My friends the Armenians kindly insisted on providing me with everything necessary in the shape of food; and one day, the weather being fine, I started at noon on this expedition along with my attendants.  We soon got into the forest again.  The size of the trees was almost beyond belief; but, alas! many of them had been destroyed in the same ruthless manner that I have so often alluded to in my travels.  Here were half-burned trunks of splendid oak-trees lying rotting on the ground in every direction, showing clearly that the forest had been fired.  The attempt at a clearing, if that was the object, was utterly abortive; for when the trees are down a thick undercover grows up, more impervious by far, and there is less chance of obtaining pasturage than ever, but the Wallack never reasons upon this.  The State reckons the value of its “forests” at something like 27,000,000 florins, and yet there is no efficient supervision of this property, which, from the increasing scarcity of wood in Europe, must become in time more and more valuable.  The mines of Hungary are estimated in 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.