Presented to the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY
by the
ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE
LIBRARY
1980
HUNGAKY
AND
TRANSYLVANIA;
WITH REMARKS ON THEIR CONDITION,
SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL,
JOHN PAGET, ESQ.
Beata Ungheria! se non si lascia
Piu malmenaie.
DANTE.
Jftom tfye JNfeto HontJon IBtiftfon.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
PHILADELPHIA:
LEA & BLANCHARD,
1850.
-». r
>
WM. S. YOUNG, PRINTER.
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
DANUBE FROM PEST TO MOLDOVA.
The Zriny. — The Country below Pest. — Waste Lands. — An Accident.—
Mohacs. — Peterwardein. — Karlowitz. — The Drave. — Semlin. — The
Crusaders. — The Save. — Belgrade. — Danube Navigation. — The Border
Guard : their Laws and Organization. — The Theiss and Temes. — Se-
mendria. — George Dosa. — Danube Scenery. — Servia, and Russian Po-
licy, Page 13
CHAPTER II.
DANUBE FROM MOLDOVA TO ORSOVA.
Babakay. — The Vultures. — Golumbatz. — St. George's Cavern. — The
Rapids. — First Roman Inscription. — Kazan. — New Road. — Sterbeczu
Almare. — Trajan's Tablet. — Via Trajana. — Orsova. — New Orsova. —
The Crusaders. — Visit to the Pasha. — The Quarantine — The Iron Gates.
— Trajan's Bridge— its History and Construction. — Valley of the Cserna.
—Turkish Aqueduct.— Mehadia — its Baths and Bathers, 33
CHAPTER III.
BANAT.
Szegedin. — The Banat. — its History. — Fertility. — State of Agriculture. —
Climate. — Mines. — Population. — Prosperous Villages.— The Peasant
and the Bishop of Agram. — The New Urbarium. — The Kammeral Ad-
ministration.— Temesvar. — Roads. — Baron Wenkheim's Reforms. — A
Wolf Hunt, 75
CHAPTER IV.
THE VALLEY OF HATSZEG.
Valley of the Temes.— Wai lack Beauty.— Ovid's Tower.— Iron Works
at Kuskberg. — Effects of regular Work and regular Pay.— Reformers
in Hungary. — Iron Bridge. — Iron-gate Pass, between Hungary and
Transylvania — Hospitality. — Varhely the Ulpia Trajana of the Romans.
— The Dacians under their native kings conquered by Trajan. — Wai-
lack Language like the Italian — Wallacks of Dacian, not Roman Origin.
— Roman Remains at Varhely. — Amphitheatre. — Mosaics, - 96
IV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
VALLEY OF HATSZEG.
Demsus. — The Lei ter- Wagon. — Roman Temple — its Form and probable
History. — Paintings in Wallack Churches. — Wallack Priests and their
Wives. — Russian Influence over the Members of the Greek Church. —
Origin of the United Greek Church. — Religious Oppression. — Educa-
tion of the Greek Priesthood.— Village of Varhely — The Wallack
Women.— Wallacks and Scotchmen — Wallack Vices and Wallack
Virtues. — The Devil's Dancers. — Our Host's Family. — Household Ar-
rangements.—The Buffalo, - - - - - - Page 78
CHAPTER VI.
ROUTE TO KLAUSENBURG.
Valley of Hatszeg. — Wallack Gallantry. — Transylvanian Travelling. —
Arrival at Vayda Hunyad. — The Gipsy Girl. — Hunyadi Janos. — Castle
of Hunyad — The painted Tower. — A Deputation. — A rogue found out.
— Deva. — Valley of the Maros. — H- taken for a Spy. — Visit to the
Mines of Nagy Ag. — Politeness from a Stranger. — Transylvanian Post-
office.— Sandstone of the Felek, 97
CHAPTER VII.
TRANSYLVANIA. HISTORY AND POLITICS.
Transylvania.— Its Population — Settlement of the Szeklers,— of the
Magyars, — of the Saxons, — under Woiwodes. — Zapolya. — Native
Princes. — Bethlen Gabor. — Aristocratic Democracy. — Union with Aus-
tria.— Diploma Leopoldinum. — Confirmed by Maria Theresa. — Actual
Form of Government. — Constitution infringed. — Opposition. — Baron
Wesselenyi. — County Meetings. — Grievances. — General Vlasits. —
Diet'of 1834.— Archduke Ferdinand — History of the Diet.— Violent
Dissolution. — Moral Opposition, - - - - - - 113
CHAPTER VIII.
NORTH OF TRANSYLVANIA.
Transylvania Roads. — A Solitary Inn. — Drag. — Zsibo.— Horse-breeding.
—Old Transylvanian Breed — Count Banffy's Stud — English Breed.—
Baron Wesselenyi's Stud. — A Cross. — Babolna Arabs. — Interesting
Experiment. — Rakotzy. — Robot. — Ride to Hadad. — The Vintage. —
Transylvanian Wines. — Oak Woods. — Scotch Farmer. — A Reformer's
Trials.— State of the Peasantry Urbarium.— Stewards. — Establish-
ments of the Nobles — Social Anomalies.— Old Fashions.— The Dinner.
— Drive to Nagy Banya, — Gipsies. — Gold Mines. — Private Specula-
tions.— Return. - - - 131
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
THE SALT MINES AND THE GOLD MINES.
CHAPTER X.
THE SZEKLERS AND THE SZEKLER-LAND.
The Szeklers — their ancient Rights and modern Position. — The Mezoseg.
— Maros Vasarhely. — Chancellor Teleki and his Library. — A Szekler
Inn — The Szekler Character.— Salt Rocks at Szovata. — The Cholera
and the spare Bed. — Miseria cum aceto. — Glories of Grock. — Salt-Mines
ofParayd. — Udvarhely. — St. Pal. — Excursion to Almas. — Superstition.
—The Cavern. — Sepsi St. Gyorgy. — Kezdi Vasarhely. — The French
Brewer. — The Szekler Schools.— Szekler Hospitality.— The Budos. —
The Harorn-Szek, 188
CHAPTER XI.
THE SAXONS AND THE SAXON LAND.
The Saxon Land. — Settlement of the Saxons. — Their Charter. — Politi-
cal and Municipal Privileges. — Saxon Character. — School Sickness. —
Kronstadt. — A Hunting Party. — Smuggling from Wallachia. — The
Bear and the General. — Terzburg and the German Knights. — Excursion
to Bucses. — The Kalibaschen. — The Convent. — The Valleys of Bucses.
— Virtue in Self-denial. — The Alpine Horn. — Fortified Churches and
Infidel Invasions — Fogaras. — Hermanstadt. — Baron Bruchenthal. —
Rothen Thurm Pass. — A Digression on Wallachia and Moldavia. —
Saxon Language. — Beauty of Transylvania, - 209
CHAPTER XII.
KLAUSENBURG IN WINTER.
Transylvanian Hospitality. — Klausenburg. — Transy Ivanian Incomes. —
Money Matters.— The Gipsy Band.— Our Quarters.— The Stove. — The
Great Square. — The Recruiting Party. — A Soiree. — The Clergy. — The
Reformed Church. — Religious Opinions. — The Consistory. — Domestic
Service. — County Meeting. — Count Bethlen Janos. — Progress of Pub-
lic Opinion.— The Arch-Duke.— The Students and Officers.— Climate.
— Separation of three Counties. — The Unitarians. — Habits of Society.
The Ladies. — Education.— Children and Parents. — Divorces. — Casino
and Smoking.— Funerals.— Schools The Theatre, - - 235
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
WINTER JOURNEY ACROSS THE PUSZTA.
Return to Pest. — A Poet. — Travelling Comforts. — The Carriers. — Gross
Wardein, — Prince Hohenlohe. — The Italian, — Paprika Hendel. — Great
Cumania. — The Cumanians and Jazygers. — The worst Road in Hun-
gary, ...-.---.. Page 258
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CARNIVAL IN PEST.
A Ball. — Ladies' Costume. — Luxury and Barbarism. — University of Pest.
— Number of Schools. — Austrian System of Education — its Effects. —
Corruption of Justice. — Delays of the Law. — Literature. — Mr. Kolcsey.
— Baron Josika. — Arts and Artists.— The Theatre. — Magyar Language.
— Mr. Korosi and his Expedition to Thibet. — Trade Companies. — Po-
pular Jokes. — Austria, Hungary, and Russia — Blunders of Mr. Quin
and other English Writers on Hungary. — The last Ball of the Carni-
val.—The Masquerade. — The breaking up of the Ice, - - 264
CHAPTER XV.
FROM PEST TO FIUME.
Departure from Pest.— Notary of Teteny. — Volcanic District. — Bakonyer
Forest. — Subri. — Hungarian Robbers. — Conscription. — Wine of Som-
lyo. — Keszthely. — Signs of Civilization. — Costume of Nagy Kanisa.
— The Drave. — Death of Zriny. — Croatia and Sclavonia. — State of the
Peasantry. — Agram. — Croatian Language. — Public Feeling in Croatia.
— Smuggling. — Karlstad t. — Save and Kulpa. — The Ludovica Road —
its Importance. — Fiume. — English Paper Mill. — Commerce. — Produc-
tions of Hungary. — Demand for English Goods in Hungary. — Causes
which impede Commerce, and the Means of their Removal, - 289
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER I.
DANUBE FROM PEST TO MOLDOVA.
The Zriny. — The Country below Pest. — Waste Lands. — An Accident. —
Mohacs. — Peterwardein. — Karlowitz. — The Drave. — Semlin. — The
Crusaders. — The Save. — Belgrade. — Danube Navigation. — The Border
Guard : their Laws and Organization. — The Theiss and Temes. — Se-
mendria. — George Dosa. — Danube Scenery. — Servia; and Russian Po-
licy.
AFTER a few day's rest at Pest, we again prepared to en-
counter the fatigues of travel. A remarkably fine steamboat,
the Zriny, which had just been launched, was about to make her
first voyage, and we gladly availed ourselves of the opportunity
to get down to Moldova. A trial of her powers had been made
a few days previously, in an excursion up the river as far as
Waitzen, with not less than five hundred persons on board.
