88 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



to find it after a short search. Heavily laden with four 

 Black Storks, we now returned to our carts, and drove off to 

 the shooting-lodge as fast as possible. There we found 

 Bombelles and Homeyer waiting for us with great impatience, 

 for it was already high time to start on our long drive to the 

 " auen " at Mohacs. Neither of them had shot anything, 

 the former having only wounded a roe. After packing our 

 spoils and drinking a few more glasses of the capital 

 Giesshiibler water our faithful companion on all expeditions 

 we got into the carriages in which we had driven to Keskend 

 in the morning. 



A long ride running through young covers brought us to 

 the northernmost end of this great forest, which was fringed by 

 rich green meadows, while some patches of wood adorned 

 with high trees formed the transition stage between it and 

 the bare flat land. 



We now proceeded in a northerly direction, along a very 

 good driving-road. On our right we saw the open country 

 descending to the " auen " of the Danube in terraces of 

 meadows, fields, and marshes. On our left we could still 

 discern the dark outlines of a few large and distant woods, 

 all divided from each other by open country. In one of 

 them the Imperial Eagle is said to breed pretty often : at 

 least so the keepers told me ; but I put but slight faith in this 

 assertion, as we never found the nest of this beautiful eagle 

 until we had got much further south. 



The flattish undulating ground in front of us stretched up 

 to a rather distant barren ridge which ran down to the bank 

 of the Danube in a slanting direction. In the south rose a 

 somewhat important chain of heights ; and to the east were 

 other mountains, among which the conical hill so often men- 

 tioned now showed itself at no great distance. 



From this point the whole landscape was undeniably 

 beautiful, and being on such a large scale offered much 



