachians: a considerable portion of them must be attributed to the Haiducks; and this mixture, perhaps, only prolongs that propensity to rapine, which might be undoubtedly corrected in the Morlachians by a few mild laws. The Ilaiducks must not be considered a distinct nation, as some writers are inclined to suppose them ; nor is the word to be taken as the generic name of that people. The word haiduck, which originally signified the chief or captain of a band, and which is used to this day in Transylvania Lo designate the head of a family, means in Dalmatia an injury : it is the name applied to an assassin, or highway robber; or rather, all kinds of criminals and runaways are included in this denomination. It is consequently not at all improbable, that many of the descendants of the Uscoques might be found among those Haiducks who are mingled with the Morlachians. Their manner of living is infinitely more wretched than that of the Morlachians. Gene¬ rally the voluntary exiles from society in consequence of their crimes, they retain an idea of punishment, which adds to their timidity: they live only on inaccessible rocks or unknown precipices; there, exposed lo the torments of conscience, the inclemencies of the seasons, and the miseries of hunger; not daring to approach inhabited districts, except in the dead of the night, like wild beasts; climbing to the summits of the steepest rocks, to discover the distant traveller, whom chance but rarely leads into these deserted regions; there, I say, they fre¬ quently pass entire months, without an opportunity of satisfying their raging appetite ; until at last forced by hunger from their dens, they dart upon the flocks, drag them into their caverns, feed upon their flesh, and convert the skins into coverings. Upon these occasions, their courage amounts to blindness, and their timidity yields to the imperious call of necessity; it is nature in despair wrestling with death: nothing impedes them ; no danger alarms them; food or death, is their motto: and at this moment, in this madness of hunger, four or five Haiducks will not hesitate lo attack twenty or thirty Turks; and they frequently succeed in beating them, and taking possession of their caravans. 57 The manners of the Haiducks and the Morlaehians prove that they are distinct races. Ex¬ clusively of the peculiarities, which I have already observed, in the character of the latter, they still retain very strong impressions of the candour of ancient manners, and especially of that innocent liberty which were always to be found in a pastoral nation. Their affection to each other is particularly remarkable : they never meet together at a feast, at a fair, or at church, without tenderly embracing each other as they arrive: one would imagine it the meeting of a large family after a long absence. A young Morlachian female, when she meets one of her countrymen, whom perhaps she never saw before, very unsuspectingly greets him with the most tender caresses. At feasts these liberties are frequently carried to a much greater extent: but what is elsewhere termed indecency, among them is considered very natural, and of no con¬ sequence. Their attachments usually commence in this way; yet there is no instance of a young man’s dishonouring a girl; indeed, she is too courageous to submit to the insult, and would make him pay dearly for the attempt: but when she has selected her lover, which is usually marked by her acceptance of a trilling present, such as glass necklaces, brass rings, knives, or small looking-glasses, she then appoints the time and place for the accomplishment of his desires; and these liberties are always succeeded by marriage. Their hospitality is unbounded. A stranger needs but the slightest introduction to be re¬ ceived by a Morlachian as a brother. He is not only profuse at his own house, but, if he be informed of his intended visit, he will send horses and an escort to meet him, and at his de¬ parture will load him with provisions for his journey, and make his children and servants accompany him to a certain distance. They are even still more hospitable to one of their own nation. When one Morlachian visits another, the mother, the eldest daughter, or she who may have been recently married, advances to embrace him; a favour denied to a stranger, since custom forbids the appearance of the females during his stay. As long as a Morlachian has provisions, he consumes them with his neighbours, who treat him in a similar way in their turn. Every one being at liberty lo enter his neighbour’s house and partake of his table, there is no occasion for begging; nor is the cordiality of the host ever relaxed by a prolonged visit. The most trivial event is a sufficient pretext for a feast; and they will frequently consume at one of these convivial meetings as much provisions as would serve their families for several months. It is no unusual occurrence to a traveller on his route to be offered by the shepherds, the reapers, and other labourers, their provisions for the day. It seems that they never study economy in any thing but