Count Szechenyi, by directing this little pleasure-trip, to which
every one was admitted on paying a zwanziger, (ten-pence,) had
managed to interest a great number of persons in the success of
the new boat; no small matter where steam navigation is still a
novelty, and where it was met with countless prejudices which
are but yet disappearing. I think I know directors of compa-
nies, who would have preferred private tickets, and a party of
their own friends; by which, of course, all the excluded would
have been offended. Which was the wiser system, I leave my
readers to decide. We joined the party to Waitzen, and had an
opportunity of seeing the first meeting of two steamboats which
ever took place on the waters of the Danube. The Pannonia
was returning from Presburg, and met us near the termination
VOL. II. — 2
14 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of our voyage. Count Szechenyi, who was on board the Zriny,
was recognised and loudly cheered by both crews, on the occa-
sion of this new advance to the accomplishment of his favourite
scheme. I thought the Count's voice faltered, and his eye grew
moist, as he exclaimed, " Now I am sure we shall succeed, and
Hungary will not be for ever a stranger to Europe."
It was fixed that we should start for Moldova at five in the
morning ; and so exact were they to the time, that the boat was
pushed off between the striking of the clocks of Pest and Buda-
This regularity is likely enough to make a change in the national
character of all the Danubian populations, at least in respect to
punctuality. After one of the fairs, when the steamboats first
began to ply between Semlin and Pest, a large party of Servian
and Turkish merchants had taken their places on board, in order
to return to Belgrade, and were duly informed that the vessel
•would start at five. As this did not happen to suit these worthy
people's habits, and as they had no idea that the boat would
leave without them, they marched solemnly down to the quay
about eight, and, after walking up and down for some time in
search of the vessel, they were at last made to understand that
she had gone three hours before. Their astonishment and con-
sternation are said to have been most ludicrous; but it was not
without its effect, for none of these people have been too late for
the steamboat from that day to this.
Our party in the Zriny was small, but exceedingly agreeable;
the Baroness W and her amiable and pretty daughter,
Count Szechenyi on his way to superintend the works near Or-
sova, two of our own countrymen bound for Constantinople, and
ourselves, formed almost the whole of the passengers. The
morning was cold and misty, but it soon cleared up into a fine
autumn day. On the Pest side, the country is one continued
flat, and on the other, the low hills, which extend for some dis-
tance from the Blocksberg, soon disappear altogether, and a level
plain extended on every side. It would be useless to describe
the whole of our route. The scenery has little variety. The
flat plain is sometimes raised into small sand-hills covered with
vines, the thick woods are sometimes broken by a little pasture
and corn-land surrounding a village or small town; the banks
are generally low; the river itself deep, wide, and less rapid
than above, indeed in every respect much better calculated for
navigation; but, for the rest, a monotonous uniformity pervaded
the whole of our first day's journey.
THE DANUBE. 15
16 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
that one set of bad laws renders the title to purchased property
so insecure, and another set makes the sale of corn often impos-
sible, of course foreign capital would soon remedy such evils as
these.
At Baja, to our no small regret, the ladies left us. Carriages
were in waiting; a host of dependents were there to kiss their
hands and welcome them home; and, as we passed on, a cloud
of dust hid them from our sight, though it did not drive them
from our memories.
Soon after leaving Baja, we passed through a canal, cut a
few years since to avoid a long and difficult winding of the
river.
As it was getting dusk, I had retired to the cabin to write up
my journal: when, soon after we had quitted the canal, a sudden
shock, threw every thing about with great violence, and brought
us all on deck to know what was the matter. We found the
boat aground, with her prow high and dry on shore. The light
of the moon, with a slight mist on the water, had deceived the
captain, and led him to think he was on the edge of a sand-bank ;
to avoid which he put the boat about, and ran her straight
ashore. It was altogether a sad bungle. In such a light, some
one should have been a-head to look out. Fortunately no harm
was done; but it prevented us from going on during the night,
which had been Count Szechenyi's first intention. We accord-
ingly came to anchor at Moh£cs about eight o'clock, having run
one hundred and eighty miles in fifteen hours.
This was the first voyage the captain had ever made; and he
was dismissed immediately on his return. I mention this fact,
because it shows with what care the interests of the. public are
watched over by this company : indeed, were it otherwise, it
would be impossible to conceive how they could have escaped for
so many years under all the disadvantages of a new undertaking,
without a single serious accident. Had any loss of life occurred
during the first year or two, it is very possible Government, in
its paternal carefulness, would at once have stopped the whole
affair. To avoid such a catastrophe, no engines have been em-
ployed but those of Bolton and Watt; nor any engineers but
those brought up and recommended by the same house. They
have been treated, too, in the most liberal manner. The cap-
tains, likewise, are generally very superior men ; and it is im-
possible not to admire the consideration with which Count Sze-
chenyi behaves towards them. They are frequently invited to
MOHACS. 17
his table, consulted on every point of difficulty, and their opi-
nions listened to and followed. It is by such means that steam
navigation on the Danube has been, at its very commencement,
brought to a degree of perfection which it has required many
years' experience to effect in other countries.
Mohacs, otherwise an insignificant town, has witnessed two
of the most important battles ever fought in Europe; important
not only from the number of the combatants, but from their poli-
tical results. The first of them, in 1526, which witnessed the
slaughter of a king, seven bishops, five hundred nobles, and
twenty thousand soldiers, not only laid open the whole country
to the inroads of the Turks, and established them for nearly a
century and a half in its capital, but changed the reigning dy-
nasty of Hungary, and introduced for the first time a German
sovereign to the Hungarian throne. By the same blow, too,
Transylvania was separated from Hungary, and remained so for
many years. The second, in 1687, undid much of what the
first had done ; it concluded the splendid victories of the Duke
of Lorraine over the] Turks; it opened Transylvania to the
Hungarian troops; and prepared the way for the expulsion of
the Moslem, which a few years later was finally effected.
After taking in a supply of coals, obtained in this neighbour-
hood, and said to be of a pretty good quality, we again got our
paddles in motion and went gaily on our way. One cannot help
wondering at the hidden resources which any new necessity dis-
closes. In Hungary, before steamboats were introduced, there
was only one coal-mine known in the whole country. In the
short space of time which has elapsed since their first establish-
ment, three others and of better quality have been discovered
along the valley of the Danube alone, — that of Count Saridor,
between Presburg and Pest, another in the neighbourhood of
Mohacs, and the best of all at Orawilza near Moldova. There
is a bad law in Hungary, which interdicts the cutting down of
forests on the plea of maintaining a supply of fire-wood. Of
course it is vain to expect a full development of the mineral
riches of the country until this law is abolished.
Our second day's route became rather less monotonous. About
twelve we passed the embouchure of the Drave which has all
the appearance of a fine navigable river. At present the Drave
is little used, but it is impossible not to foresee a brilliant future
for it. Extending from the centre of Hungary along the north
of Sclavonja and Croatia, and through the whole of Styria, it
18 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
brings into connexion populations so far removed from sea-ports
that water-carriage cannot fail to offer them advantages of which
a few years will teach them to avail themselves. The scenery
was occasionally varied by a ruined castle, or a slight elevation
in the surface of the plain, of which the peasants eagerly avail
themselves and form into vineyards. The castle of Erdod, with
its massive round towers, is highly picturesque, but it is fast
crumbling to decay. From the mouth of the Drave we have been
passing, on the west, the banks of Sclavonia, which appears a
rich and highly cultivated country. The people are, like the
Croatians, of a Scla-vish race, and belong exclusively to the Greek
and Catholic Churches. I believe the only difference between
these provinces and the rest of Hungary, at the present time, is
their power of excluding Protestants from the possession of land
or the enjoyment of any privileges within their boundaries.
At Vukovar we stopped to land some handsome furniture
from Vienna. It is said to be astonishing how much furniture
and how many carriages have been sent from 'Pest and Vienna,
not only to the southern parts of Hungary, but into Wallachia
and Turkey, since the steamboats have been established. The
monastery at Vukovar has a pretty appearance from the river.
The town produces some silk.
A short turn of the river now brought us in view of the ruins
of Scherengrad ; and, a little further on, we came to the castle
of Illok, a large building, though apparently somewhat neglected.
It belongs, as well as immense estates here, to Prince Odescal-
chi. A low range of hills has accompanied us along the west
bank for some distance; and the openings which they sometimes
present, disclosing their green valleys, and silver streams, and
whitewashed cottages, and fantastic steeples, are most beautiful.
It became so dark about seven, that, to avoid accidents, we
dropped our anchor opposite O Futak for the night.
We were scarcely awake next morning when wre were roused
up to see the fortress of Peterwardein. Directly above our
heads, with curtains, bastions, and towers grinning with artillery,
after the most approved fashion, was the hill of Peterwardein,
and on the opposite side a Ute du pont, and other hard-named
outworks in great abundance. Though modern fortifications
have very little architectural beauty to boast, the fine situation
of this gives it a commanding effect. Peterwardein is, I believe,
considered strong; and occupies a position of considerable mili-
tary importance. It is adapted to contain ten thousand men,
KARLOWITZ. 19
Neusatz, on the opposite side, chiefly inhabited by Greeks, is
an important commercial town.
A long bend of the river to the north brought us to Karlowitz,
a pretty little town situated at the foot of a hill, covered with
vines clown to its very base. A celebrated wine is made here by
a mixture of red and white grapes, which from its peculiar colour
is called Schiller.
Karlowitz is the seat of the chief of the non-united Greek
church in Hungary, and contains a lyceum and theological school
of that religion. I need scarcely add that it is from this place
the celebrated peace of 1699 takes its name. A few miles far-
ther brought us to the mouth of the Theiss, which has here —
and Count Szechenyi says, throughout its whole course — much
the same width it has at Tokay, a distance of more than two
hundred miles in a direct line, and probably twice that distance
by the river. It is navigable for steam vessels the whole of that
extent.
