The three duchies, with beautiful poetic names, Carniola, Carinthia, and Styria, are comparatively unknown to strangers outside the borders of the Empire. Seamed by ranges of the Alps, cut by torrents, and clothed in rich forests, they include some of the most glorious parts of the country, and as they get better known will probably be as popular with tourists as the Tyrol or Switzerland. The two first-named average about 4000 square miles each, and the last over twice as much. In Carinthia the largest proportion of the inhabitants are Germans, and in Carniola all but 5 per cent are Slavs, known as Slovenes. In both countries the bulk of the people are of the Roman Catholic religion. The title Duke of Carinthia first appears in the tenth century and is to be found in the chronicles of many of the local disturbances throughout succeeding centuries. The celebrated Margaret Maultasche, mentioned in the account of the Tyrol, received the province as part of her patrimony from her father the Duke, but it was taken from her by the King of Bavaria and handed over to the Austrian princes. On the death of Ferdinand of Austria in 1564 his third son, Charles, became Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. When Buonaparte created the province of Illyria, these three countries were incorporated in it. Carinthia is cut in two by the river Drave. Its capital is Klagenfurt. Carniola, which has always been closely connected with it, is traversed by the river Save. Its capital is Laibach. The Slovenes of Carniola are very near akin to the Croatians, and the two languages are sufficiently alike for the people to understand one another without much difficulty. In uniting these provinces as Illyria, Buonaparte aroused national aspirations which still linger. Carniola is desperately anxious to preserve alive her nationality and to cultivate her own tongue. The writer in the tenth edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ says: German influence in the province is now very slight and is still declining. Energetic efforts are being made to cultivate literature, science and the drama in the Slovene language. The Dramatic Association has brought out over a hundred original and translated pieces, many of which have been produced in the subsidized Slovene theatre at Laibach. The national Literary Association, which numbers over 46,000 members, distributes a quarter of a million volumes annually, while its encouragement promotes and maintains a national periodical press, which calls forth a succession of talented young writers. The anti-German and anti-Italian feeling is very strong, and has found expression in violent demonstrations of fraternity with the Czechs, and in an abortive effort to make the Russian language a subject of instruction in the public school, preliminary to elevating it to the rank of the Panslavist medium of intercommunication.