He was all politeness; but when we sketched out our projected mountain route to Travnik, and added moreover that we were going on foot, he betrayed such a desire to dissuade us from our purpose as convinced us that he had some misgivings as to our object in visiting the country, and that he more than half suspected us of being insurgent emissaries of some kind. When we expressed our intention of making Comušina, a small Christian village where there is a Franciscan monastery, our that day’s destination, he began to urge all kinds of obstacles to our plan. There was no road—the country was impassable—we should not be able to procure any food, and it was impossible that we should ever find our way to Travnik by this route. Let him persuade us to go round by Zepše, and then follow the high road; he would see that we were provided with a good arabà (a Bosnian waggon)—or would we prefer horses? We, however, remained firm, and our pass from the Vali being imperative, there was nothing for it but to let us have our way. The game, as he thought, was played out; and further concealment being useless, he dropped his objections with admirable tact, and mentioned incidentally that we should come in for a large Christian gathering at Comušina—‘_Ce que peut vous intéresser_.’ He evidently believed himself that we knew all about the gathering already, and I do not blame his suspicions; for the moment was far more critical than we had any idea of, and to the mind of even a liberal Turk our design of leaving the road and plunging into the mountains was, on any other hypothesis, sheer insanity—for anything that we might protest about the English passion for scenery and mountaineering. We afterwards discovered that in addition to the Zaptieh whom he forced on us as guide and guard, another was despatched to Comušina with an express commission to observe our movements. CHAPTER IV. THE PILGRIMAGE ON THE FOREST-MOUNTAIN. Through the Forests of the Black-Mountain—The Flower of Illyria—A Mysterious Fly—Enchanted Ground—The Fairy Mountain—Great Christian Pilgrimage—The Shrine on the Mountain-top—Christian Votaries in the Garb of Islâm—The Night-encampment—How the Turks dance—Anacreontic Songs—An Epic Bard, Poetic Genius of Bosniacs—Insolence of Turkish Soldiers and their Ill-treatment of the Rayahs—Types at the Fair—Aspect and Character of Men—_Chefs-d’œuvre_ of Flint-knapping—Christian Graveyard and Monastery—Dismiss our Zaptieh—Night on Forest-mountain of Troghìr—Wrecks by Wind and Lightning—Scene of Forest Fire—Timber Barricades—Summit of Vučia Planina—A _Bon-vivant_—Steep Descent—Night in a Hole—Almost impassable Gorge—Egyptian Rocks—Repulsed from a Moslem Village—Tombs of the Bogomiles—Arrive at Franciscan Monastery of Gučiagora—Fears of a Massacre—Relations of Roman Catholics with the Turks—Austrian Influence in Bosnia—Aspirations of the Bosnian Monks.