The Belgian engineer, who had been kindly told by consular agency to look out for us, received us with open arms, and hospitably offered us the shelter of his tent for the night. He told us, as a good illustration of Turkish _laisser-aller_, that the bridge, which had been brought here at a large expense from England, had lain for two years on the river bank without being set up. At last the outbreak of the insurrection harshly aroused the authorities to a sense of their negligence; and now the work has to be pushed on with the greatest hurry imaginable, as the bridge is becoming every day more indispensable for the transport of cannon and other heavy munitions and supplies into the Herzegovina. The workmen employed are only Mahometans, but there are some booths hard-by for the sale of raki and provisions, kept by a small Christian colony. The Belgian himself lodged at the Mahometan village of Jablanica, a little further down the valley, whither we presently accompanied him to accept of his hospitable shelter. As we were walking towards this our engineer pointed to a part of a maize-plot on the roadside to the right, where the maize was slightly trodden down. ‘Do you see that?’ he asked; ‘perhaps you would like to know how the maize got trodden down there?’ He then recounted to us the following narrative, which, coming from an eye-witness, served to enlighten us considerably as to the amenities of Turkish rule. It must be prefaced that at the present time no one can go from one village to another without being provided with a _teskeri_ or Turkish pass, and that it was one of the functions of the Belgian engineer, as head of the Road Commission, to examine and set his _visé_ on the _teskeris_ of all who passed along this road. A few days ago a young Herzegovinian Christian—a fine young fellow, according to the Belgian—stopped at his tent and showed his pass, which proved to be quite _en règle_, and was _visé’d_ by the engineer accordingly. He then proceeded on his way with a light heart, but as he was passing by the booths which I have mentioned near the bridge, two Turks—not officials or soldiers of any kind, but armed nevertheless—came up and insolently demanded to see his _teskeri_. This they had not a shadow of a right to ask for; but the young fellow, knowing that in this country might is right, did not hesitate to comply, and handed his _teskeri_ for their examination. Thereupon the two Mahometans, who could not read a syllable, swore that the whole thing was wrong, and seizing hold of the young rayah began to drag him along, crying out to the Christians at the booths that they were taking him off to the Road Commission.