1895] ^ Long Distance Ride in Poland 183 



the weather again broke up this evening, and it has become intensely 

 cold. 



"21st Sept. — Drove another twenty-five versts with Sapieha to see 

 the Countess's own stud — the mares better than those of yesterday. 

 But they are dreadfully in want of good stallions. 



" 22nd Sept. {Sunday). — A bad cold, so did no more stud seeing — 

 in bed instead. But in the afternoon to the oak wood — they call it the 

 park — a delightful place, where we gathered orange-coloured mush- 

 rooms. Mile. Sophie drove a pair of chestnut mares to-day perfect in 

 shape and type. All the world drives here. We went out, three four- 

 in-hands and three pairs — one four-in-hand of ponies being driven by 

 a child of Princess Radziwill of five years old. There are two very 

 fine teams, chestnuts and bays, and a third of greys, besides the ponies. 

 All is done on a large and bountiful scale, with numbers of old serv- 

 ants, who carry the children about and kiss their mistress's hand or 

 sleeve as in the East. The park is a sanctuary for wild beasts and 

 birds, and no gun is fired in it. But they have an English pack of 

 hounds, and go outside with it twice a week fox hunting. Foxes are 

 plentiful, but get soon to earth. In the winter there are wolves, and 

 Sapieha told me of a run they had had of forty-two versts after an old 

 one, which they killed. The hounds were afraid of it, but brought it 

 to bay, and a peasant killed it with a cudgel. 



" There has been a race this year at Warsaw, ridden by young Rus- 

 sian officers, of 100 versts or 120 kilometres, say seventy miles. It 

 was run in the extreme of the hot weather, and, out of forty-one start- 

 ers, thirty-six horses died. The race began at eight minutes past two in 

 the afternoon, and the first horse, an English thoroughbred, arrived at 

 a few minutes before eight. He survived. The second and third, also 

 English thoroughbreds, died soon after coming in, and the fourth, an 

 Arab from Sanguscko's stud, arrived fresh an hour after the first and 

 took no harm. The young officers seem to have ridden like lunatics, 

 and I fancy the horses were only half trained. But I am to have 

 precise details from Potocki. Most of the horses died actually on 

 the road. 



" I took an affectionate leave of Countess Branicka, for she is a 

 really good kind woman, and we have made great friends. She has a 

 house also at Warsaw, another at Kiev, and another, I think, at Vienna. 

 The rest of the party have also been most friendly to me, and I am glad 

 to have made their acquaintance, where one sees them at their best, in 

 their own country. 



" We had some talk about their political misfortunes. They all say 

 the cause of Poland is lost, and that there is nothing more to hope. 

 The persecution is more religious now than political. ' I should not be 



