n round numbers at 210,000,000
florins, and here again there is a lamentable absence of wise
administration. The mining laws, I understand, are at present under
revision. Foreign enterprise is not discouraged, but I cannot go so far
as to say that the adventure would not meet with difficulties from local
obstructions of an official or semi-official nature.

We had started from Toplicza in beautiful weather, but before sunset a
complete change came on, and heavy rain set in. This was a very
uncomfortable look-out, for we could see nothing that offered us
anything like a decent shelter for the night. The guide urged us to go
on, for he said there was a hut at the top of the mountain; so we beat
our way along through the driving rain, and eventually came to the top.
We soon found the hut, but it was a mere ruin; it might have been in
Chancery for any number of years, indeed one end had tumbled in. It was
as uninviting a place to spend a night in as could well be imagined.
Fortunately one corner was still weather-proof, the fir bark of the roof
yet remaining intact. We had to be careful, however, about the roof,
which consisted of stems of trees supported longitudinally. It was easy
to see that a very little incautious vivacity on our part would bring
the whole structure down on our heads. Water was found not far off, and
we soon had a fire, which blazed up cheerfully. Its warmth was very
necessary, for it was bitterly cold and damp. I had brought with me a
hammock made of twine; this I slung in the driest corner, and after
supper I turned in and was soon asleep. The faculty of sleep is an
immense comfort. A man may put it high up on the credit side in striking
the balance of good and evil in his lot.

When I awoke the next morning, I found that the weather was worse than
ever. The mist was so dense that the Wallack guide said it was perfectly
impossible to go on, in fact we might consider ourselves lucky if we
were able to get back without mischance. Not to be daunted, I waited
till nearly noon, thinking it was possible that the mist might rise, and
restore to us the bright skies of yesterday. A change came, but not the
one we hoped for. The cold rain turned into snow, so it would have been
sheer madness to think of going on.

We were in a wretched plight, crowded together in the corner of the
ruined hut, and snow as well as "light" came in "through the chinks that
time had made." Owing to a change in the wind, the smoke