22 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



dows, gnarled willows, marshes, more sand steppes, low hills, 

 isolated villages on the plains, with their brilliant white church- 

 spires visible from afar, countless floating mills, numerous 

 little islands, partly decked with tall trees, and endless droves 

 of pigs, horses, and cattle all picture in a few words the 

 character of this part of the country which we rapidly ran 

 past, and which really offered few details that were pleasing 

 to the eye, though when viewed as a whole it had in it some- 

 thing undeniably grand. It might not, however, have inter- 

 ested many people, and my judgment may be no criterion, 

 for I have such an admiration for Hungarian scenery in its 

 many various aspects that I am blind to all its monotony. 



We had, moreover, but little time for looking at our 

 surroundings, for after luncheon, which, thank goodness, was 

 served as soon as we left Adony, we had a good deal of work 

 to do. 



I must yet mention one other incident, as it helped to make 

 our day's voyage more notable. About half an hour after we 

 had left Adony, I was smoking a cigarette on deck, and 

 quietly looking at the play of the ripples, when I suddenly 

 observed a black object floating slowly down beside our steamer, 

 and on closer scrutiny saw that it was a dead Cormorant, the 

 same which I had seen fall into the water while I was stand- 

 ing on the bank of the island. I at once gave the order to 

 stop : a boat was lowered, and in a few minutes the bird lay 

 beside his comrades in a shady corner of the vessel. 



"When we had changed our things and lunched, we sat 

 comfortably on deck smoking Homeyer's cigars for him in 

 a most friendly way for his were always the very best. 



Life on board ship is most delightful, and it is by far the 

 pleasantest way of travelling. One is at home and has 

 everything that one wants ; the pace is good, and the land- 

 scape changes like the scenery of a theatre ; and not until one 

 travels in this way does one understand that fanatical 



