RETROSPECT OF A DU'TEKIST KOK I'JOl. 35 



in his broken English " They are very fanatic," and dismissed the 

 subject evidently as though it were rather a sore point. I happened to 

 say that I purposed going to Megaspelaeon on the morrow. " Perhaps 

 I shall come too," he remarked composedly, and I, seeing my way to 

 an impromptu interpreter, replied "Perhaps you shall — we will see 

 about it." The result of which was that, shortly after I had returned 

 to the inn in Kaluvryta, he arrived " to see about it." So I arranged 

 matters from the wooden balcony outside my window, while the Bible- 

 seller stood in the street below. And a very pleasant and useful com- 

 panion did he prove himself to be ; and he certainly supplied a want, 

 though his conversation at times was rather like that of a methodist 

 preacher. But it was gratifying to show Marcus on his return how 

 well I had managed to get on during his absence. 



It was not only in the monasteries that I received hospitality, the 

 same feeling, with a few exceptions, was shown by the peasants, more 

 especially by the shepherds, who were always ready to supply us with 

 milk or cream cheese, if they had it ; and, on being asked what payment 

 they required, would, as a rule, spread out their hands saying " Tipote ! 

 Tipote ! " (Nothing! Nothing!) But the few exceptions to this rule 

 were perfectly exorbitant in their demands, and had to be dealt with 

 accordingly. I do not recommend anyone to travel in this interesting 

 country if he is at all anxious to receive his letters with any sort or 

 kind of regularity or certainty. The postal arrangements appeared to 

 me to be almost without any organisation whatever. I would some- 

 times receive no letters for two or three weeks, and then, suddenly, 

 some ten or twelve would arrive all together, and this in spite of my 

 invariably causing Marcus to send telegrams to Athens and elsewhere, 

 whenever I changed my address. I heard the same complaint from 

 all whom I met, except from the Greeks themselves, and they main- 

 tain that their postal arrangements are admirably managed, and in no 

 way different from those of " Europe." They always spoke of Europe as 

 a thing apart from Greece, as though they considered themselves to 

 belong to another continent. 



{'Tu be concluded.) 



Retrospect of a Dipterlst for 1901. 



By J. E. COLLIN, F.E.S. 



The amount of work done during the past year (1901) in attempt- 

 ing to forward the study of diptera was, as usual, small in volume com- 

 pared with that done in other orders of insects, but the quality and 

 usefulness of at least some of the work cannot be denied. 



On the continent valuable Monographs have been published — of 

 the European Pluiridac by Becker {Ahh. k. I,-. -^ooL-hot. (res. If'tV«., 

 i., 100 pp., 5 pis.), of the Xi/cteribidac by Speiser {Arch. Xutiin/., 

 68 pp., 1 pL), and Kietter has begun a " Monograph of the European 

 and Algerian (Jcridouij/idae" {Ann. Soc. Ent.Fr., 1900, 292 pp., 80 pis.), 

 which, although appearing in the Annales for 1900 was published in 

 1901. Wagner has continued his " Aphanipterologische Studien " 

 {Home Soc. Ent. Itossi.), and Enderlein has also contributed a short paper 

 on the same subject {Zool. .lahrb. Jena) ; Pandelle has continued his 

 "Etudes sur les Muscides de France " (published in connection with 



