On we went, northward, northward! and, as we advanced, I saw that the country was becoming widely different from those parts of merry England in which we had previously travelled.

It was wilder, and less cultivated, and more broken with hills and hillocks.

The people, too, of these regions appeared to partake of something of the character of their country.

They were coarsely dressed; tall and sturdy of frame; their voices were deep and guttural; and the half of the dialect which they spoke was unintelligible to my ears.
I often wondered where we could be going, for I was at this time about as ignorant of geography as I was of most other things.

However, I held my peace, asked no questions, and patiently awaited the issue.
Northward, northward, still! And it came to pass that, one morning, I found myself extended on the bank of a river.