their clothes, and in this respect they are perfectly puerile and ridi¬ culous. If they have to cross a miry place, they take off their shoes to preserve them ; and should they be threatened with a storm, their cloaks and caps are pulled off in order to keep them dry. To their admirable disinterestedness they add loyalty, and a remarkable fidelity to their pro¬ mises and engagements. The word of a Morlachian is sacred, and never violated. If he contracts a debt, and finds himself unable lo discharge it at the appointed lime, he never fails to carry an equivalent present to the creditor ; and this present is not intended to be considered as a liquidation of the debt, but merely as a kind of apology for the delay—a mark of gratitude to the creditor for his patience: this is repeated as often as the appointed day arrives: thus Q 58 it frequently happens, that the debtor pays, in this way, five or six times the amount of his debt. But if they are faithful in matters of interest, they are enthusiastically so in their friendship. This noble and charming sentiment, (always engendered by similar education and habits, con¬ formity of character, or some sudden and unforeseen sympathies), is considered among them as a kind of religious emotion, and is consecrated by particular ceremonies. When two young men, or mrls, agree to be united by a bond of friendship, they repair to the church, accom¬ panied by their respective relations, to receive the benediction of the priest; and then the union becomes inviolable. Two girls, united in this manner, are called posestrimS, and the men , pobraiimi: they are inseparable for the remainder of their lives, and are equal partakers of each other’s good fortune and reverses. These ardent attachments have even been frequently signalized by a sacrifice of life; and should two pobraiimi happen to be disunited, it would be regarded as a forerunner of some great national misfortune. Formerly such an incident was unknown; but since their too frequent communications with the Italians during the last two or three centuries, the purity of their manners has been somewhat changed: the introduction of strong liquors has likewise necessarily induced drunkenness, and consequently quarrels; and reason thus dethroned, lias no longer the power to discriminate between the pobraiimi and another man. Although their friendship is so strikingly characterised by constancy and devotion, yet. is their enmity equally permanent. It is astonishing to find revenge, (of all the passions the most fatal to the happiness of man), associated with those fine feelings which they possess in so emi¬ nent a degree. A Morlachian is an irreconcileable enemy: nothing can satisfy him but the death of the man whom he hates. It must not, however, be supposed, that mere words, and trivial injuries, originate such implacable animosities: on the contrary, they proceed from such a cause as the murder of a relation, a father, a brother, or a friend. This desire of vengeance is transmitted from father to son as an inheritance, and has been known to pass through several generations before it has boon satisfied. They never pardon; and their favourite proverb is, “ It is no virtue to abstain from revenge.” The bloody shirt or clothes of the murdered in¬ dividual are carefully preserved in the family, and exhibited to the children with every expres¬ sion capable of exciting in their infant minds the deepest resentment. But the most remarkable circumstance in their method of considering this kind of justice, (which, in their opinion, they owe to themselves), is, that all enmity ceases as soon as the relatives of the deceased have satiated their revenge ; whether it be immediately inflicted, or not until several years have elapsed; and the family, on which a Morlachian has avenged himself, does not continue the hatred by wish¬ ing in their turn to avenge him who has fallen a sacrifice to an old resentment: on the con¬ trary, they conceive that the avenger has only done a duty which they themselves should have performed in a similar case; and from that moment the two families are reunited, and live to¬ gether as if they had never been separated. It frequently happens, however, in some particular cantons, that these divisions do not terminate quite so tragically: but then the murderer must be still alive ; otherwise, the children of the person assassinated must have blood. The mur¬ derer, being enabled to amass or procure a considerable sum, is not without a hope of appeasing 59 the offended family through a mediator; and should the aggrieved be inclined to negociate the affair, the two families assemble together, and he is allowed to appear before them. The arms with which the crime was committed, must be suspended to his neck, and as he enters, he is com¬ pelled to drag himself prostrate along the ground. While he remains in this degrading posture, some of the relations of the deceased pronounce his funeral oration by turns; and woe to the criminal should their eloquence make a deep impression on the audience! But if he escape the trial, and the