SECOND DAY. 



OUR train arrived at the Pest Station somewhere between 

 five and six o'clock in the morning, and we at once left 

 the carriage and drove through the town to the quay. It 

 was a beautiful warm April morning, and the snn was gilding 

 with its brightest beams the old castle of Ofen and the 

 venerable Bloxberg, with their sloping gardens and grey 

 walls of fortification running down in all directions. The 

 fair Danube, as the Hungarian in his national songs so 

 rightly calls it, flowed silent and majestic under the splendid 

 suspension-bridge ; and the flourishing, busy, commercial 

 city of Pest formed a striking contrast to all the hoary and 

 historic rocks, walls, and buildings of the Ofen side, while 

 the Pest quay, with its lively bustle and many boats, 

 some crossing over and others lying quietly by the bank, 

 gave the whole scene that bright cheerful look which makes 

 it always a pleasure to revisit this beautiful town. 



Our steamer lay at anchor just below the great suspension- 

 bridge, and we were much pleased with its general outward 

 appearance, for it was a fine stately craft. 



The Danube Steam Navigation Company had very oblig- 

 ingly placed at our disposal this vessel, which bears my 

 name, and is said to be the fastest of all their boats. Its 

 interior arrangements were also excellent, and the way in 

 which the space was apportioned left nothing to be desired. 

 A large dining-room, in which a writing-table was placed, 

 and a little smoking-room near it, which we used for storing 

 our bird-skins, together with the whole of the lower deck, 

 formed our " Casino," while some small cabins near the 





