We were in for adventures in a small way that evening.  Just after sunset, when it was already rather dark in the valley, we found ourselves suddenly stopped by a man, who leaped out from behind a rock, seized the horses, and with a powerful grasp brought them down on their haunches.  F——­ had the reins, so I jumped down and made straight at the fellow, revolver in hand.  I imagine he did not expect to find us armed, or he found us literally too many for him, but diving into the bushes, he was gone even quicker than he came.

We had hardly got the horses into full trot again, when we noticed two cartloads of Wallacks driving side by side on in front of us.  When we came up they would not let us pass, and continued this little game for more than ten minutes, notwithstanding all our expostulations.  They were driving much slower than ourselves, and F——­ began to lose patience; so holding the horses well in hand, he told me to fire off my revolver in the air.  After this they thought proper to draw aside, but even then leaving us so little room that we risked our necks in passing them in a very awkward corner.  I was told afterwards by the postmaster of Karansebes that a diligence had fallen over the precipice at this very place, only a very short time before, owing to the Wallack drivers purposely obstructing the road.  Such are the Wallacks—­I beg their pardon, Roumanians!

When we got to Terregova, we were glad to find quite a decent inn, the Wilder Mann, kept by civil people.  After supper we had a chat with our hostess, who being a regular gossip, was very pleased to tell us a lot of stories about the wild character of the country-people.  She was very sorry that the frontier was no longer under the Austrian military rule, for, she said, having been accustomed to the strict military system so long, the Wallacks, now they have more liberty, have become utterly lawless, and exceedingly troublesome to their German neighbours.  She added that the gendarmes, who were supposed to keep order in the district, were far too few to be of any real use.  She complained bitterly against the Wallacks for firing the forests, and they had become much worse since ’48.  “In fact the time will come,” she said, “when wood will be scarce, and then everybody will suffer; but they don’t think, and they don’t care, and just lay their hands on anything.”

The Government certainly ought to look to the preservation of the forests, and above all they ought to make the law respected amongst a population which is so little advanced in civilisation as to be indifferent to the first principles of order.  The Wallacks want education, and above all they want a decent priesthood, before they can make any sound progress.  With all their ignorance and lawlessness, it is curious that they pride themselves on being descendants of the ancient Romans, ignoring their “Dacian sires.”

The next day we went on to Karansebes—­a good road and charming scenery.  This is the highroad into Transylvania, called the Eisenthor Pass; but it hardly merits the name of pass, inasmuch as it only crosses the spur of the hills.  The distance from Orsova on the Danube to Hatszeg in Transylvania is 110 miles:  the district is known as the “Romanen Banat,” and, as the name imports, is principally inhabited by Wallacks, otherwise Roumanians.