We met the Francis the First, the steamer, on this station, re-
turning from Moldova heavily laden with wool, but carrying few
passengers. They say the back-freights consist principally of
wool, honey, iron, tobacco, and wine; while those down are
almost entirely composed of manufactured goods. They have
been offered freights of fat pigs from Servia, but have been
obliged to decline them till they get some tug-boats at work.
Pigs form a very important article of trade between Servia and
Vienna ; the immense oak-woods, with which that country is co-
vered, being used almost exclusively for feeding those animals.
The Servian pig is a beautiful creature; and I doubt if Smith-
field could show better shapes or better feeding in this particular
than the market of a Servian village.
As we approached Semlin the banks became more flat; and
the river, which had hitherto not averaged more than a quarter
of a mile in width, acquired a more extended bed.
Semlin is one of those localities which Nature herself has
marked out for the position of a town. It occupies the angle
formed by the junction of two vast rivers, the Danube and the
Save ; and it becomes necessarily a depot for supplying the wants
of the people occupying their banks. Count Szechenyi tells us
that the Save is navigable, and he feels sure it will very soon
have its steamboats as well as the Danube. From the day of
their establishment Semlin may date a new birth. It is at pre-
sent chiefly supported by its intercourse with Servia, on the op-
20 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
posite bank of the Save ; and in consequence, the majority of its
ten thousand inhabitants belong to that nation. It contains
some tolerable streets in the interior, but the part near the
Danube looks as miserable as need be; indeed, the greater por-
tion visible from the steamboat is the gipsy town, a collection
of mud huts on the side of the hill. Until the establishment of
steamboats, Semlin was the usual starting-point for Constanti-
nople ; and it was here that quarantine was performed on return-
ing. It is still used by the couriers; but travellers generally
prefer the comfort of a steamboat to the hardships of a Tatar
excursion across the Balkan.
Semlin is historically memorable as the Mala Villa of the first
crusaders. The three hundred thousand of the dregs of Europe,
who had terrified all Germany with their frightful excesses, at
last approached the frontiers of Hungary. The avantgarde,
under Walter Sans-avoir, having demanded and obtained per-
mission to pass through the country, arrived at Semlin without
impediment; but here sixteen of the men fell into the hands of
the peasants, and were robbed. When the larger body," under
the guidance of Peter the Hermit, arrived, and heard of this
mishap, they determined to revenge it by the destruction of
Semlin and its garrison of four thousand men. So infamous a
treachery soon drew on the crusaders the rage of a people who,
but half converted, had not yet learned to hate with due cor-
diality all who differed from them in faith; and Peter and his
followers thought themselves fortunate to escape as best they
could across the Danube. Volkmar, with twelve thousand Bo-
hemians, who had advanced no farther than Neutra, were cut to
pieces. Of the fifteen thousand Germans who followed the priest
Gottschalk, scarcely three thousand escaped the arrows of the
Hungarians; while the two hundred thousand rabble of both
sexes and of every age, which brought up the rear under Emiko,
panic-struck at the fate of their companions, broke up their camp
before the King of Hungary could approach Ungrisch Altenburo-,
which they were besieging, and dispersed without having even
approached the object of their fanatic veneration. It required
nothing less than the noble courage, the frankness, and the piety
of Godefroy de Bouillon to re-establish a respect for the crusa-
ders or their religion in the minds of the half pagan Hungarians.
We remained but a short time at Semlin, to take in coals, and
submit our passports to the inspection of a police officer. Since
steam has brought so many strangers clown the Danube, Austria
BELGRADE.
has begun to establish the system of passports here; and, if the
Hungarians do not look to it they themselves will soon feel its
annoyance as well as the foreigners who visit them.
A few minutes after we quitted Semlin, the guns were got
ready and we fired a salute to the garrison of Belgrade, which
was returned in due form. This ceremonious politeness to Bel-
grade seemed rather a testimony of respect to what it had been,
than to what it now is, for its glory is sadly fallen. Its hill is
still covered with walls, and gates, and towers; but the walls
are half down, the gates open, and the towers dismantled. A
Pasha still sits in its fortress, but he could no longer defy the
best troops of Europe from his stronghold.
As we passed, a few Turks were seen lying lazily along the
banks of the river; others were watering their horses; while, a
little further on, a group of Servian women were washing, up to
their knees in the water. The town of Belgrade, which lies be-
yond the fortress, has a very beautiful appearance, from the num-
ber of minarets and domes peeping from out the dark cypresses
by which they are surrounded. This was the first glimpse I had
ever caught of a minaret, and I can scarcely express the pleasure
it gave me; it was something so new, and yet so familiar.
It was near Belgrade, for the first time since we had embarked
on the Danube, that a sail had met our eye. The Hungarian
never uses the sail; the only means of moving against the stream
he is acquainted wdth is towing: and, though he has seen the sail
employed for so many centuries on the opposite side of the same
river, he has never thought of applying it himself. It was cu-
rious enough to see the Hungarian, Turkish, and English systems
of navigation in use at the same moment : upwards of forty men
were toiling to drag a huge barge against a strong stream on the
Hungarian bank; on the Servian, the lattine sail bore the Turkish
boat gaily before the wind; while, in the middle, the glorious in-
vention of Watt urged on the magnificent Zriny, and threatened
to swallow up the crazy craft of the others in her wake. One
might have fancied three ages of the world in presence of each
other at the same moment.
A new feature in the landscape, and for us a new object of
wonder and inquiry, soon caught our eyes. All along the Hun-
garian bank, at certain distances, perhaps half a mile apart, were
small buildings, sometimes made of wood, and raised on posts, or
in other situations, mere mud huts, before each of which stood a
sentry on duty. They were the stations of the Hungarian mili-
tary frontier guard.
22 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
An institution of so extraordinary a character as that on
which \ve had now fallen, demands a few words of explanation.
From a very early period the banks of the Save and Danube,
from their frontier position, were infested by bands of Servians
and others, who lived in a great measure by war and plunder:
many of these were fugitives from the neighbouring countries,
and were received by the Hungarians on condition of defending
the frontier on which they lived from further incursions.
Before the first battle of Mohacs, we hear of some attempts
having been made to form these borderers into regiments on one
or two points; as the Turks retired and left the frontiers more
free, this organization was extended to the newly acquired re-
gions; and, when at last the whole line fell into the hands of
Austria, it was rendered complete, and reduced to a regular sys-
tem. The last part organized was the Transylvanian borders,
which did not take place till 1766. The system, therefore, is
one which has grown out of the wants of the times, rather than
been created by an inspiration of genius; and the frequent changes
which have taken place in the laws by which it is regulated show
that experience only has brought it to its present state of effi-
ciency.
The object has been to maintain at the least possible cost a
border guard along the whole Turkish frontier of Hungary,
which in peace might be employed for the purposes of quarantine
and customs, and in war serve as a portion of the standing army.
This has been effected so perfectly, that in peace nearly forty
thousand men do duty along an extent of eight hundred miles of
frontier; and they not only feed and clothe themselves, but pay
heavy taxes in money besides, and perform also a considerable
quantity of labour without pay. In time of war this guard can
furnish, on an emergency, two hundred thousand men in arms.
- The land acquired by Government, by purchase or exchange,
along the whole of this district, has been divided among the in-
habitants, and is held as fiefs on the tenure of military and civil
service. A portion of land comprising from thirty-six to fifty
acres constitutes an entire fief, the half or quarter constituting
half and quarter fiefs. Each of these is bound to furnish, and to
maintain and clothe, according to its size, one or more men-at-
arms. In order to carry out this plan, the fiefs are given to
families composed of several members, of which the eldest is the
House- fat her, and the younger are the men-at-arms. The
House-father, and his wife, the House-mother, have the direc-
THE BORDER GUARD. 23
tion of the farm, the care of the house, the duty of providing for
the necessities of the whole family, and the right to control them
and to watch over their industry and morals. On the other
hand, the rest of the men of the family must be consulted on any
great changes, as purchases and sales ; and at the end of the year
they may demand an account of the expenditure from the House-
father. No man who has been punished for a crime can be a
House-father; and, if he be habitually drunken or immoral, he
loses the right which age would otherwise have given him. The
family owe him obedience and respect. The fief itself, and the
implements and cattle necessary for its cultivation, cannot be
sold, and every member of the family has a right in them. A
portion of land, called Uberland, — land over and above the quan-
tity required for the fiefs, — and any excess of cattle or production,
may be sold with the consent of a superior officer. All the mem-
bers of the family are allowed to marry, and marriage is even
held out to them as an honourable duty. When a family be-
comes rich or too large, its members are allowed to divide, and
the party separating receives another fief, either by grant or pur-
chase of Uberland, within the frontier district, which then be-
comes a feudal fief. Such as leave the frontier service have no
right in the property of the family.
The land is cultivated for the common good of all the mem-
bers of a family; and the profit, if any remains after the taxes
and other expenses are defrayed, is divided among them. No
individual is allowed to keep cattle, or to work for his own ex-
clusive profit, — at least, without permission of the rest. In most
cases, a whole family, consisting of many married couples, with
their children, sometimes to the number of fifty individuals, live
under the same roof, cultivate the same land, eat at the same
table, and obey the same father.
The military duty in time of peace consists in watching the
frontiers. For this purpose the man-at-arms repairs to the sta-
tion for seven days at a time, where the family provide him with
food. Besides this, he has the duty of transporting letters, as
well as the money and baggage of the regiment, and of perform-
ing exercise. For the manual exercise, four days a month is re-
quired, from October to March. In spring and autumn the com-
pany exercises together for a week; and, at longer intervals, the
whole regiment encamps out, and manoeuvres together.
Every family is divided into the invalids, half invalids, en-
rolled, and youths. Every man of full age, who has not some
24 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
bodily failing, is enrolled. For the ordinary service the number
of men on duty amounts to four thousand one hundred and
seventy-nine. In times of disturbance on the Turkish side, or
when the plague is drawing near, they are increased to six thou-
sand seven hundred and ninety-eight, and in times of still greater
danger to ten thousand and sixteen men.
