shipwrecks would again be very common. There are two currents, the one a continuation of that from the Black Sea, meets that from the Adriatic in the south-west of Malea; they then move on diagonally in a curve, and thus enter the Syrtes. The current from the Adriatic increases the danger of the Ceraunia. From the head of the Ceraunia, the inhospitable coast extends a considerable distance till opposite Corfu. The heights then extend inland towards Pindus, and the southern districts present fertile hills covered with cork-oaks; these hills are lower, and only a few lofty peaks rise out of them, which are very difficult of access. The country about the Ambracian gulf, to a very considerable extent, is mostly alluvial land (in modern Greek βάλτος). The marshes, now called Valtos, are formed by the sea, the Arachthus, and the other rivers; they are constantly increasing, yet the increase amounts to less than what is lost at the mouth of the Achelous. THESPROTIA, the southern and lower country, is the true seat of subterraneous commotions, whence in antiquity it was the land of terrors, and was believed to be connected with the dismal regions of the lower world: in the autumn, scarcely a day passes on which the ground does not tremble under the feet of its inhabitants. From the Acherusian lake (the lake of Janina) a river issues, which is soon lost in the earth, but afterwards re-appears and discharges its waters into the sea. This re-appearance was naturally enough doubted by the ancients, and is a disputed point even now, though I for one have no hesitation in saying that it is the same river. This river is the ACHERON or STYX (for in some accounts the two are the same); these are the muddy waters of the lower world, for the soil of Thesprotia is loose and rich, and the rivers are heavy with mud; hence the country is wonderfully fertile, and a real storehouse of grain for Europe, but it is unhealthy, and, with the exception of the mountainous parts, the water is bad.