would get us to our journey's
end in an incredibly short space of time.

We took care to give no _pourboire_ in advance; but what with the
inevitable dilatoriness of the people down in these parts, it was after
seven o'clock before we left the Hercules-Bad, and we had fifty miles to
drive.

Not even the ten hours of undisturbed consecutive repose in the downy
bed at the Mehadia hotel had made up the deficiency of sleep during the
foregoing week, and drowsiness overcame us. I think we must have had a
couple of hours of monotonous jog-trot on the fairly level road when I
fell asleep, and I suppose my companions did the same.

I must have slept long and profoundly, for when I woke, pulling myself
together with some difficulty, having slept in the form of a doubled-up
zigzag, I found it was daylight. I was surprised that we were not
moving; I rubbed my eyes, and looked out at the back of the cart, and
there I saw a round tower on a slight eminence, encircled by a belt of
fir-wood, the very counterpart of a pretty bit of scenery I had noticed
in the twilight. I looked again, and sure enough it was just the tower
itself and no other, and the very same belt of wood. The explanation was
not far to seek. I was the first to wake up in our "fast coach." Every
mortal soul--and there were five of us, besides the four horses--had, it
seems, gone to sleep much about the same time that I did. The magic
sleep of eld must have fallen upon us. The simple fact was, we had
passed the night in the middle of the highroad. Was there ever anything
so ridiculous?

We were about seven miles from Mehadia; I knew the country perfectly
well. Of course we made a confounded row with the idiot of a driver, who
certainly had been hired--not to go to sleep. I have known these
Wallacks drive for miles in a state of somnolency, the horses generally
keeping in the "safe middle course" of their own accord. As there were
some awkward turns not far ahead of us, it was perhaps just as well that
the horses stopped on this occasion.

Well, we jogged on all that day, reaching Karansebes between one and two
o'clock. We had been some eighteen hours on the road!

Here F---- and I parted, my friend returning to Uibanya, while I pursued
my way to Transylvania.

I slept the night at Karansebes, rising very early; indeed I started
soon after four o'clock. I was again on my little Servian horse, who was
quite fresh after his long rest, and I saw no reason why I sh