had cones attached. C. and F. tried the same material for their beds, and their dreams were not peaceful. As an old campaigner, I pretended to instruct them in a better dodge, which is to dig and scrape a hollow for the hips. In theory it is admirable, but in practice beastly.

the conclusion that they were a myth. By | sleepy to remove them, that most of them the time I had satisñed myself on this point there was only an hour of daylight left, but I hurried down to a point which commanded a wide extent of the forest. Here I had scarcely opened my glass before I made out a stag and a hind feeding at the bottom of the valley below us. Celestin was greatly excited, having never seen any game larger than chamois and certain other rock skippers which he had pursued in my company. Everything seemed to favor the stalk. We got quickly down under the shelter of trees, and had arrived within three hundred yards when the hind started. The fact was, the wind, which had been blowing up the valleys all day, at sunset changed its direction. The stag had not yet caught the taint, and stood awhile. I could see that he was large in the body, but the light was too dim to make out his head. I tried a despairing shot, but the distance was too great and I could scarcely see the bead. It was a bad chance and, alas! I never had the luck to get a better. Three times on the way back to camp I heard the roar of a stag, which, when heard on a still evening echoing through the great tree-stems, is a sound calculated to make a man impatient for the next morning. It was the fifth of November, which is late for these demonstrations, and, as a matter of fact, I did not hear it again after that night. If they had continued to give out such signals we should have done better.

It had been borne in upon us at midday that the arrival of the camels with our equipage that night was problematical, as these splay-footed animals do not travel well on mountain paths, and one of the party was sent back to bring on, by some means or other, something to eat and, if possible, some coverings. It was long past dark when we heard our messenger shouting, for he had missed the track and got entangled among the trees. Half an hour later he blundered into camp with old Bouba and a donkey laden with certain necessaries, but we had little to cover our bodies that night, and not overmuch to put inside them. Bouba had to squat under the canopy of his cloak, which gave him the well-known bat-like appearance of a stage desperado, and explained with a grin that he was accustomed ten years back to that sort of shelter that is before a paternal government interfered with his line of business. We filled our luncheon-bags with pine-shoots for pil lows, but as they were gathered in the dark, we did not find out, till we were too

The next day was a blank, and the following one promised to be another. C. and I had long returned to camp. It was pitch dark and raining hard. Bouba was in a state of trepidation that F. and Celestin would spend their night in the open, and wanted to start search parties. A good motherly old brigand was Bouba! In vain I assured him that my Pyrenean could find his way on any mountain in the dark. At last a loud "whoop "proclaimed at once their return and the cause of the delay. When they stumbled into the red glow, drenched with the rain, this was soon explained. F. had slain the stag of stags. Mais que j'avais peur quand je l'ai vu !" said Celestin. He had made out with a glass from a long distance a single tine of a horn in a thicket of young fir-trees, but for some time was uncertain of its na ture. Then the stag removed all doubt by rising and showing himself as he crossed an opening. In time they reached the place, but could see nothing till Celestin suddenly met him face to face in the thicket, and shouted to F., “L'animal! Le monstre! Tirez! tirez !" but "l'animal " was off, and this was easier said than done. For a moment he showed himself crossing the bed of a stream, and F. missed him clean. Now what did this polite stag do but cross the stream and calmly mount a knoll, where he stood fully exposed as long as you please at fifty yards. That shot told. The stag went off, but they soon found blood. Then followed a most exciting stern chase for the best part of half a mile, the great beast laboring on through the thicket in spite of his deadly wound, while F. struggled after, in vain seeking a chance to plant a second bullet in a mortal place. It is to be feared that some that he attempted would have involved a shilling fine at Wimbledon. Once he measured his length-which is almost half-way between six and seven feet-in a stream and hurt himself so severely that I congratulated him afterwards upon having got a stiff knee for life, with which he would always have the most pleasurable associations. His cartridges were nearly exhausted, when a snap shot struck the back of the head, and the huge beast lay conquered. How noble a trophy

