overnment; and in it I was rowed over the calm bright sea twenty-four
miles to Gominitza, where I arrived in five hours. Here I hired three
horses with pack-saddles, one for my baggage, one for my servant, and
one for myself; and away we went towards Paramathia, which place we were
told was four hours off. Paramathia is said to be built upon the site of
Dodona, although the exact situation of the oracle is not ascertained;
but some of the finest bronzes extant were found there thirty or forty
years ago, part of which went to Russia, and part came into the
possession of Mr. Hawkins, of Bignor, in Sussex, where they are still
preserved.

Our horses were not very good, and our roads were worse; and we
scrambled and stumbled over the rocks, up and down hill, all the
afternoon, without approaching, as it seemed to me, towards any
inhabited place. It was now becoming dark, and the muleteers said we had
six hours more to do; it was then seven o'clock, P.M.; we could see
nothing, and were upon the top of a hill, where there were plenty of
stones and some low bushes, through which we were making our way
vaguely, suiting ourselves as to a path, and turning our faces towards
any point of the compass which we thought most agreeable, for it did not
appear that any of the party knew the way. We now held a council as to
what was best to be done; and as we saw lights in some houses about a
mile off, I desired one of the muleteers to go there and see if we could
get a lodging for the night. "Go to a house?" said the muleteer, "you
don't suppose we could be such fools as to go to a house in Albania,
where we know nobody?" "No!" said I, "why not?" "Because we should be
murdered, of course," said he; "that is if they thought themselves
strong enough to venture to undo their doors and let us in; otherwise
they would pretend there was nobody in the house, or fire at us out of
the window and set the dogs at us; or----" "Oh!" I replied, "that is
quite sufficient; I have no desire to trouble your excellent countrymen,
only I don't precisely see what else we are to do just now on the top of
this hill. How are they off for wolves in this neighbourhood?" "Why,"
quoth my friend, "I hope you understand that if anything happens to my
horses you are bound to reimburse me: as for ourselves, we are armed,
and must take our chance; but I don't think there are many wolves here
yet; they don't come down from the mountains quite so soon: though
certainly it