sleep as soon as they were finished. As they carried with them
the last of the torches, their wish was, in some measure, accomplished;
for my eyes, after repeated efforts, closed of their own accord, and
were not opened again, except during feverish and brief intervals, till
five o'clock next morning.

CHAPTER V.

MARCH RENEWED. SCENERY MORE AND MORE GRAND. A POPULATION OF WEAVERS.
HOCHSTADT. THE ISER. MAGNIFICENT RIVER, AND CAPITAL TROUTING.
STARKENBACH. EXTREME KINDNESS OF THE INHABITANTS. CARRIED TO THE
CHANCELLOR'S HOUSE. FISH THE ISER AGAIN. THE EFFECT OF MY SPORT ON A
RELIGIOUS PROCESSION. SUPPER AT THE HIGH BAILIFF'S. GAME AT CHESS. TAKE
LEAVE OF OUR KIND HOSTS WITH MUTUAL REGRET.

Our toilet this morning was very speedily completed. A dip of the whole
head into a basin of water, and a hasty and imperfect rinse of the
hands; these, with the application of tooth-brush, hair-brush, and
razor, to their respective departments, put us in marching order; and
coffee being served without delay, by six we were _en route_. Hoen
Elbe, not far from the fountain of the mighty Elbe, was our proposed
point. But

The best laid schemes of mice and men,
Gang aft awry,

and Hoen Elbe we were destined never to behold.

Our road to-day led over a succession of hills, each of which
introduced us to scenery more wild and rugged than before; for each new
step was now bringing us nearer and nearer to the loftiest of the
Riesengebirg range. Still the population appeared not to diminish. The
villages, if poorer and meaner, were not less frequent than ever, and
each individual cottage seemed to swarm with inmates. We were, however,
greatly struck with the squalid and unhealthy appearance of these poor
people. Unlike our own mountaineers, the inhabitants of the Bohemian
hills seem to be a race every way inferior to the occupants of the
plain. The men are short, thin, and apparently feeble, with pale cheeks
and sickly complexions. The women, over and above these disadvantages,
are almost all goitred, and the children look like creatures born in
sin and brought up to misery. Probably all this is owing as much to the
sort of life which these highlanders lead, as to the severity of their
climate. They are all either weavers, or spinners and teazers of flax,
except the very few whose services are required in the cultivation of a
barren soil. Now, were you to shut up even a hardy Argyleshire
shepherd, in a heated chamber,