proffered compensation be accepted, the crime is buried in oblivion and the ceremony is concluded with a feast. One part of the Morlachians are members of the Greek church, the other adopt the Romish ritual. The priests of both sects are equally crafty and ignorant; and, instead of curing this simple people of their superstition, concur in encouraging it. There are three perfectly distinct classes of magicians among the Morlachians, or rather three classes of knaves who levy a tax on their credulity. The first class, which consists for the most part of women, are the sorcerers, who pretend to deal with the devil, to raise ghosts, and develope futurity. The enchanters form the second class; and it is their art to annihilate or avert the mischief produced by the sorcerers. The third are the priests, who sell them little talismans, amulets, and the names of saints written in a hieroglyphical manner, as preservatives from thunder, mad dogs, &c. I will not trifle with the reader by reciting the absurd stories, which the Morlachians relate of the powers of these sacred and profane magicians. Besides these torments of the imao-i- nation, they have the folly to believe in the existence of vampires: but shall we presume to reproach them with their blind acquiescence in such an error, when a man like Don Calmet was not exempt from a similar absurdity ? The precautions they use at the death of one whom they suspect of an inclination to vampirism, are perfectly extravagant. Before the burial, they cut the hamstrings of the corpse, trace certain characters upon the body with a hot iron, and drive nails and pins into particular parts: to this ceremony the sorcerers add certain mysterious words, and then there is no fear that the deceased will come from his coffin, and prey upon the blood of the living. Some of them pretend to have a presentiment that they shall be vam¬ pires after their death, and, in their will, direct their bodies to be submitted to this kind of purification. In other respects, the power of sorcery is confined to the Morlachians; and those who have the gift are denominated Ujesfize and Bahomizc; whilst the priests, who are more cunning and avaricious, have discovered the art of rendering their amulets, or zapiz, in¬ teresting, not only to the Morlachians, but even to their neighbours the Turks, who come a considerable distance to purchase them. They have also some faith in particular medals of the emperors; a superstition which also prevailed among the primitive Christians, who attri¬ buted considerable virtue to those of Augustus. St. Chrysostom and St. Jerome declaimed vehemently against this absurdity. The marriages are not always determined in the manner I have already noticed. A youno- man will frequently observe the formality of requesting the hand of a female through some mutual friend. They consider it of great importance to be allied to a numerous family, and especially to one which has produced courageous men; courage being reputed among them as one of the noblest characteristics. If the suitor be indifferent as to the selection of a female in 60 a particular family, his father, relation, or friend, but always an old man, proceeds to make proposals for him. All the girls are then presented to him, and he chooses according to his fancy ; the eldest, however, is frequently preferred, in compliment to seniority. Women are held among them in such low estimation, that the female rarely inquires into the qualities and condition of the suitor; and were he even a domestic, lie would not generally be rejected : never¬ theless, the girl has the privilege of visiting the family of her intended husband before she gives her promise, and if she approve them, the young man and his relations return with her to the house of her father; and the marriage is concluded. Their weddings arc attended with many ludicrous ceremonies worthy of detail. On the appointed day all the relations of the two families meet together, and for the occasion bear the generic name of Svati. The most eminent of the company is chosen president of the festival, with the title of Stari-svat, and has a lieutenant, whom they denominate the Stachez; it is his duty to receive and execute the commands of the president. Jn addition to these, they appoint th e Divert, whose office it is to be in constant attendance on the bride; the Komorgia, who superintends the marriage portion; the Kuum, who gives away the bride; and the Chiaous, the master of the ceremonies. The last officer carries a mace as a mark of distinction: he marshals the guests, and always heads the procession; and, what is well worthy of remark, he accompanies all his functions with a song, in which the names of the ancient divinities of the Morlachians are constantly repealed; a proof that Christianity is not so deeply rooted in this nation as might be imagined, and that they still have a secret inclination towards the gods of their ancestors. Finally, the Svati arc completely armed, a useless precaution at the present time, but remarkable as being a vestige of their rude manners in