In time of war the borderer must form a part of the regular
army, and march out of the country if required. The regular
disposable force amounts to thirty-four thousand eight hundred
and twenty-seven; but, if the reserve and Landwehr are called
out, to one hundred thousand. If driven to the last extremity,
they can muster to the amount of two hundred thousand men.*
By means of alarm-fires and bells, this immense force can be
summoned together through the whole extent of the frontier in
the space of four hours.
The borderers are divided into seven regiments according to
the district they occupy, — six infantry, and one hussar. Be-
sides these, there is a division of Tschaikisten, so called from
wooden boxes set on piles, and furnished with open galleries
round them, in which they kept guard along the morasses of
the Save and Danube, and who do the duty of pontonniers.
Like the peasant the border family has to do civil service — one
day per annum for every English acre — for the state; as in the
repair of post-roads and bridges, draining of swamps, regulating
rivers, repairing public buildings, £c.: and eight days per annum
for the village; as in building churches and school-houses, keep-
ing the village roads in order, cutting wood for the school, and
working the farms of widows and orphans.
The borderer's chief tax, besides the furnishing the uniform
for a man-at-arms, — the shoes, arms, and leather-work are given
by Government, as well as twelve shillings a-year in aid of the
rest, — is the land-tax, amounting, for an entire fief, to from fifteen
to thirty shillings per annum. Tradesmen, artisans, and Jews,
pay according to their property; from eight shillings to four
pounds a-year.
The border officers have many duties peculiar to the position
of feudal superiors, which they occupy. They give consent to
marriages, their permission is necessary to the sale and transfer
of property, real or personal, and, at times, they act as judges
and ministers of police. From the mixed nature of the borderer's
* These numbers are taken from Csaplovic's Gemalde von Ungarn.
THE BORDER GUARD. 25
duty, different descriptions of officers are required, and we ac-
cordingly find officers of economy, to direct the farming processes,
architects, surveyors, &c. for the care of public property, but the
most extraordinary officers, for a military establishment, are the
regularly educated regimental midwives, and, under them, the
company's and squadron's midwives!
Many laws of the borderers are framed in a spirit of paternal
kindness; among others those for the encouragement of industry,
the inducing to the accumulation of wealth, and the preservation
of order and agreement in families, besides institutions for the
maintenance of the widows and orphans, and for the education
and improvement of the people. Benigni states, that of the
children between seven and twelve years old on the Transylva-
nian frontiers, seven thousand eight hundred and six out of nine
thousand and seventy-seven boys, and three thousand four hun-
dred and forty-four out of seven thousand one hundred and three
girls, were provided with the elements of education in the border
schools. In Hungary the proportion is still higher ; probably
nine-tenths of the whole can read and write in one or two lan-
guages.
The administration of justice seems to be yet more favourably
organized. The first tribunal in civil cases is formed by a lieu-
tenant of economy, a sergeant-major of economy, two sergeants
and two corporals of economy, and two house-fathers chosen by
the colonel. Their judgment must be confirmed by the captain.
In criminal cases the court martial, composed, however, of offi-
cers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, decides.
It is impossible to study this institution, and not be struck with
its power and utility, and with the wisdom and philanthropy with
which many of its regulations are conceived ; and to a military
man, whose idea of the value of a country is in proportion to the
amount of applicable force that can be drawn from it and main-
tained by it, it must appear perfect. But it would be unfair did
we not point out some of the objections which the Hungarians
themselves urge against it.
We have seen that an immense military force has been thrown
round one-half the circumference of Hungary: — in what hands
does the command of this force lie? from what sources does it
draw its supplies? what sympathies and feelings are encouraged
in it? — in other words, what is its nationality? In a constitu-
tional country these are important inquiries.
Every regiment receives its orders directly through its colonel,
VOL. II. 3
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
he again from a general of brigade, and he from the commander
of the district, who is under the Hofkreigsrath (the council of
war) in Vienna. We have seen that the borderers draw their
resources entirely from their own labour, — for the taxes they
pay would more than refund the cost of their arms; and for their
nationality, it is enough to say that German is taught exclusively
in their schools, German used exclusively as the language of the
service, that a great number of the officers are Germans, and that
the laws to be referred to, in case the particular laws of the bor-
der do not provide for any difficulty, are the laws of the German
provinces, to prove that Austrian, not Hungarian, feelings and
sympathies are encouraged in the borderers of Hungary. The
Hungarian Diet has the right to vote the levy of troops, and the
supplies for their support, or to refuse them in case of need ; but
here is a force, over the levying and supply of which they have
no control. We cannot be astonished that this should form one
of the gravamina of the Diet, and that it should strongly claim a
right to the superintendence of the border guard.
There are some, too, who urge that this border wall is more
efficacious and better constructed for keeping Hungarians within
their boundaries, than Turks and plague without them, and there
are not wanting those even who regard the whole quarantine
system as a great engine of police. In favour of this view of the
matter they urge that the cordon has been more frequently
strengthened on the appearance of what Government is apt to
consider most pestilential, — a political fever within the country,
than of a plague invasion from without ; that personal intercourse
is impeded, that an inquisitorial search is authorized, and that
even private letters and despatches are opened and examined,
though it is well known that smugglers pass the frontiers at
every hour of the day. The best answer to these objections,
and one very difficult to controvert, is the simple fact that the
plague has never entered Hungary since the border organization
has been completed, where previously, ever since the first irrup-
tion of the Turks across the Danube, scarcely twenty years
elapsed without its recurrence, although it has been as frequent
and violent as ever in the neighbouring countries.
Considerable cruelty has been urged against the introducers
of the border system in some parts of the country, and particu-
larly in Transylvania. It has been told me that the Szeklers,
who, according to their aid constitution, were not bound to serve
out of the country, when ordered to march thought themselves
SERVIA. 27
justified in refusing, and were only compelled to submit after a
frightful massacre, in which, in many villages, every tenth man,
woman, and child, indifferently, was shot by the Imperial troops.
Of the actual state of the borders, material or moral, as com-
pared with that of the rest of Hungary, I can say but little from
personal observation ; from what I did see I certainly should not
have adjudged them a higher material civilization, and I do not
believe that military organization is adapted to produce great
moral advancement. From some of those who live in their
neighbourhood, I have heard the borderers spoken of as poorer
and more miserable than the common peasants, and in the Croa-
tian district one of their own officers declared them to be most
notorious thieves. In active service I believe they have proved
themselves, both for discipline and courage, on an equality with
the best regular troops.
A few miles below Belgrade, another fine river, the Temes,
which, though smaller than those we have lately passed, is still
navigable, pours its water into the Danube. The Temes runs,
for the most part, through a flat country, and its course is con-
sequently tortuous and sluggish, but it has been improved by the
Bega canal, which traverses a considerable part of the rich Banat,
and joins the Temes, near Temesvar. This is the fourth naviga-
ble river, the mouth of which we have passed within a space of
fifty miles. Surely never was any country so blessed by nature
with the means of communication as Hungary, — never have they
been more signally neglected.
The hills on the Servian side now became exceedingly pretty.
They are not generally high, but nothing can be imagined more
perfectly wild and picturesque. They are covered, down to the
very water's edge, with a low natural wood. Here and there
are a few houses, or rather huts, with vineyards, and Indian corn,
and occasionally, perhaps, something which may be called a vil-
lage, and has a name, but this is rare. All these hills are capa-
ble of cultivation, but insecurity, want of population, and want
of capital, keep them wild. The state of Servia, at the present
moment, is essentially one of transition, and that too with all its
worst features. For many years subject to the Turkish yoke,
and suffering more than most other parts of the empire, because
frequently the scene of contests — the first loss after a defeat,
the first prize of a victory, — its population has become so dimi-
nished by oppression and emigration, that its whole surface is, at
the present day, little more than one vast forest, and its popula-
tion a collection of swine-herds.
28 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The long-conceived designs of Russia against the integrity,
and ultimate existence of the Turkish empire, are now no secret.
The successive risings in Wallachia, Servia, and Greece, testify
how cunningly and effectually her plans succeeded. Such in-
struments as Cserney (black) George, were not difficult to find
among a people like the Servians, and in a country of woods and
mountains, a revolution was no very difficult matter to maintain,
especially when excited by a priesthood, whom a similarity of
language and religion readily disposed in favour of Russia.
These plans have been carried out almost without opposition.
The sympathy of Europe requires only the watch-words of Chris-
tianity and liberty, which none have used more liberally than the
crime-stained and tyrannical, to become engaged in any cause ;
domestic troubles adroitly taken advantage of, colonial disaffec-
tion secretly abetted, and an aristocratic diplomacy, which, if too
proud to be bribed, is too ignorant and too indifferent to be effi-
cient, has done the rest. The result we have before us in the
separation of these countries from the Ottoman empire, and their
almost total dependence on Russia.
But the calculations of the wisest sometimes come to naught.
It was easy to excite the hatred of the Wallachians against Tur-
key, but it was not so easy to make them love the Russians : it
was easy to find a native prince of strong natural powers capable
of leading the Servians, but it was hard to make such a prince re-
lish the leading-strings himself. Belgrade has been for some years
a great centre of Russian intrigue. Sometimes the Servian popu-
lation has been excited against its prince, sometimes the prince
forced into opposition to the Porte. Now an emissary has been
despatched among the Sclavish populations of Croatia and Bos-
nia, now among the Greek religionists of the Banat of Hungary,
and for such enterprises Belgrade was the starting point. In the
mean time, Austria, England, and France have looked on — the
former with fear and trembling — the two latter with stupid in-
difference.* If report may be believed, however, Prince Milosch,
a man of much energy and talent, is exerting himself to improve
and civilize his country ; and though forced in appearance to bow
to a power he is too weak to oppose, he does not find his chain
the less galling, nor will he be the less anxious to get rid of it on
the first good occasion.!
