Round About the Carpathians

week in the mountain-The party starting for the hunt-Adventures by the way-Fine

r the name of an Englishman without associating the idea of a fussy, irritable, impatient being, such as I was, about my guns. Of course it was very provoking that they had not arrived. This postmaster was a pattern official, an

in with a letter without an address. The postmaster seeing this, and thinking she could not write, asked her to whom he should address the

without an address," o

ing more and more angry-"you must;

to give her son's address; but it was a clear case of "convinced against her will," for as she quitted the office she

nipe-shooting in spring and autumn. The fishing too is excellent for trout and grayling. The bear, the wolf, and

ations. When these matters were settled to our satisfaction, we went off i

orning was very unpromising, the rain descended in a dull persistent downpour. We tried to hope it was the pride of the morning. The prospect was dreary enough to damp the spirits of some of our party. One man found that urgent private affairs cal

hardly conveys the proper notion of the thing itself. This long cart, it is needless to say, is without springs; but it has the faculty of accommod

obliged to borrow. The one lent me had o

ack settlement that I had seen at all. It is celebrated for the beauty of its women. Several very pretty girls in their picturesque costume were gathered round the village well, engaged in filling their classical-shaped pitchers. Eve

tskirts of the village, was very agreeably discussed amidst much general good-humour. The p

iew some new aspect, calling forth admiration. On our right was a fine trout-stream of that delicious brown tint welcome to the eye of the fisherman. At times t

iner than those of the Austrian Alps; they attain a greater average height. The variety, too, was very striking in many places. The s

with dirty clouds. It was observed that they were lifting, at least some of the most sanguine thought so. However, judging from my former experiences in Upper Austria and Styria, I could not s

d of shaggy mountain horses with their Wallack drivers-as wild a scene as could well be imagined. Here we unpacked our various stores of provisions, fortified ourselves with a good dinner, and made necessary arrangements for the change of locomot

ngst the promiscuous lot brought up by the "hunt." We chose out a couple of decent-looking animals-indeed I rathe

seback with lances in rest, rode on in front, in Indian file: our long alpen-stocks really somewhat resembled lances. Each man had his gun slung behind. In the rear of these gallant

the forest was too narrow and too steep to do more than walk our horses in single file. The character of the vegetation v

imeval. The murmuring

in garments green, indi

st singular effect, almost weird at times. These ancients of the forest, with t

he rottenness which gives new life; and here fungi of bright and varied hues, grey lichen, and green moss preserved together the

pine-woods, pretty high up, but they are only to be got at during the pairing season. Hazel-grouse too are common in the lower woods, but are not easily found unless the call-system be adopted. Black game are scarcely worth mentioning as far as sport is concerned. Partridges scarce, not preserved, and the hooded crows and birds of prey making life rather hard for them." Mr

t last diminished into mere sparse shrubs, and finally we reached the treeless region, called in German the Alpen, where there is rich pasturage for cattle and sheep during the summer. We were now on tolerably level ground, and I thought we should get a trot out of our wretched horses, but no, not a step faster would they go.

e of the reply of the Somersetshire farmer, who, when he was asked if his horse was steady, answered, "He be so steady that if he were a bit steadier he would not go at all." Notwithstanding that we moved like hay-stacks, and the cavalcade seemed to be treading on on

ust observe a fellow on foot was leading the way in quality of guide. A pretty sort of a guide he turned out

track. It was next to impossible to halt, for we had not even got our plaids with us-everything was with the baggage-horses. Of course "some one had blundered." We all knew that! The guide stuck to it to the last that "he had not exactly lost his way." The fellow was incapable of a suggestion, and would have stood the

out the organ of locality. He had found some shepherds, he told us subsequently, not long after he had left us, but then the fool of a fellow could not find his way back to us,

ast a junction with our lost luggage. Arriving at the hut, which had been previously built for us, we were delighted to find a meal already prepared; it was in fact a

otal obscurity the night before. The position of our camping-place was not badly chosen; we were just within the girdle of forest above which rises the grassy Alpen. About forty yards to

tree was placed across, with a couple of smaller supports, and on this was made on a rough framework a sloping roof to the windward side. The roofing consisted entirely of leaves: it is

were hanging from pegs fastened into the supports of the roof; and the gear belonging to ten sports

f the range must not be taken as a gauge of the scenery, which quite equals in grandeur the higher Alps in many parts of Switzerland and the Tyrol. Comparisons are dangerous, for the lovers of Switzerland will silence me with glaciers and eternal snow; these advantages I must concede, still contending, howeve