At all the railway stations there are numbers of these
vehicles, which will drive to any hotel, however far it may be from
the station, for the same moderate fare. If only all cab-drivers
were so accommodating!
October 1st.
The railway goes through Leipzic to Dresden, where I took the mail-
coach for Prague at eight o'clock the same evening, and arrived
there in eighteen hours.
As it was night when we passed, we did not enjoy the beautiful views
of the Nollendorf mountain. In the morning we passed two handsome
monuments, one of them, a pyramid fifty-four feet high, to the
memory of Count Colloredo, the other to the memory of the Russian
troops who had fallen here; both have been erected since the wars of
Napoleon.
On we went through charming districts to the famed bathing-place
Teplitz, which is surrounded by the most beautiful scenery; and can
bear comparison with the finest bathing-places of the world.
Further on we passed a solitary basaltic rock, Boren, which deserves
attention for its beauty and as a natural curiosity. We
unfortunately hurried past it, as we wished to reach Prague before
six o'clock, so that we might not miss the train to Vienna.
My readers may imagine our disappointment on arriving at the gates
of Prague, when our passports were taken from us and not returned.
In vain we referred to the vise of the boundary-town Peterswalde; in
vain we spoke of our haste. The answer always was, "That is nothing
to us; you can have your papers back to-morrow at the police-
office." Thus we were put off, and lost twenty-four hours.
I must mention a little joke I had on the ride from Dresden to
Prague. Two gentlemen and a lady beside myself occupied the mail-
coach; the lady happened to have read my diary of Palestine, and
asked me, when she heard my name, if I were that traveller. When I
had acknowledged I was that same person, our conversation turned on
that and on my present journey. One of the gentlemen, Herr Katze,
was very intelligent, and conversed in a most interesting manner on
countries, nationalities, and scientific subjects. The other
gentleman was probably equally well informed, but he made less use
of his acquirements. Herr Katze remained in Teplitz, and the other
gentleman proceeded with us to Vienna. Before arriving at our
destination, he asked me if Herr Katze had not requested me to
mention his name in my next book, and added, that if I would promise
to do the same, he would tell me his name. I could not refrain from
smiling, but assured him that Herr Katze had not thought of such a
thing, and begged him not to communicate his name to me, so that he
might see that we females were not so curious as we are said to be.
But the poor man could not refrain from giving me his name - Nicholas
B. - before we parted.