* Since our visit, Austria has sent a very able representative to Bel-
grade, in the person of M. Milanovitch • and still later, England, Colonel
Hodges.
| Since this was written, what is called a constitution has been given
SEMENDRTA. 2LJ
Three hours' pleasant sailing along these beautiful frontiers,
brought us opposite the fortress of Semendria, another painful
monument of Turkey's former greatness, and Turkey's present
weakness. Semendria is singularly built. A perfectly flat po-
sition has been chosen, watered on one side by the Danube, and
on another by a small river, the Jesoba, and on the neck of land,
between these, a triangular wall of great height has been erected,
strengthened at intervals by thirteen towers of various forms.
Semendria was formerly the seat of a Pasha, and it oflen figures
in Hungarian history as an important post in the Border wars.
Under Alibeg Pasha, it became a name of terror to the whole
country.
It was at the siege of Semendria, in 1513, that George Dosa,
a name afterwards so celebrated in Hungarian history, first dis-
tinguished himself by cutting off the hand of a Turkish officer,
and taking him prisoner. The king presented him with a golden
chain and silver spurs as guerdon for the knightly deed. Poor
Dosa's fate was so characteristic of the age, and at the same time
so poetically cruel, that we cannot pass it over.
It was in the beginning of the sixteenth century, that Arch-
bishop Bakats, like a second Peter the hermit, returned from
Rome, armed with a papal bull, and tried to set all Hungary in
a blaze with his preachings for a new crusade. Constantly as
Hungary had been engaged in hostilities with the Moslems since
they had gained Constantinople, these never seem to have par-
taken so much of the character of religious wars, as of wars of
conquest and defence ; and, on the present occasion, the call of
Bakats seems to have been almost unheeded by the nobles.
Among the ignorant and discontented peasantry, however, to
whom the desire of escape from servitude, and the anticipation of
plunder may have been as strong inducements as the hope of salva-
tion, his success was greater, and in a short time forty thousand
of them flocked under his banner to the Rakos plain in the neigh-
bourhood of Pest.
A suspicion has been entertained that the motive for Bakats'
to Servia, chiefly through the influence of Russia, in whose hands the no-
mination of the chief members rests. Milosch has resisted, been deposed,
driven from the country, and his son placed in his stead. It is exceed-
ingly difficult to arrive at any thing like the truth on such matters, from
the known subserviency of the German papers to Russia; but it looks very
much as if Russia was playing her old game of disorganizing and ruining,
that she herself may in time be called in to settle, and reconstitute — take
possession, if she will — in any manner that seems to her best.
3*
30 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
zeal was not quite so much ecclesiastical,— Christian I cannot call
it, — as personal aggrandizement. His excessively ambitious cha-
racter, the opposition which he had met with from some of the
higher nobles, the school in which he had been brought up — he
was secretary to Mathias Corvinus, — the exciting harangues of
the clergy, and above all, the choice of George Dosa, a common
Szekler soldier, to head this vast multitude, gives strong ground
for the suspicion. Be that as it may, no sooner did Dosa receive
orders to march his forces against the Turks, than he at once de-
clared war against the nobles ; and the peasantry, predisposed by
the oppression they had suffered since the death of Mathias, and
encouraged by the miserable weakness of his successor, having
now thrown off all restraint, and excited by the promises of their
leaders, were ready enough to seize an opportunity of revenging
their wrongs, and achieving their liberty.
Dosa maintained the field against the Hungarian nobles for
nearly six months, during which four hundred of their order fell
a sacrifice to popular vengance, till at last Zdpolya attacked him
whilst besieging Temesvar, took him prisoner, and completely
destroyed his army.
If the peasants had been guilty of cruel excesses, the death of
Dosa most amply atoned for them. Not content with the
slaughter of seventy thousand peasants, many of them women
and children, it was determined to execute their leader in a man-
ner which should strike terror into all future generations of pea-
sants, and the inventive cruelty of "a cruel age was taxed for its
worst tortures.
Dosa was seated on a throne of red-hot iron, a red-hot crown
was placed upon his head, and a red-hot sceptre in his hand.
Forty of his followers had been confined without food for a fort-
night; nine of them still survived the starvation, when they were
brought before their tortured leader and commanded to feed on
him yet living. Those who hesitated were cut down, while the
rest tore the flesh from his bones and devoured it greedily. "To
it, hounds, ye are of my own training!" was the only remark
which escaped the lips of the suffering Dosa.
It was just sunset as we left Semendria, and the broad streaks
of red light which fell upon the water, with the deep shadows
thrown by the old towers, gave an air of solemn beauty to the
picture.
As we advanced beyond this point, the river grew wider and
wider, while the banks seemed covered with impenetrable forests
RUSSIAN INTRIGUES. 31
and morasses. The solitude and grandeur of this vast wilderness
was exceedingly imposing. As I stood almost alone upon the
deck towards evening, I could have fancied myself in a new land,
an unexplored region. I have never seen the Mississippi, but I
do not think that, even in the fast-nesses of America, the impres-
sion of a new and untrodden land could be more complete than
here. On either side of us were thick forests, so thick that the
eye searched in vain for some indication that they had ever been
visited. The flocks of wild fowl, which covered the water, al-
lowed us to pass near them, apparently without suspicion of
danger ; but no sooner did the eagle appear in sight, than they
dived away and hid themselves from his searching glance. Every
thing seemed to say that man was a stranger there.
It was just beyond the island of Osztrova, that we dropped
our anchor in the middle of the stream, — two miles in width
here — let off our steam, and made up for the night.
I and Mr. H n walked the deck till deep in the night, dis-
cussing the various fates which time might have in store for the
nations of the Danube. The ambitious projects of Russia, just
then disclosed by the energy and talent of Mr. Urquhart, had
opened to us the danger which Hungary, as well as Wallachia,
Servia, and the whole of Turkey ran, if those projects were not
speedily checked. We knew that the cabinet of Austria, at first
strongly inimical to Russia, had been so frightened from her
propriety by reform in England, and revolution in France, — a
revolution in which she can still see no difference from that of
eighty-nine, — that she had thrown herself into the arms of her
betrayer without the decency of reserve, without the prudence
of a contract. At the same moment we saw this same Russia
attempting to increase her influence among the Sclavish popula-
tions of Hungary by the plea of identity of origin and interest,
and to undermine the fidelity of the adherence to the Greek
church by the claim of supremacy, and the corruption of an
ignorant priesthood. We saw how, step by step, Russia had
approached the frontier of Hungary on the north ; how she had
then crept round the east and south ; how, during all this time,
she had played with the absurd fear of Austria on the subject of
liberalism, and how in the end, these absurd fears had led that
power to suffer her ambitious neighbour to bind one by one her
limbs in chains, and finally to threaten her with suffocation should
she dare to stir, by closing her mouth — the Danube.
At the same time we saw the frontier fortresses of Turkey
32 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
occupied by Russian troops; — we saw Wallachia, Moldavia, and
Servia, under the name of independence, subjected to the most
galling vassalage, with Russia for a Suzerain; — we saw the
Turks themselves dispirited and cowed by their late defeats, and
by the desertion of their former friends ; — we saw their ministers,
the paid hirelings of the enemy of their country, obeying only
his commands ; — we saw their Sultan alienating the hearts of the
most faithful, by well-meant but ill-judged reforms ; above all, we
saw Europe still careless of the fate of one of the greatest empires
of the world, and we trembled lest she should awake but too late
to ward off the catastrophe which hung over her. One consolation
alone remained ; we knew that if she did awake, the progress of
Russia was stopped; we knew that her gigantic power would
crumble away, and nothing remain, but the hatred of the world
for the falsehood, injustice, and cruelty, by which it had been
raised.
BABAKAY.
CHAPTER II.
DANUBE FROM MOLDOVA TO ORSOVA.
Babakay. — The Vultures. — Golumbatz. — St. George's Cavern. — The
Rapids. — First Roman Inscription. — Kazan. — New Road. — Sterbeczu
. Al mare. — Trajan's Tablet. — Via Trajana. — Orsova. — New Orsova. —
The Crusaders. — Visit to the Pasha. — The Quarantine — The Iron Gates.
— Trajan's Bridge—its History and Construction. — Valley of the Cserna.
— Turkish Aqueduct. — Mehadia — its JBaths and Bathers.
IT was about eight in the morning, when the good ship Zriny,
after bearing us some twenty miles, while yet snug in our berths,
dropped her anchor and finished her voyage opposite the little
town of Moldova. Preparations were quickly made for our re-
embarkation, and before the luggage was well discharged, the
passengers of the quarter-deck were comfortably stowed away
in a private boat of Count Szechenyi's, and in company with
several of the gentlemen employed on the new works, off we set.
The boat was rowed by four stout peasants, lately broken in
to the oar, and steered by George Dewer, who has been employed
in managing the diving-bell here. After passing the island of
Moldova, we came to an interesting point of the river, marked
by the Babakay rock, which juts out into the middle o^the stream.
Babakay is said to mean "repent," in Turkish, and to have been
applied to this spot, because a jealous old Turk brought over his
young bride, whom he suspected of deceiving him, and placing
her on this rock, rowed away, answering to her cries only, "Ba-
bakay! Babakay!"— Repent! Repent! It is at this point that
the new road, of which we shall speak hereafter, commences. On
the Hungarian shore the workmen were crowding the hill side,
blasting the rocks, wheeling soil, hammering, digging, breaking,
—in short, busy in all the operations incidental to mountain road
making. On the Babakay itself sat three vultures, solemnly
looking on at these unaccustomed sights, while on the Servian
side nothing was to be seen, save the picturesque towers of the
Golumbatz as they crumbled away into the Danube below.
One of the vultures, as we drew near, raised itself from its
34 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
rocky perch, and sailed into the air with great majesty. A
shot from one of our party brought him down to the water,
while another secured one of his companions before he had time
to raise himself and take flight. The larger of them measured
nine feet across the wings.
