I was looking for the carriage which I expected be waiting here to take me to the Count. I thought that at any moment I would see its lamps shining through the night, but everything was dark. The only light was from our own lamps. In that light I saw a white cloud of steam rising from our hard working horses. We could see the sandy white-coloured road in front of us, but there was no sign of any other vehicle on it. The passengers sat back with a happy sound, as though they were making fun of my disappointment. I was already thinking about what I should do next, when the driver looked at his watch, and said something to the others. He spoke so quietly that I could hardly hear his voice, but I thought he said "An hour less than the time." Then turning to me, he spoke in German, even though his German was even worse than my own.

"There is no carriage here. The Herr is not expected after all. You must now come on to Bukovina, and return tomorrow or the next day, better the next day."

Whilst he was speaking the horses began to make scared noises and jump about wildly, so that the driver had to hold them. The passengers all screamed together and crossed themselves. A carriage with four horses drove up behind us, overtook us, and stopped beside the coach. I could see from the light from our lamps that the horses were coal-black and splendid animals. They were driven by a tall man, who had a long brown beard and a big black hat which hid his face from us. I could only see a pair of very bright eyes. In the lamplight, they seemed to be red.