Round About the Carpathians by Andrew F. Crosse
page 96 of 273 (35%)
page 96 of 273 (35%)
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the tongue, called in German _tschirpsen_.
Before turning in we had a smoke, accompanied by tea with rum, the invariable substitute for milk in Hungary. As there were four big fires burning in the clearing outside the hut, the whole scene was very bright and cheerful. The wood crackled briskly, the flames lit up the green foliage, and the moving figures of our attendants gave animation to the picture. Amongst ourselves there were a few snatches of song, and from up the hill where the Wallacks were camped came a chorus of not unmusical voices. One after another of our party dropped off, betaking himself to his natural rest. I was not the last, and must have slept as soon as I pulled the plaid over my ears, for I remembered nothing more. I daresay I slept two or three hours; it may have been more or less, I don't know, but the next moment of consciousness, or semi-consciousness, was an uneasy feeling that a thief was trying to carry off a large tin bath that belonged to me, in my dream. As he dragged it away it seemed to me that he bumped it with all his might, making a horrible row. Meanwhile, oppressed by nightmare, I could not budge an inch nor utter a cry, though I would have given the world to stop the thief. I daresay this nonsense of my dream occupied but an instant of time. I woke to the consciousness of a loud peal of thunder. "We are in for a storm," thought I, turning drowsily on my other side, not yet much awake to the probable consequences. There was no sleep for me, however. The rest of the party were, one and all, up and moving about; and the noise of the storm also increased--the flashes of lightning were blinding, and the crash of the thunder was |
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