Golumbatz, — a corruption of columba, the castle of the dove,
— is said to have been the prison of the Greek Empress Helena,
and was a point often strongly contested in the earlier periods of
Hungarian history. In 1428, it was besieged by King Sigismund,
who lost the greater part of his army in the attempt, and who
with difficulty escaped with his own life. It was afterwards
taken from the Turks by Corvinus, and held by the Hungarians,
together with other fortresses in Servia, for some time.
The river, which had been hitherto wide and open, was now
enclosed by high rocks in a narrow bed only two hundred and
forty yards in width. From this point the most beautiful por-
tion of the scenery of the Danube commences ; and, however in-
adequately I may describe it, I can assure the reader that I know
of no river scenery in Europe to be compared with it. The
Rhine is pretty and highly cultivated; the Danube is wild and
awfully grand. It would be little interesting were I to repeat
the exclamations of wonder and admiration which burst from us
during this journey of about fifty English miles: the whole route
is one succession of beauties. The general character of the
scenery is that of rocks and woods, sometimes rising precipitous-
ly from the banks of the river, sometimes sloping gradually
away ; while the mighty mass of water now flows calmly on its
course, and now rushes in a cataract over the rocks it scarcely
covers. I must content myself with noticing a few of the most
interesting points. Soon after passing Babakay, the boatman
pointed out to us a cavern half-way up the mountain on the
Hungarian shore, as the identical cave of the Dragon slain by
St. George, and where, they say, the foul carcass still decays,
and, like Virgil's ox, gives birth to a host of winged things.
What is certain is, that from this direction, and it is strictly
maintained from this very cave, proceeds the Golumbatzer
Mucken, a peculiar kind of musquito, which often invades the
Banat in swarms, to the great injury of the flocks and herds.
They attack chiefly the eyes, nose, and ears, and produce such
pain as to drive the animals nearly mad, and death usually fol-
lows.
Stenka was the first of the rapids we passed, and though in
THE RAPIDS. 35
the then state of the water, it was impracticable for our steam-
boat, it is not so in general, and indeed, while I now write, the
place of debarkation is changed from Moldova to Drenkova, a
small village a little below the fall. At Drenkova are some re-
mains of a Roman fort, probably one of a series of strong places
built by Claudius to protect the river boundaries of the Roman
conquests. The second rapids are those of Kozla Mare, situated
in the midst of such beautiful scenery, that it is probable the
traveller has passed over them while his attention has been oc-
cupied by the surrounding objects. Just below this point, on
the Servian side, may be observed traces of the Roman road, of
which we shall speak later ; and above it, is a plain tablet, bear-
ing this mutilated inscription: —
TR-CAESARE-AVS
AVGVSTOIMPERATO
PONT-MAX: TR-POT-XXXV
LEG-IIII SCYTH-ET-V-MACEDO.
It is near this point that the most considerable falls in this
part of the Danube begin. They are formed by a succession of
three rapids, the Izlas, the Taktalia, and the Greben; in the
middle of the latter, on a projecting rock, a small iron cross
marks the dangerous pass. The navigation has been somewhat
facilitated by a canal cut in the rocky bed of the stream by
means of blasting ; but much must yet be done before steam-
boats can pass over it at all seasons. During high-water, both
the steamboats on the Lower Danube have passed these rapids.
The shallowest part is on the Greben, which we passed with
seven feet of water, though it has been known with only two.
Below the falls the river becomes suddenly wide, and extends
itself to sixteen hundred yards. We met during this part of our
course one or two Turkish boats slowly toiling up against the
stream. A few Servian villages are scattered here and there,
and give life to the scene. One founded by Prince Milosch, and
named, after his son, Milanovacz, appears to prosper, and shows
greater symptoms of comfort than any thing we have seen on
that side. At Tricula are the remains of three towers, to which
tradition assigns a Roman origin.
A long reach which presents a beautiful lake-like view,
brought us to Kazan, (the Kettle,) which, as the middle point
between Orsova and Moldova, has been made the residence for
the engineers employed in the construction of the new road.
36 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Here we left our boat and visited the works then in progress,
now happily near completion. The object has been to form a
good carriage-road between Moldova and Orsova, in order that
vessels may be able to tow up against the stream, and that pas-
sengers and goods may be conveyed by carriages without loss of
time from one steamboat to another. In several parts of this
track the rocks come close down to the water's edge, so that it
was found necessary to form galleries in them, a work of great
labour and expense. From Babakay to Alibeg there is six thou-
sand yards of artificial road, and again below Kazan it extends
twelve thousand yards. When I saw it, it had been two years
begun, and 20,000/. expended. Five hundred men were still
employed on it.
A work of this kind would be great in any country ; but in
Hungary it may be looked upon as something wonderful, and
the greatest credit is due to Count Szechenyi, who has had the
entire direction of the works, as well as to Mr. V&sarhely, the
engineer, that it has been accomplished so speedily and so well.
Without it the navigation of the Danube was closed; but with
it, in addition to the works contemplated below, there is no im-
pediment of consequence that can oppose an easy and direct com-
munication from Ratisbon, in the very heart of Europe, to the
Black Sea. Nay, the projected rail-road between the Danube
and the Rhine will accomplish the union of those two rivers, and
thus the great idea of Charlemagne will be fulfilled after the
lapse of so many centuries.
As we walked along the new road, our attention was directed
to a cave about one hundred yards above the Danube, celebrated
in the history of the Turkish wars. It appears that in 1692,
the Austrian General Veterani sent three hundred men under
the command of Captain D'Arnan to hold this cavern against
the Turks, whose communications on the Danube were in con-
sequence almost cut off, for the position of the cave gave its lit-
tle garrison the complete command of the passage of the river,
which is exceedingly narrow here. The Pasha of Belgrade,
roused by the injury this handful of men inflicted on the Turks,
sent an overwhelming force against them; but their position, de-
fended with the greatest bravery, was proof against all attacks,
except, alas! that of hunger, which obliged them to capitulate
after a siege of forty-five days. Again, in 1788, was this little
fortress employed against the Moslems. Major Stein held it for
twenty-one days, with a smaller number of troops than before.
37
Some remains of slight outworks are still left before the entrance
of the cave. The interior is about one hundred feet long by se-
venty broad, and has some natural divisions, to which tradition
still attaches names and destinations; as the officers' quarters,
the powder magazine, and the provision depot.
On the opposite side, and not far from this cavern, rises a
majestic cliff two thousand one hundred and sixty feet in height
from the water's edge. This is the Sterbeczu Almare, the huge
bastion of the Danube, a glorious monument of nature's boldest
architecture. After passing Rogach, the narrowest point of the
river, where it is only one hundred and sixteen yards wide, but
sixty deep, and just opposite the little village of Ogradina, we
arrived at the great Tablet of Trajan, the most perfect historical
monument at present existing on the banks of the Danube. We
returned next day to examine this tablet at our leisure ; but we
were still not permitted to get up to it, as it is on the Servian
side, and therefore considered in Sporco. It is in the solid rock,
a fine hard mountain limestone, and is executed with much ele-
gance. A winged genius on each side supports an oblong tablet
protected by the overhanging rock, which has been carved into
a rich cornice, surmounted by a Roman eagle. At either end is
a dolphin. The inscription, as it has been made out by the en-
gineers, runs thus —
IMP-CAESAR-DIVI-NERVAE'F-
NERVA-TRAIANUS-AUG-GERM-
PONTIF-MAXIMVS-TRIB-P-O-XXX.
I must confess I was not able to decipher all these letters ;
but, as it is eight yards from the water, and obscured by the
smoke which the fires of the Servian fishermen, who often rest
here for the night, have covered it with, it is very possible that
those who could examine it nearer might follow the traces of
letters which have escaped less favoured observers.* The work
which this tablet is intended to immortalize, was no other than
the Via Trajana, as it is called, on some of the Roman coins of
that period, and of which the traces are frequently visible on
different parts of the rocks between Golumbatz and Orsova, on
*For this, as well as for the plan of the remains of Trajan's bridge, [
am indebted to a friend in Hungary, who obtained for me copies of the
drawings and plans prepared with great care by engineers employed in
the survey of the Danube. This inscription has never, I believe, been so
fully made out by any other observers.
VOL. II.-
38 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the Servian bank. For the most part, the traces of the road
now remaining are reduced to a narrow ledge, varying from two
to six feet in width, cut in the solid rock, at the height of ten
feet ahove the ordinary water-mark, and below this ledge, at
regular distances, and in four distinct elevations are holes of
about nine inches square and eighteen deep. Where the rock-
hangs perpendicularly over the river, the ledge and the holes
may be traced very distinctly for a considerable distance without
intermission ; at other places they are interrupted by a sloping
bank, where an artificial road was no longer required ; and at
others, where a slight chasm in the rocks made it impossible to
continue the ledge, a bridge seems to have been thrown across.
Every one who takes the trouble to examine this subject, must
conclude that these holes were, beyond question, intended to re-
ceive beams constructed so as to support a part of the road
made of wood, for the ledge cut out of the rock was not wide
enough, in many parts, even to admit persons on foot, and cer-
tainly not horses. Nor can we suppose that the ledge in the
rock was once wider, and that it has been worn away by time,
for the tablets remain very perfect, and the holes below seem as
fresh as if cut yesterday. It is, then, pretty certain that the Via
Trajana was partly only cut in the rock, and partly supported
on wooden beams. * It would thus answer for a towing path as
well as for the passage of troops — the two great objects for
which it was probably intended ; and, besides costing much less
labour, it would have possessed, if this supposition is correct,
the advantage of being easily and effectually interrupted in case
that pursuit by the barbarians rendered it desirable to cut off the
communication.
As we turned from these remains of Roman greatness to the
other side of the river, and again got on shore, to examine the
progress they were making with the modern road, it was impos-
sible not to be struck with the resemblance of the Walla ck pea-
sants, who were engaged on it, to the Dacians of Trajan's
column. The dress, the features, and the whole appearance of
the Wallacks, were so Dacian, that a man fresh from Rome
could scarcely fail to recognise it. They have the same arched
nose, deeply sunken eye and long hair, the same sheep-skin cap,
the same shirt bound round the waist, and descending to the
knee, and the same long loose trowsers which the Roman chain
[ *This opinion I had formed from an inspection of the place itself.
