THE ADEIATIC PEOVINCES. 



47 



shapeless blind reptile inhabit the wells of Gradisca. There are flies, eyeless 

 coleoptera, arachnids, centipedes, Crustacea, and molluscs. 



Formerly the superstition of the inhabitants peopled these caverns with 

 demons, vampires, and sorcerers. The Morlaks looked upon one of the deepest 

 of these chasms as a gate of hell, and a neighbouring cavern they converted 

 into the dwelling-place of a sorceress, who sallied forth at night to steal little 

 children, whose hearts she eat. In a cavern near Ragusa dwelt the serpent of 

 ^sculapius, guarding three magic coins lying at the bottom of a limpid pool. A 

 roaring noise, frequently heard in these caverns at sunrise and sunset during summer. 



Fig. 28.— The Narenta. 

 Scale 1 : 210,000. 



17°3o E oGr 



Depth II Fath? 



Depth ijveril Fath? 

 A Miles. 



has given birth to and kept alive these superstitions. This curious phenomenon 

 recalls the singing statue of Memnon, and is due, no doubt, to rushes of air 

 throuo-h narrow fissures. In the autumn of 1825 the sounds heard on the island 

 of Melada are said to have frightened away the inhabitants, who fancied they 

 heard the threatening voices of souls forgotten in purgatory. 



The Coast. — Islands. 

 The coast-line of Istria and Dalmatia is quite as remarkable in its configuration 

 as are the plateaux and the rivers. At the first glance the Istrian peninsula 



