it was taken by Cornaro, and remained in the hands of the Venetians
until A.D. 1716, when they evacuated it, blowing up the greater
part of its defences.

Immediately above the town, the Narenta traverses the plain of Gabella,
which is one of the largest and most productive in the country.

The plains of Herzegovina are in reality nothing more than valleys or
basins, some of which are so hemmed in by hills, that the streams
flowing through them can only escape by percolation, or through
subterranean channels. This last phenomenon frequently occurs, and no
better example can be given of it than the Trebinitza, which loses
itself in the ground two or three times. After the last of these
disappearances nothing is known for certain of its course, although a
large river which springs from the rocks in the Val d'Ombla, and empties
itself into the Adriatic near Ragusa, is conjectured to be the same.

Gabella, as well as Popovo, Blato, and other plains, is inundated in the
winter, and remains in that state during three or four months.

They are traversed by means of punts, and excellent wild-duck shooting
may be had by those who do not fear the exposure inseparable from that
sport.

From this point the river entirely changes its aspect, losing the
sluggish character which distinguishes it during its passage through the
Austrian territory. Indeed, throughout its whole course, from its rise
until it opens out into the plain of Gabella, its bed is rocky, and the
current rapid and even dangerous, from the number of boulders which rise
above the surface, or lie hid a little below the water line. It here