NEW ORSOVA. 39
is so often seen encircling at the ankles. It was only required
to change the German or Hungarian overlooker in his smart
hussar uniform, for the soldier of the Roman legion in his bril-
liant armour, and we might have supposed ourselves present at
the very scene enacted for a similar purpose on the opposite side
of this river seventeen hundred years before !
Orsova, as we saw it next morning, appeared a pretty little
village, situated close on the banks of the Danube, and fast rising
into importance as the frontier town of Hungary, towards Servia
and Wallachia. In addition to the money spent here by travel-
lers, the custom-house and quarantine establishments necessarily
give it greater advantages than are possessed by most Hunga-
rian places of its size. At a little distance from the town, too,
there is a small covered market, where the Turks and Servians
bring their wares for sale; and though divided by rails, and
closely guarded by the quarantine officers in order to prevent
contamination, they carry on a considerable traffic in pipe-heads,
Turkish sweetmeats, fruits, ornaments, and other small articles.
The quarantine establishment was nearly empty at the time we
visited Orsova, and we were shown over the whole of it. It
cannot be said to be pleasant to pass such a length of time in
confinement any where ; but I know of few places where it would
be more tolerable than at Orsova. A small court is attached to
each set of apartments; and, attended by a guard, permission is
usually granted to walk over the whole place.
A mile below Orsova, and in the middle of the Danube, lies
the pretty island of New Orsova, a Turkish fortress, now, alas!
somewhat dilapidated, like every thing else Turkish; though,
scarcely a century ago, it was of sufficient strength to have oc-
cupied the Emperor Joseph II. a considerable time to batter it
effectually from the opposite mountains. It is said to have been
at this point that the great crusade of 1396, under the Conne-
table d'Eu and Sigismund of Hungary, after descending the
Danube from Buda to Orsova, passed over to the island, and so
across to the Turkish side. One hundred thousand horsemen,
among whom were the flower of the French chivalry, seemed to
give an assurance of easy victory ; and as Sigismund marked
their close and well-ordered ranks, he insolently exclaimed,
" With such an army, I can brave the world; their spears would
uphold the canopy of heaven itself, should it threaten to fall
upon us!" The impious boast was bitterly atoned for. In a
very few days the plain of Nicopolis witnessed the complete* dis-
40 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
persion of this host, and the noblest or bravest of them dead, or
captives in the hands of Bajazeth.
We were fortunate enough to obtain permission from the
Herr Cordons Commandant to visit the Pasha of Orsova ; and,
accompanied by a custom-house officer, apparently to enable us
to smuggle with impunity, and another from the quarantine to
prevent our catching the plague in any but the prescribed form,
we embarked for the island. About half an hour's row down
the stream, brought us under the low and crumbling walls of
the fortress; and one of our attendants, acting as interpreter,
hailed a magnificent-looking fellow, who was lounging about
very nonchalantly, — but who was nevertheless a Turkish senti-
nel on duty — and desired him to inform the Pasha of our request
for an audience.
In the meantime we landed, and pursued our way over broken
walls and through filled up ditches to the Pasha's house; and a
strange-looking pile we found it. The lower part is formed of
a solid tower of stone, probably the remains of some Gothic
stronghold, while the upper story is only a wooden box, after
the common fashion of Turkish houses, overhanging its base in
every direction, and in its turn covered by a vast umbrella-like
roof. Our request was courteously received, and we were
ushered up a broad flight of steps outside the building, and be-
tween long rows of bare-footed servants to the audience cham-
ber. Here we found the Pasha ready to receive us, and after
sundry bows on our parts and pressings of the hand to the heart
on his, we took our seats opposite each other on some very com-
mon, rush-bottomed chairs. These were evidently used as a
compliment to us; for they appeared a troublesome luxury to
our host, whose legs were either dangling awkwardly in mid-air,
or perched on the highest stave, in any thing but an elegant po-
sition. He was a handsome, good-tempered looking man, of
about forty, with a fine red beard curling over his breast. He
was far enough from the capital in his snug little island, to dis-
pense with the caricature of a uniform worn in Constantinople,
and his costume of embroidered cloth lined with fur, was simple
and handsome. He inquired with much anxiety if we had
brought our pipes, and seemed very much annoyed at our guides
for not having informed us that a recent firman had forbidden
any Pasha to offer pipes to strangers. This arrangement had
been adopted to relieve the Pashas from the expense of maintain-
ing a great pipe establishment, the cost of which was sufficient
NEW ORSOVA. 4i
to ruin some of the poorer of them. I believe it has been given
up since. It was in vain we protested that we did not smoke in
the morning; when the poor Pasha received his splendid chi-
boque he drew a long whiff or two, but it failed to sooth his
wounded sense of hospitality, and he protested he could not
smoke unless we did so too. At last, plague or no plague, he
insisted on each of us smoking from his own pipe; nor was it till
the pale lemon-coloured amber had been pressed in turn by every
lip, and the muddy coffee had been duly drunk, that he felt suf-
ficiently at ease to begin a conversation.
I am not going to give the reader the Pasha's sage remarks —
that is, remarks of my own, which I think sufficiently sage to
be palmed off as a Pasha's, — as many writers in these modern
times are apt to do, often, too, when they have not under-
stood one word of the language spoken; and it is not worth
while repeating the commonplaces our interpreter passed be-
tween us. The Pasha inquired about the progress of the works
tit Kazan, whether the bridge was begun at Pest, and how many
steamboats were building, occasionally stopping to assure us how
great was his pleasure at our visit, and occasionally bursting into
a hearty laugh at the fear our attendants expressed lest we
might touch something capable of communicating plague, and
that too after smoking the pipe he had just used. As in every
Turk, — and almost in every man who is free from affectation and
servility, — his manners were easy and dignified; and as we took
leave, much pleased with our visit, he invited us to go through
the town, and gave orders that we should see the mosque and
any thing else we chose.
The town, which consists of four streets built in the form of
a cross, is as completely Turkish as any thing in Constantinople;
it is, in fact, a little epitome of the whole empire. I'he same
filthy narrow streets, the same coffee-houses with their eternal
loungers drawing deep draughts of pleasure from the bubbling
nargile or long chibouque, the open shops, the carpeted mosque
with its slender minaret, and the pretty burial-ground with its
turbaned head-stones, as are to be seen in every other part of
Turkey; — nay, the very dogs are the same snarling, ill-bred
mangy curs which the sons of Mahomet use as scavengers
wherever their sway is felt. It was amusing to see with what
officiousness our quarantine man began to exercise his stick on
all the poor animals which crossed his path, but an obstinate
Ken very nearly got the master of him notwithstanding, and we
4*
42 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
\vere obliged to run into another street lest a chance feather
from her wing should condemn us to a fortnight's quarantine.
Heartily did the good-humoured Turks shake their sides to see
half a dozen poor Christians in flight before a cackling hen!
We were allowed, however, to purchase some pipe-heads from
Servia, — more beautiful than any to be found at Constantinople,
— probably from some little arrangement between the Turk and
Christian for fleecing the stranger, for as we went away, I saw
our guide put one into his own pocket, for which nothing was
paid, save a nod of understanding between himself and the mer-
chant.
The most insensible can hardly fail to admire the scenery
about Orsova; the island, the Elizabeth Tower on the opposite
bank, the Alion with its wooded sides, and the expanse of water
itself, are beauties of no common, order. From the passing view
we had of some Servian peasants, they seemed to resemble the
Wallacks in their dress. The women often cover their heads
with strings of gold and silver coins till they assume the appear-
ance of scale-helmets.
Another excursion I made from Orsova was to visit the Iron
Gates of the Danube, and the remains of Trajan's bridge. As
these objects are in Wallachia, it was necessary again to obtain
permission, and to be accompanied by quarantine and custom-
house officers. Having provided two light wagons with four
horses in each, we followed the banks of the Danube, passed
the Island of Orsova, crossed the boundary line of Hungary, and
continued along a road cut in the side of the mountain, amidst
the most beautiful scenery, till the roar of the waters informed
us we were approaching the much-dreaded cataracts of the Iron
Gates.
A bad name is a bad thing; the Black Sea is still an object of
terror at Lloyd's, though its navigation is safer than the gene-
rality of European seas, and the Iron Gates were long considered
an irresistible bar to commerce on the Danube, though the pea-
sant pilots of Orsova never hesitate, in proper seasons, to shoot
them with as clumsy ill-constructed vessels as can well be made.
These rapids, for such is their proper designation, continue under
different names for about a quarter of a mile, and it is the most
eastern portion which is properly called the Iron Gates, or, by
the Turks, Demirkapi. At this point a ledge of rocks runs
quite across the river, the highest part of which, though just co-
vered in the ordinary state of the water3 is yet sufficiently evi-
THE IRON GATES.
43
dent, and produces a fall of several feet, which is followed by
an eddy which might prove dangerous to very small craft. The
shallowness of the water is, however, the most serious obstacle,
and at certain seasons this is so extreme as to put a stop to na-
vigation entirely. Two plans have been conceived for remedy-
ing this evil: and it has been proposed either to blast the rocks,
a difficult and expensive process, or to form a canal along the
Servian bank. Very fortunately, at this point the rocks, instead
of coming down close to the edge of the water, leave a small
surface of flat land, round which it is proposed to carry a canal;
and here, it is said, remains still exist of a canal made by the
Romans for the very same purpose. As I was not able to ve-
rify this report by actual inspection, I cannot state it to be po-
sitively true; but as the Via Trajana was continued in this di-
rection, and was pretty certainly used as a tow?ing path, I think
there can be little doubt of the fact. What obstacle impedes
the commencement of this canal I know not, but fortunately the
steam navigation is independent of it, for the boats come up to
Scala Gladova without impediment, and goods and passengers
are thence conveyed by boat or carriage to Orsova, so that, were
the road better, the absence of the canal would be of little con-
sequence. Nor is this interruption of so great importance as it
would be in any other position, for a delay is necessarily caused,
in passing from the one country to the other, by the quarantine,
customs, and police regulations.
