154 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



When I had satisfied myself with looking at this scene, I 

 descended to the carriages by another route, and then set off 

 with the head forester in a small country cart, our object 

 being to look for Wild Cats, these fine strong animals being 

 among the commonest inhabitants of this district. At first 

 our road led through a very pretty woodland valley, with 

 marshy meadows bordered on both sides by low oak-covered 

 hills, and in a thicket of thorns by the edge of one of these 

 woods was an old fox-earth, which the keepers had discovered 

 to be the abode of a large Wild Cat. They had seen the 

 beast hunting mice near its dwelling almost daily, but not 

 to-day, and though we searched for it in every direction, all 

 our trouble was in vain. The forester knew of another much 

 larger one in this thoroughly well-looked-after ground, but 

 to get to its haunt we had still to tramp a long way through 

 some oak woods and swampy little glades. 



During the whole of this time I had seen but little of 

 interest, for the woods were particularly silent, and I noticed 

 hardly any raptorial birds, only here and there a little Kestrel. 

 There were also a few Hoopoes on the meadows, and some 

 Orioles flying about among the bushy oaks, and by the edge 

 of a lonely valley a Roe was feeding, which on seeing us 

 sprang frightened into the cover. 



After surmounting one more little range of hills we reached 

 the most northerly extremity of these woods, just as night 

 was beginning to fall and it was getting too dark for shooting. 

 Before us stretched broad fields of corn already pretty high, 

 and the forester informed me that the cats came out here 

 almost every evening to hunt among the fields and meadows; 

 I waited till it was quite dark, but the much desired beasts of 

 prey did not show themselves. 



About half an hour afterwards I heard a carriage rumbling 

 behind me, which proved to be Leopold's, who was returning 

 from the opposite direction. I got in with him, and accom- 