he had won the following figures will show, at least to the initiated. The head carried fourteen points, but one of the "bays" had been broken in fighting. The length of the horn from the burr is fortythree and one-half inches, span inside the horn thirty-eight and one-half. No such stag as this, to the best of my belief, has been seen in western Europe at least for many generations. The castle of Moritzburg, which contains the most remarkable collection of stags' horns in Europe, gathered during several centuries, can scarcely match it for length and width. I do not think the weight could have been much less than forty stone. This it was impossible to verify, but the foot and shankbone attached weighs two and one-half | pounds, which is considerably more than double that of a good Scotch stag. F.'s initials could have stood for "Fortunatus" on this trip. But, then, the last time we had been together, somewhere in the far north, the luck had been the other way; The next night an incident occurred which shows how unsophisticated the fera naturæ are in this district. The Yuruk put his head into the tent and said there was a beast prowling about, might he shoot it? Half an hour afterwards he fired at and missed a fox. Undeterred by this, the depredator carried off in the night the whole of the venison in camp. The following day F. secured another stag, a much smaller one, the venison of which was placed for security in the centre of the camp. The fox again returned at dusk, and was shot dead by the camp fire, within five yards of us all.

Our host from the village below thought it a necessary act of hospitality to come up and remain at our camp during the whole time of our stay. Notwithstanding the rain, which here came down in torrents for two nights, he sat through it a picture of serene patience. His followers were not so well off, especially his black servant, for there was no room in the tents. Hearing talking in the night I looked out, and saw this wretched negro sitting in the drenching rain and carrying on a loud conversation with himself to keep himself

journey, and whereas up to that time we had done scarcely anything with them, I was very unwilling to return home beaten by a mere goat. We therefore, perhaps foolishly, left the red deer and sought out the goats again. That my amour propre was saved the following total bag will show: Seven ibex, two red stags, one wild boar (a very fine beast killed in a canebrake on the plain). On our return to Smyrna, we found our deeds celebrated in the local Greek daily, a quotation from which shall conclude this ariicle :

From The Cornhill Magazine.

A POMPEII IN BOHEMIA.

IT was in the strange, fascinating old town of Tabor that we first heard a hint of this hidden new strangeness in a country where surprises are ever in store for the Englishman who penetrates into the unknown world of Bohemian mediævalism.

From the lips of a professor in this oldwalled, many-towered town, we had heard drop the words, in answer to a question had we seen Pribenic, "But they should; it is a mediæval Pompeii." And so we ordered a carriage to be ready for an early start, with especial requests that a driver might be found who spoke German; for the directions to find this Pompeii were very vague, no road led to it, we must leave the carriage and dive into the forest, and find the destroyed town for ourselves. No guides would proffer their services; all that we could learn was that we were to seek for the ruins, far in the forest, of a dead town and fortress, and yet a town that had lived in an exciting period of history; and now we were driving out under the old towers and archways, where still the pulleys of the drawbridge are in place as they were used by their famous builder, Ziska; driving on along the causeway with a lovely panorama before us, en route to trace out the walls and houses of this de

stroyed town. We soon found our coach- | of signs we soon made him understand we man did not know German. It was true wanted to see a town at the bottom and a after long thought he could muster up a fort at the top of a hill, and away we went phrase or two which he had learnt when beneath the fierce blazing sun, under his soldiering; but he could not understand guidance. us or answer our questions, so our doubts increased as we drove on.

We dived into the forest, and could hear the cuckoo not far off, while beneath our feet sprang up lovely flowers and forget-me-nots in rich profusion. The pines were just bursting with the plume-like clusters of young bright green shoots, and the warm sun was now veiled; but it brought forth the health-giving resinous odor of the pines.

