Drs Hoppe and Hornschuch’s Tour to the Coast of the 
described to us, even at Trieste, as insecure, to that degree, 
that we were advised not to undertake to travel it on foot. The 
people, they said, although robbers, are not so by habit and 
through indolence, like the natives of Istria ; but as a matter of 
necessity, on account of a succession of bad harvests. The 
country, the towns, the natives, and their language, we were 
alike strangers to. We kept, indeed, in the high road, but it 
was destitute of passengers, or inhabited only by a few beggars ; 
and it bordered close upon the mountains. The day was 
warm, and the hills covered with black clouds, which threatened 
a tempest even in the morning, but which broke out in the af- 
ternoon. This, however, was of short continuance ; and we 
were soon able to proceed, after two powerful peals of thunder, 
and half an hour’s rain. As the evening drew on, and when we 
might be about a couple of hours distant from Pordenone, our 
courage began to fail us, and we fancied ourselves in an unplea- 
sant situation. We had never heard any particulars of this 
place, the houses of entertainment were unknown to us ; and 
how could we discover a suitable one, without understanding 
the language, and where there are so few to be met with ? We 
strove, however, to keep up one another’s spirits ; and when one 
expressed a wish for the appearance of the moon, the other pre- 
sently fancied that he descried the shadow cast by it; but we 
were mistaken. We might have proceeded thus about an hour, 
when we perceived a light at a distance, and soon saw two men 
approaching us, a circumstance which created in our minds more 
anxiety than confidence. We at length mustered courage to 
accost them with “ Padroni, quante miglie a Pordenone ?” the 
reply was in good German, “ Drey meilen” (three miles). We 
were rejoiced exceedingly at meeting with countrymen, and we 
gave them to understand so, by saying, “ Aha ! you are Ger- 
mans !” Accordingly, we farther enquired of them, whether 
they u could not direct us to a good inn at Pordenone, where 
the people should not care whether good Italian was spoken ?” 
— 1 :e Do you intend to remain there ?” — ■“ No ; we shall only sleep 
at Pordenone .” — u Who are you, then ? are you Jews ?” — <£ We 
are botanists, come from Venice, and going to Trieste.” — “ What 
have you got there?”— ■“ It is a tin-box, for carrying the plants 
which we may gather on the road.”— ce Well, you have nothing 
