inward fever. We would have given much to
have been able to converse with him; for, as we
were about to start, he grinned and gesticulated
in such a violent way—having, evidently,
something to communicate which he was
unable to express—that we called the host
to our assistance.

"You must not be alarmed," said the landlord
in explanation, "if he should swerve
from the high-road, for he thinks of taking
you cross country, and it may be a little
rough."

We started at last, and the brave little
horse rattled along at a gallant pace. "Hi,
hi, hi!" shouted the Bohemian, and away we
went along the well-beaten high-road, jolted
unmercifully; our knapsacks dancing about
our feet like living creatures. We were too
much occupied in the task of keeping our
seats, to be able to devote much attention to
the country, until, having passed Czaslaw, we
turned suddenly out of the high-road, and
came upon a scene of cultivation and refinement
that was very charming. A rapid
cooling down of our driver's extravagance of
manner was the immediate result of our
entering upon the well-kept paths, and
between smooth lawns; we went at a decent
trot, following a semicircular road, by which
we were brought immediately in front of a
noble mansion. At the door of an inn, which
pressed upon the pathway, our Bohemian
halted and addressed to us a voluble and
enthusiastic harangue in his own language
(one that has a soft and pleasant sound):
evidently he meant to impress us with the
beauty of the scene.

We soon learned all about it from the
landlord of the inn. Our driver was a liveried
servant of the Prince before whose mansion
we had stopped, and he was probably running
much risk of dismissal in letting his grace's
country cart for hire. He was a sad dog, for,
in the course of a quarter of an hour, he ran
up a score upon the strength of an alleged
promise on our parts to pay all expenses, and
succeeded in wheedling another zwanziger
in advance out of our cashier, the military
Lübecker. This piece of money, however,
on being proffered in payment of a last half-
pint of beer, was instantly confiscated by the
landlord for previous arrears.

Amid a hurricane of abuse, exchanged
between landlord and driver, we clattered
out of private ground to the main road again.
Our charioteer had risen into a state of
exaltation that defied all curb, and in a short
time we were again firmly planted before
the sign-post of a public-house. But here
there was no credit, and our good-natured
Lübecker having doled out a fourth zwanziger
on account, was scareiy surprised to see it
pounced upon and totally appropriated by
the host in liquidation of some ancient score.
With a shout of rage, or rather a howl, from
our Bohemian Whip, we again set forward.
"Hi, hi, hi!" and helter-skelter we went,
through bush and bramble, where indeed
there was no trace or shadow of a beaten
track. The Bohemian was lost to control;
he shouted, he sang, he yelled, savagely flogging
his willing beast all the while, until we
began to have serious fears for the safety of
our necks. Presently we were skimming
along the edge of the steep bank of a broad
and rapid stream, wondering internally what
might possibly come next, when, to our
terror, the Bohemian, pointing with his whip
to the opposite bank, suddenly wheeled the
horse and rude vehicle round, and before we
could expostulate with or arrest him in his
course, plunged down a long slope and dashed
into the river,with a hissing and splashing that
completely blinded us for a few seconds, and
drenched us to the skin. We held on with
the desperation of fear; but before we could
well know whether we swam or rode we had
passed the stream, and our unconquered little
horse was tugging us might and main up the
opposite bank. That once obtained, we saw
before us a wide expanse of heath, rugged
and broken, and no trace of any road.

But horse and driver seemed to be alike
careless about beaten tracks. The Bohemian
grew wilder at every step, urging on his horse
with mad gestures and unearthly cries. His
driving was miraculous; along narrow strips
of road, scarcely wide enough to contain the
wheels, he passed in safety, sometimes
skimming the outer ridge of a steep bank, and
when, seemingly about to plunge into an
abyss, suddenly wheeling both horse and cart
round at an acute angle, and darting on with
a reckless speed to new dangers and new
escapes. We had been told that he was an
admirable hand at the rein when sober; but,
when drunk, he certainly surpassed himself.
As for ourselves, we were in constant fear of
our lives; and, being utterly unacquainted
with the country and the language, and
unable to control the extravagances of our
driver, we calmly awaited, and almost
invoked, the "spill" that seemed inevitable.

But the paroxysm of the Bohemian had
reached its height; from an incarnate devil,
in demeanour and language, he rapidly
dropped into childish helplessness, and finally
into a deep uncontrollable slumber. This
was a state of things which, at first, threatened
more danger than his open madness; but
then it was the horse's turn to show his
quality. He saw that a responsibility devolved
upon him, and he was quite equal to the
occasion. He seemed to know his way as
well without as with his master. We guessed
this; and, taking the reins from the hands of
the quite helpless Bohemian, we left the
gallant animal to take whatever course he
thought most prudent. The good beast
brought us well out of the tangled heath, and
once more to a level open road.

Soon, a neat village was before us, and we
came to the resolution that we would
dismount there at all hazards. But then our