when, the surface is uneven for wheeling, making them drive their clumsy
ox-wagons almost into the road-side ditch in order to avoid any possible
chance of difficulty in getting past. Igali knows four languages: French,
German, Hungarian, and Slavonian, but Anglaise nicht, though with what
little French and German I have picked up while crossing those countries
we manage to converse and understand each other quite readily, especially
as I am, from constant practice, getting to be an accomplished pantomimist,
and Igali is also a pantomimist by nature, and gifted with a versatility
that would make a Frenchman envious. Ere we have been five minutes at a
gasthaus Igali is usually found surrounded by an admiring circle of
leading citizens - not peasants; Igali would not suffer them to gather
about him - pouring into their willing ears the account of my journey;
the words, "San Francisco, Boston, London, Paris, Wien, Pesth, Belgrade,
Constantinople, Afghanistan, India, Khiva," etc., which are repeated in
rotation at wonderfully short intervals, being about all that my linguistic
abilities are capable of grasping. The road continues hard, but south
of Paks it becomes rather rough; consequently halts under the shade of
the mulberry-trees for Igali to catch up are of frequent occurrence.

The peasantry, hereabout, seem very kindly disposed and hospitable.
Sometimes, while lingering for Igali, they will wonder what I am stopping
for, and motion the questions of whether I wish anything to eat or drink;
and this afternoon one of them, whose curiosity to see how I mounted
overcomes his patience, offers me a twenty-kreuzer piece to show him.
At one village a number of peasants take an old cherry-woman to task for
charging me two kreuzers more for some cherries than it appears she
ought, and although two kreuzers are but a farthing they make quite a
squabble with the poor old woman about it, and will be soothed by neither
her voice nor mine until I accept another handful of cherries in lieu
of the overcharged two kreuzers.