EIGHTH DAY. 129 
and fruit trees of all sorts, and in about half an hour more 
had left the bare outer hills behind me, and had penetrated 
into the mountain valleys. 
At first we went straight along the beautiful glades of a 
wooded glen, then turned to the right and began the ascent 
of a hill as steep as that of yesterday; but after we had gone 
about a mile the ascent got too abrupt for even the Slavonian 
horses, for they panted more and more and kept stopping 
every moment. The rougher the way became, the louder 
creaked the cart in every joint, and at last some of its com- 
ponent parts literally came to pieces. To have waited till the 
vehicle was put in order again, and all its breakages bound 
together with ropes in the usual way, would have been too 
tedious for me, for I did not want to lose a moment. I there- 
fore determined to walk the whole way, only accompanied by 
my jager and the very expert forester of the place. 
We now began a thoroughly good tramp, taking two hours 
and a half to cover a distance which the forester had estimated 
at three hours; but the thoughts of the eagles which awaited 
me hastened my steps, and we climbed quickly up the steep 
hillsides. The way was exceedingly beautiful, and took us 
through the most wonderful beech woods covered with thick 
undergrowth, and occasionally varied by a few huge isolated 
oaks adorned with dead branches. Ata sharp pace we went 
on up and down hill, across marshy woodland glades, which 
vividly reminded me of the higher parts of the Wiener Wald 
and even of some of our Alpine localities, over swift little 
mountain-streams, and through narrow forest valleys, but only 
now and then got a clear view of the splendid wooded moun- 
tains lying below us. Though I looked carefully about, I saw 
nothing of ornithological interest. There were Orioles, 
Cuckoos, and a few Hoopoes at the bottom of the valley; 
higher up the sole inhabitants of the woods were Chaffinches, 
Yellow Hammers, and the commonest song-birds. A Common 
K 
