fall in graceful festoons from the trees; sometimes they reach across to
the trees on the other side of the road, forming a complete arch of
greenery. In the autumn the vine leaves turn to a glowing red, like the
Virginian creeper, and then the effect of this mass of rich colouring is
indeed glorious. Meanwhile gay butterflies of rare form fluttered about
among the trailing vines, and bright green lizards darted in and out of
the stone wall. Then an eagle or a vulture would swoop down from the
heights, and settle himself on some pinnacle of rock, where he remained,
motionless as a stuffed bird.

When we reached Orsova we only stopped long enough to get some dinner
and take the usual siesta. This place is on the frontier; three miles
farther down you pass out of Hungary into Roumanian territory. Had we
stayed any time we should certainly have gone to see Trajan's bridge,
about eighteen miles hence. The so-called "Iron Gates" are just below
Orsova. The designation is a misnomer, for the river ceases to be pent
up between a defile, the hills recede from the shore, and the "Gates"
are merely ledges of rock peculiarly difficult for navigation. Orsova is
celebrated as the place where the regalia of Hungary were concealed by
Kossuth and his friends from 1849 to 1853. The iron chest which held the
palladium of the kingdom, the sacred crown of St Stephen, was buried in
a waste spot, covered with willows, not far from the road. There is a
somewhat Oriental look about Orsova. In the market-place there is a
profusion of bright-coloured stuffs, prayer-carpets, and Turkish
slippers. A narrow island of no great length, just below Orsova, is
still held by the Turks. There is a small mosque with minarets visible
amongst a group of the funeral cypress-tree, so characteristic of the
presence of the Turk.

Our road to Mehadia was away from the river, following instead the lead