ancient times, when the marriage ceremonies were frequently interrupted, either by the jealousy of some slighted lovers, or the cupidity of neighbours, who were allured to the spot by the hope of a rich booty. When the young couple arc to be conducted to church, the Svati mount their horses to ac¬ company them; and the procession moves in military order, preceded by the Parrinaz and the Bariactar, who carry silk standards fastened to a lance. The bride remains veiled during the whole of the ceremony. In the tumult which prevails at their return, we may discern many traces of the barbarous ages: the Svati frequently discharge their fire-arms, and sing without the least regard to harmony, or rather howl, to express their joy: in short, they abandon them¬ selves to a kind of savage mirth, which they express by shrill and forced cries. The newly- married woman is conducted either to her husband’s or father’s house; that which is nearest to the church being always preferred; and this distance alone determines the place where the festival is to be held. They sit down to table as soon as they return : but before the procession dismounts, the Domacliiii, or head of the husband’s family, advances towards his daughter-in-law, and pre¬ sents to her a child, which she is obliged to caress: she then dismounts, falls on her knees, and kisses the threshold of the door. Her mother-in-law now comes forward, and puts a sieve into her hands, as an emblem of the occupation to which a female ought to devote herself: in the same manner as at Rome, where the bride was made to sit on an undressed sheep’s skin, 61 to indicate that her future life was to be consecrated to domestic affairs. This sieve is filled with almonds, nuts, and fruits, which it is the duty of the bride to throw behind her upon the Svati, to teach her that the industry of the wife causes abundance in her family. The young couple do not eat together during the first day: a private table is assigned to the wife, her two Diveri, and the Stachez; whilst the husband takes his place at the general table, where the Svati are seated; but he is not permitted to cut or untie any thing on this day, it being the office of the Knum to cut the bread, the meat, and the fruits, and likewise to undress him. They first bring the bukakra, which is a large cup filled with wine: the Domachin invites them to empty it, with the toast of “ prosperity to allthe Stari-svat, as the most distinguished of the party, is the first to accept the invitation $ and then the cup passes round the table. The dinner commences with fruit, then follows the meat, and afterwards the soup. A separate table is appropriated to the women. Some idea may be formed of the profusion at these feasts, when it is observed, that the parents of the newly-married couple spare nothing to render them sumptuous, and that each of the Svati contributes provisions, and endeavours to distinguish himself by his liberality. Amusements of different kinds are concluded by a supper; and at the conclusion of the last three toasts, the Kuum takes possession of the bridegroom, and con¬ ducts him to the nuptial chamber, which is usually either the cellar or the stable. The Stachez and the two Divfai are then obliged to deliver up the bride; and, as a punishment for this involuntary breach of duty, they arc compelled to swallow repealed bumpers, or suffer an expulsion from the company. In the meantime, the Kuum has the honour to officiate at the toilette of the happy pair; he loosens the wife’s girdle, and then obliges them to undress each other : this ceremony performed, he retires, but listens awhile at the door, and at last fires off his pistol, which is answered from the Svati by a general discharge of their fire-arms. Should the husband question the virtue of his wife, the festival is disturbed ; and woe be to the mother of the young woman! These marriage feasts usually continue eight days, but sometimes fora longer period ; accord¬ ing to the circumstances of the parents, and liberality of the Svati. The portion of the wife depends much upon the duration of the ceremony, and the number of the guests; since the father presents her with nothing but her clothes and a cow. Every morning she has the pri¬ vilege of offering to her visitors the requisites for washing themselves; and it is expected that every one will leave a piece of silver in the basin: nor is this their only contribution; for the person whom she succeeds in depriving of ornaments or clothes, is compelled to redeem them at a price affixed by the company. Independently on these tributes, which the wife endeavours to multiply by every artifice, each of the Svati is obliged to make her a present; and vanity is generally active on this occasion. The same ceremonies, differing only in a few particulars, prevail not only in the interior countries, inhabited by the Morlachians, but also on the coasts and islands of Istria and Dal¬ matia, where many families of that people are scattered. At Novaglia in the island of Pago, which is situated in the Gulf of Carnero, the parents of the girl