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ran deep between the spurs of the hills, as we ascended through the |
Pass, the dark firs stood out here and there against the background of |
late-lying snow. Sometimes, as the road was cut through the pine woods |
that seemed in the darkness to be closing down upon us, great masses of |
greyness, which here and there bestrewed the trees, produced a |
peculiarly weird and solemn effect, which carried on the thoughts and |
grim fancies engendered earlier in the evening, when the falling sunset |
threw into strange relief the ghost-like clouds which amongst the |
Carpathians seem to wind ceaselessly through the valleys. Sometimes the |
hills were so steep that, despite our driver's haste, the horses could |
only go slowly. I wished to get down and walk up them, as we do at home, |
but the driver would not hear of it. "No, no," he said; "you must not |
walk here; the dogs are too fierce"; and then he added, with what he |
evidently meant for grim pleasantry--for he looked round to catch the |
approving smile of the rest--"and you may have enough of such matters |
before you go to sleep." The only stop he would make was a moment's |
pause to light his lamps. |
When it grew dark there seemed to be some excitement amongst the |
passengers, and they kept speaking to him, one after the other, as |
though urging him to further speed. He lashed the horses unmercifully |
with his long whip, and with wild cries of encouragement urged them on |
to further exertions. Then through the darkness I could see a sort of |
patch of grey light ahead of us, as though there were a cleft in the |
hills. The excitement of the passengers grew greater; the crazy coach |
rocked on its great leather springs, and swayed like a boat tossed on a |
stormy sea. I had to hold on. The road grew more level, and we appeared |
to fly along. Then the mountains seemed to come nearer to us on each |
side and to frown down upon us; we were entering on the Borgo Pass. One |
by one several of the passengers offered me gifts, which they pressed |
upon me with an earnestness which would take no denial; these were |
certainly of an odd and varied kind, but each was given in simple good |
faith, with a kindly word, and a blessing, and that strange mixture of |
fear-meaning movements which I had seen outside the hotel at |
Bistritz--the sign of the cross and the guard against the evil eye. |
Then, as we flew along, the driver leaned forward, and on each side the |
passengers, craning over the edge of the coach, peered eagerly into the |
darkness. It was evident that something very exciting was either |
happening or expected, but though I asked each passenger, no one would |
give me the slightest explanation. This state of excitement kept on for |
some little time; and at last we saw before us the Pass opening out on |
the eastern side. There were dark, rolling clouds overhead, and in the |
air the heavy, oppressive sense of thunder. It seemed as though the |
mountain range had separated two atmospheres, and that now we had got |
into the thunderous one. I was now myself looking out for the conveyance |
which was to take me to the Count. Each moment I expected to see the |
glare of lamps through the blackness; but all was dark. The only light |
was the flickering rays of our own lamps, in which the steam from our |
hard-driven horses rose in a white cloud. We could see now the sandy |
road lying white before us, but there was on it no sign of a vehicle. |
The passengers drew back with a sigh of gladness, which seemed to mock |
my own disappointment. I was already thinking what I had best do, when |
the driver, looking at his watch, said to the others something which I |
could hardly hear, it was spoken so quietly and in so low a tone; I |
thought it was "An hour less than the time." Then turning to me, he said |
in German worse than my own:-- |
"There is no carriage here. The Herr is not expected after all. He will |
now come on to Bukovina, and return to-morrow or the next day; better |
the next day." Whilst he was speaking the horses began to neigh and |
snort and plunge wildly, so that the driver had to hold them up. Then, |
amongst a chorus of screams from the peasants and a universal crossing |
of themselves, a calèche, with four horses, drove up behind us, overtook |
us, and drew up beside the coach. I could see from the flash of our |
lamps, as the rays fell on them, that the horses were coal-black and |
splendid animals. They were driven by a tall man, with a long brown |
beard and a great black hat, which seemed to hide his face from us. I |
could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red |
in the lamplight, as he turned to us. He said to the driver:-- |
"You are early to-night, my friend." The man stammered in reply:-- |
"The English Herr was in a hurry," to which the stranger replied:-- |
"That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You cannot |
deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift." As he |
spoke he smiled, and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with |
very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my |
companions whispered to another the line from Burger's "Lenore":-- |
"Denn die Todten reiten schnell"-- |
("For the dead travel fast.") |
The strange driver evidently heard the words, for he looked up with a |
gleaming smile. The passenger turned his face away, at the same time |
putting out his two fingers and crossing himself. "Give me the Herr's |
luggage," said the driver; and with exceeding alacrity my bags were |
handed out and put in the calèche. Then I descended from the side of the |
coach, as the calèche was close alongside, the driver helping me with a |
hand which caught my arm in a grip of steel; his strength must have been |
prodigious. Without a word he shook his reins, the horses turned, and we |
swept into the darkness of the Pass. As I looked back I saw the steam |
from the horses of the coach by the light of the lamps, and projected |
against it the figures of my late companions crossing themselves. Then |
the driver cracked his whip and called to his horses, and off they swept |
on their way to Bukovina. As they sank into the darkness I felt a |
strange chill, and a lonely feeling came over me; but a cloak was thrown |
over my shoulders, and a rug across my knees, and the driver said in |
excellent German:-- |
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