"Much of a muchness, like other places. The country, however, is fine and picturesque. There is, besides, the Bullin-Most."
"What is that?"
"The name of a bridge at the entrance of the town, and almost at the foot of the fortress which tops the crags. It is called the Bullin-Most, or the Bridge of the Turkish Woman. Formerly it used to be called the Bridge of the Two Torrents."
"Well, and what is there remarkable about it?"
"Don't you know the tale of 'Hussein and Ayesha'?"
"No."
"It is the subject of one of Kacic's finest poems. Would you like to hear it?"
"Of course."
"Well, then, about two hundred years ago, more or less, Kuna Hassan was the governor of Knin and of the neighbouring province. The Aga was said to be a man of great wisdom and courage; but his many qualities were marred by his severity towards the Christians, whom he hated, and subjected to all kinds of vexations and cruel treatment.
"This Aga had a numerous family, being blessed with many children by his several wives; but Ayesha, the only daughter of his favourite wife, was the child in whom he had put all the fondness of his heart. She was, it is true, a girl of an extraordinary beauty. Her skin, they say, was as white as the snowy peaks of the Dinara, the mountain over against the fort of Knin; her eyes were black, but they sparkled softly, like the star which shines at twilight; her curly hair had the colour of the harvest moon's mellow light.