We were soon descending the hill that leads down to the picturesque valley of the Lusinetz, with the Eastern-like domes and towers of the monastery and pilgrimage church of Klokot high up on the opposite heights. As we descended to the bridge that crosses the swift-flowing river we could look back and see all the towers and walls of Tabor, and note where the crumbling old walls were still propped up with timber to prevent their sliding down into the valley, and we could well see how carefully the Taborites were re-track. Here in this silent forest lay traces storing their walls, and capping them with red-tiled pents, to thus preserve the memories of the powerful past and vigorous history of this little town.

The outskirts of the town were passed and we slowly ascended the opposite hill, where some bright figures, in the pink and red colors so loved by the peasantry, were climbing up a green sloped hill, beflecked with yellow flowers, and bordered on each side with dark fir slopes. Behind these figures came another in black velvet jacket, and deep red skirts, and pink headdress; and a little way behind another figure in soft light green.

As we topped the hill, we saw behind us the whole town of Tabor, on its isolated rocky plateau, impregnable in bygone days. A red-backed shrike flew out of the hedge as we drove on, and gay butterflies | of rare types divided our attention with the peasantry and the landscape.

Onwards we trudged until, as we neared a faint path that struck downwards into the valley, we saw by the side of it frag ments of worked stone capitals and bits of columns, that told us we were on the right

of a past teeming life, and our curiosity was raised to a high pitch as we pointed to these remnants of some chapel or hall, and waved our hands round and upwards to our guide to make him understand we would go everywhere, wherever anything like this was to be seen.

Shortly afterwards we saw a little to the left of the track traces of houses, and then a rounded hole such as our archæologists love to describe as a pit dwelling; but we passed on, still descending the hill, until we burst suddenly on to a small level green mead, with a lovely river flowing swiftly on around its richly flower-decked sward; high above it, on the opposite shore, rising up clothed in all the fresh beauty of spring foliage, rose a rocky tree and flower clad cliff. A bluff of high black rock jutted out on our right, rising some two hundred feet above the river, and on our left were remnants of the walls of the town, some eight feet high, a thick, wellbuilt wall, that we followed up for a hundred yards. In some parts it rose to a height of fifteen to twenty feet, and meas ured in thickness about four or five feet. We penetrated inside this wall, to find the level space all overgrown with young trees and brushwood, and teeming with insect

A short drive brought us to the little village of Slapy, where the flocks of geese, and children in pinks and yellows, formed picturesque bright groups; but on we passed, over an open plain with a wide prospect of distant mountains around, until we came in sight of the red tower of Malesich; and now we drew near to where we must leave our carriage, for the coach-life; ants and lizards, butterflies of rare man pointed to a fir forest and said, "Pribenic; we motioned to the village, making him understand we wanted some one who spoke German to guide us, but he pointed to a farm lying in the middle of the plain, and, saying "Deutsch," struck off the road across a bone-breaking track towards this farm; arrived there, the only guide who could be got was a sharp lad who spoke but Cech; but on being shown a map, seized at once upon it, and by dint

beauty, songbirds that twittered in the hot noon sun, whilst, in the grass patches, wild orchids and hyacinths, anemones and rich forget-me-nots, made the place a paradise in its beauty; but we soon stumbled in the brushwood upon groups of round pit holes with the banks around them, and the stones that had formed the houses, lying where they had been overthrown some four centuries ago.

We worked in and out amidst the un

dergrowth, and traced three lines of houses, many of this round description, and others square; and as we passed on, now climbing up the hill, we passed thick clusters of walls until we stepped out on to a round point that was really the sum mit of the bluff we had noted below, and where we could now see a round tower had formerly stood. Our lad let a stone drop from here into the river, showing the steep descent from this point of outlook and defence. Further up we climbed, soon coming upon a remnant of a square tower, and yet further up to another round tower, and from here was a most lovely outlook down upon the river that stretched away into a narrow pine gorge, broken just beneath us by a pleasant green island that divided the stream into two glittering

arms.