give her lover a ludicrous de- R 62 scriptionof her bad qualities: the young man threatens to make her reform, and sometimes carries his threats into execution by giving her a blow or two, which she does not resent, but allows to pass as tokens of affection. In the island of Zlarina, it is customary for the Stari-svat to strike with his sabre the wreath of flowers which the bride wears upon her head; and, as he is usually intoxicated, this is no very pleasant ceremony. Soon after their marriage, the women abandon themselves to an almost unparalleled degree of slovenliness; but this is absolutely the fault of their husbands, who treat them with the Grossest nef> mingled, there is not the smallest affinity between them: they are perfectly distinct nations, as I have already remarked. The Dalmatians, properly so called, are Italians, or more parti¬ cularly Venetians, in every acceptation of the word : they speak the same language, have the same manners, customs, and religion, and arc marked by the same cunning and duplicity; nor has any material alteration in the general character been produced even in those districts which were formerly under the Austrian government. The Italians occupy the towns and villages on the coast; the Morlachians dwell in some of the islands, and in the vallies; and the Haiducks live in the mountains and the wilds. Such are the present inhabitants of an empire which, a thousand years ago, under a lvaughty queen, insulted the Roman senate. These different inhabitants of Dalmatia afford a fine subject for the reflection of the philo¬ sopher. I Tere two extremes have met and remain together—that is to say, the last of the pygmies who bore the Roman name, and the images of those giants, the barbarians of the north. Thus we see, that no human means can regenerate a power which has been gradually undermined by a corruption of manners, and that the long lapse of ages, without the assistance of some superior energy, does not promote the civilization of men whose ancestors were savages. These two truths arc deeply engraven on the soil of Dalmatia. The Morlachians of the present day are such as the Sclavonians formerly were ; and in the Dalmatians one per¬ ceives all the littleness of the courts of the Eastern and Western Empires. In their wavering manner, their habitual politeness, their ambiguous appearance and timidity, we recognize a people long accustomed to be conquered : we also discover that intriguing spirit which is the appendage of all weak governments—that innate meanness which will found individual wealth on the ruins of public prosperity; and, lastly, that writhing restlessness which feeds only on cabals, false¬ hoods, secret rivalries, and pretended religion. The present state of this country represents Rome under Augustulus, and Byzantium under Andronicus; and although fourteen hundred years have elapsed, yet if, with history in our hands, we take the trouble to study the present inhabitants of Dalmatia, we shall derive from the Dalmatians a perfect knowledge of the con¬ dition of the Romans in their most degraded state; and in the Morlachians we shall perceive much of the original character of those barbarians who founded some of the present great governments of Europe. The ancient Dalmatians are no longer in existence. The present Dalmatians, like most of the Italian nations, are but a mixture of the true Roman blood with that of the numerous nations who contributed to their destruction. The few Haiducks to be found iu the mountains are the refuse of this mixture; whilst the Morlachians have remained unmingled during the whole of this confusion. They are a handful of those numerous tribes who may be said to have established themselves from the mouths of the Danube to the Atlantic ocean. They arrived after those great swarms, but in too small a number to create any sensation, and have not been civilized, either because their power was insufficient, or that they could not find an extent large enough to form an empire. They have been tolerated rather than protected. Their manners have scarcely received any impression from the surrounding kingdoms, because it was their nature to give, and not to receive an impulse; inasmuch as they participated in the great, shock occasioned by the people of the north; and have continued without any striking marks of civilization : because, as they felt less of the 67 propelling motion, they consequently had not sufficient power to rule, and were not suffi¬ ciently weak to submit. The Morlachians have merely changed their climate, and have re¬ mained such as those great nations were, who quitted their country for the purpose of con¬ quest, and, having conquered, were obliged to yield to social organization in order to preserve their independence. That organization originated regulations ; rules gave rise to discipline ; and discipline was succeeded by laws: then the original character disappeared: for laws alone polish nations ; but the Morlachians have only customs and traditions. THE F.Nl), W. Wilson, Printer, 4, Greville-Street, Hatton-Garden, London.