And now above us was the topmost tower of all, and up upon its ruined débris we climbed; some steps were still in position, and some of the moulded brickwork | could be traced, laid in alternate couples of flattened angular ones, and square with a shoulder to them, to give a broken ornamental line to the masonry. This tower, which we presumed to be the topmost keep, was hexagonal in shape, and the angles were faced with well-worked blocks; but the ruin and débris had filled up all entrances and we could but stand upon its summit and look out over the lovely scene around us. The air, now warm with the scent of the pines, and filled with the twink and chirp of birds and hum of insects; and coming up to us from below was the rush of the river as it swept on now as centuries ago, when all these dwellings were peopled with bitter enthusiasts who fought to the death for their party and their faith.

Our artist friend lingered to make a sketch of this topmost tower, and whilst we sat beneath the pines and awaited him, we were able to read up the history of this strange, forsaken town in the account our friends at Tabor had given us.

In the thirteenth century the two towers had been built of Great Pribenic and Little Pribenic; for there had been on the opposite side of the river another tower, connected it appears with a bridge; but all trace of the bridge is gone, and from this side we could see no glimpse of the other tower. In the fifteenth century the towns and towers were in the hands of the mighty family of the Rosenbergs, the bitter enemies of the sect of the Wyclifites known from their town as the Taborites.

Under Ziska, their famous leader, the

Taborites were in the year 1420 everywhere victorious, and on November 13, they attacked this town of Pribenic with its two defending forts. Hitherto this place had been considered impregnable, and for safety a great mass of treasure, of gold and silver, precious stones, and costly apparel, and also of holy relics and rare books, had been brought here; and there was also imprisoned here the famous leader and priest of the Taborites, Wenzel Koranda, who had been captured by the Rosenbergs two months before whilst on his road from Tabor to Bechyn. But on this thirteenth of November Wenzel managed to free himself of his chains, and to set some of his brother prisoners free; and together they overpowered their guards and bound and enchained them in their places.

One of these guards named Odolen begged for his freedom and offered in return to do anything Wenzel demanded of him; so he was despatched in all haste to Tabor to acquaint the Taborites of what Wenzel had done.

The commander at Tabor at the time was Zbynek of Buchow. Ziska the day before had made the bloody and ruthless capture of the strangely interesting town of Prachatitz; but Zbynek had the energy and decision of his great leader, and with the armed folk he had about him at once sallied forth to besiege the town of Pribenic. The garrison was terror-struck by this sudden and unexpected attack, and their fear was increased when, from the summit of their own keep, they heard the war-cry of their enemies, Tabor Hurra! Tabor! and stones began to pour down upon them, proving that their own strong. hold was already in the enemy's hand, and the stone balls they had probably piled up to defend any attack were being used against them.

The fight did not last long, and the Taborites were victorious, and took possession of the tower and town through whose ruins we had been wandering; and the little garrison of the lesser fort on the opposite side of the river, seeing their friends had lost the day, quickly evacuated their position, leaving the Taborites in full possession of Great and Little Pribenic. The Rosenbergers despatched help from Sobeslaw, a town that lay some miles away on the banks of the Lusinetz, but this only resulted in making the defeat of the Rosenberg party the more decisive.

The victory was not gained without some of the hideous cruelties which disgraced all parties in this bitter race and

We quickly strolled out from the close room of the inn to the great wide open village common, whereon flocks of geese were feeding and one or two stalls for the sale of goods and sweetmeats had been put up. The little church was near these, a plain white building with red onion"A perfect paradise were the words domed tower, and surrounded by a high that came to the lips to describe the soft white wall. Going within this wall we calm and beauty of the scene as we now saw a group of women attired in the most looked upon it. The little town beneath astounding hues, and as we halted to note us had witnessed the destruction of a them, more came in until the churchyard strange sect who thought they could bring was nearly filled with peasants dressed back again a Paradisaical life; a sect in a perfect blaze of color. Some wore terming themselves Adamites, some of white muslin skirts reaching just to the whom went about naked, and whose reli- | knee. Green and yellow aprons over