As we turned back to take a last view of the dreaded pass,
a heavy Turkish boat, with its lattine sails approached, and we
had an opportunity of watching it pass the rapids. The sails
were furled, and a large oar was put out to aid the helm; the
only effects we could observe were, a slight trembling of the
mast, a sudden shoot over the rocks, a little reeling in the eddy,
and she then passed on her course as tranquilly as though nothing
had happened.
The banks of the Danube now became flat and uninteresting,
— Scala Gladova, through which our route led us, is a very mi-
serable little Wallachian town, only remarkable because the
steamboats stop there, — and we were very thankful when our
twenty miles' drive was over, and we found ourselves at the re-
mains of Trajan's bridge. All that is now left of this structure
is a solid shapeless mass of masonry on either bank, about
twenty feet high, and between that and the river there is, on
each side, a broken wall on a level with the top of the banks,
44 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
apparently forming the piers from which the first arches sprang.
On both sides, the banks are of a considerable height above the
water. In the bed of the river, and in a direct line between these
ruins, the surveyors have traced the remains of thirteen pillars.
Not far from the middle a kind of island has been formed, which
occupies the space of four pillars, and on the northern bank there
is a second space, apparently filled up by deposit, which leaves
room for one other pillar, thus making, in addition to those on the
bank, twenty. The distance between the pillars on either bank
is five hundred and sixty-two Vienna klafters, or about three
thousand nine hundred English feet. The pillar on the north
bank, which I sketched, is not built of hewn stones, but of a
mass of shapeless materials joined together with Roman cement.
It may have been encased in hewn stone, which has been re-
moved or destroyed. This is all I could observe or learn of the
actual state of the remains of Trajan's bridge. The water,
though not high, was sufficiently so to prevent even a ripple ap-
pearing on the surface, where it flowed over the hidden pillars,
but the tops of several pillars are sometimes visible. On the
Wallachian side, a little before we reached the ruin, we observed
the remains of a tower which had been surrounded by a deep and
wide fosse. Nothing remains of the tower to indicate its origin
or form; but the fosse, if I remember right, is circular. It was
probably intended to defend the passage of the bridge.
Now let us inquire, for a moment, what information ancient
authorities afford us concerning this great work. Dion Cassius,
who was governor of part of Pannonia under Hadrian, the suc-
cessor of Trajan, wrote a history of Rome down to his own
time. A considerable part of this history is lost, and among
other portions the account of Trajan's bridge; but an epitome
of his works by Ziphilini still exists, which contains a short de-
scription of it. It was built by Apollodorus, the architect of
the Forum Trajanum, and of Trajan's column at Rome, and con-
sisted of twenty piers, each pier being one hundred and fifty
Roman feet high, sixty feet thick, and they were one hundred
and seventy feet distant from each other. At either end it was
protected by towers. The whole work is said to have been
built of hewn stone, and the real difficulties of so vast an under-
taking are enhanced by a false account of the situation, depth of
water, nature of the soil, and other particulars.*
* I should remark, that this is one of the widest parts of the river, and
was, no doubt, on that account, chosen by the architect to allow the force
COIN OF TRAJAN'S BRIDGE. 45
The second authority is the large copper coin of Trajan, con-
taining on the reverse a bridge. From this coin it would rather
appear that the towers were at the entrances of the bridge, and
that they had somewhat the appearance of triumphal arches.
The figures of men are very discernible on both of them. The
arch — as is often the case in coins bearing figures of buildings, a
part being put to represent the whole, — appears to me, as well
as to others who have examined it with me, to be composed of
wood, though the piers are undoubtedly of stone.*
Besides this, we have a third authority in the column of Tra-
jan, where a part of the bridge is represented in the back ground,
and again the upper portion appears, I think, to be decidedly of
wood; in fact, the cross bars and rails are exactly like those
uniting the bridges of boats, by which the Roman army is often
seen crossing rivers during their march to Dacia. I need
scarcely say, that the idea of the wooden projection of the Via
Trajana strengthens the supposition of a similar construction in
the Pons Trajani. The bridge was probably begun about 103,
A. D.; it was destroyed about 120.
Before we quit the subject, one word on the destruction of the
bridge. Hadrian, it appears, anxious to enjoy in peace the con-
quests of his predecessor, intended to give up the newly-founded
province of Dacia ; in consequence, however, of the number of
Roman colonists already established there, he was persuaded to
retain it; but, as it is said, to prevent the barbarians crossing
over into the Thracian provinces, he destroyed the bridge across
the Danube. I cannot help thinking that personal feeling had
some connexion wTith this affair; it seems at least so impolitic to
retain the province, and yet cut off the only safe and sure
communication with it, that one is naturally led to look for
other motives than those generally ascribed for the destruction
of this bridge. Now it appears that Apollodorus had given
mortal offence to Hadrian when a young soldier in the camp of
Trajan, by desiring him to " paint gourds " (an amusement to
which he was addicted,) " and not to speak of matters he did not
understand," on occasion of some silly remarks offered by the
of the sudden floods to which the Danube is subject, on the breaking up
of the ice, to waste itself on an extended surface. The bed of the river,
instead of answering1 the description of Dion Cassius, is sound, and the
depth here less than in most other parts.
* This opinion, I find, is supported by Marsigli, Fabretti, and Mont-
faucon, who make very light of the exaggerations of Dion Cassius.
46 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
future Emperor concerning the plans which the architect was
displaying to his royal master. This insult, sharpened by the
jealousy which Hadrian felt of the artist's talents, was never for-
given, and no sooner did he assume the purple than he banished
Apollodorus, and finally had him put to death on some false pre-
tence. A man whose cruel revenge was capable of demanding
the destruction of a great artist, would scarcely be inclined to
spare that artist's most esteemed work, — his surest claim to the
gratitude and remembrance of posterity ; and I think it highly
probable, that Trajan's greatest glory fell a sacrifice to Ha-
drian's meanest passion.
On our return to Orsova, we found that a fisherman had just
captured an enormous sturgeon, — so large that when placed in
one of the small wagons of the country, its tail dragged along
the ground behind. It was taken to the village fountain, washed,
cut up, and speedily sold to the peasants. The sturgeon is said
to be abundant in this part of the Danube, and to attain a large
size, but it is not equal in delicacy of flavour to the small stur-
geon of the Theiss. Fresh caviare gourmands may satisfy their
longings here as well as in the region of the Wolga or the Don.
In Wallachia, the preparation of the hard caviare is much cared
for, and most of that met with at Constantinople is obtained
from thence. Nothing can be ruder than the Wallack mode of
fishing. A long string of floats stoutly fastened together, sup-
port a number of huge hooks which hang at different depths in
the water without baits, but so placed as to hook the fish as he
swims by. Angling as an amusement is rarely followed in Hun-
gary, but from the quantity of trout met with on the table, 1
should think it might afford good sport.
It was a fine autumn afternoon when we left Orsova, and fol-
lowing the valley of the Cserna, closely hemmed in by its wooded
hills, pursued our way to Mehadia. The groups of Wallack
women, as we saw them in the evening assembled round their
cottage doors, or returning home from the labours of the field,
were too peculiar to escape the observation, and sometimes ad-
miration of strangers. Their dress, like the men's, rather Da-
cian, consists of the homespun linen shirt, fastened close round
the neck, and reaching down to the ankles. At the sleeves, and
round the collar, it is often prettily embroidered in blue and red.
Before and behind they wear a coarse woollen apron of diffe-
rent colours, the lower part of which is commonly a mere fringe,
and such, with a coloured fillet bound round the head, is the only
TURKISH AQUEDUCT.
47
summer covering of the Wallack women. No dress was ever
less adapted to conceal the form; the close-fitting apron seems
rather intended to display to the greatest advantage the Venus-
like proportions of the figure; nor are the beauties of the youth-
ful bust less delicately outlined by the tight linen shirt.
We met some twenty or thirty of the Borderers on march to
relieve the guard on duty at some distant post, where they
would have to remain for a week. They were exceedingly well
dressed, and had quite the appearance of regular troops.
In many parts of this valley the road is adorned by avenues
of the white mulberry. I think it was under Maria Theresa
that the idea of cultivating silk in Hungary was first started,
and several attempts were subsequently made in different parts
of the country with considerable success. In 1811, Government
planted the Banat military frontier with mulberries, in the hope
of being able to feed the worm on the tree, but I believe the ex-
periment did not succeed, though it is difficult to say from what
cause. A great number of land-owners are now planting the
mulberry in different parts of Hungary, and it is highly proba-
ble that silk will, ere long, be one of the staple commodities of
the country.
Near Topletz are the ruins of an aqueduct, which formerly
extended from the baths of Mehadia to Orsova. No one who
has seen the Turkish aqueducts near Constantinople, can doubt
as to the origin of this one ; it is clearly of Turkish and not Ro-
man workmanship. Its object was probably to convey the me-
dicated waters of Mehadia to the village of Orsova which was
for many years the residence of a Pasha, and an important Turk-
ish fortress.
About ten miles from Orsova we quitted the main valley, and
pursuing the course of the Cserna, entered the valley of Meha-
dia, in which the baths of Mehadia are situated. It was now
past the bathing season, and we were the only strangers there;
but the reader must allow me to transport him back to the gaiety
of July, in which month I visited it on another occasion.
The baths consist of a number of handsome buildings round an
oval place, furnished with seats, and commonly enlivened by
music and loungers. The valley is so exceedingly narrow, that
there was but just room to build these houses; nor have they
been erected without a sacrifice of the romantic scenery. The
large building to the right was constructed by the Emperor
Francis, and it is let out at certain fixed and very moderate prices
as an hotel, while the lower part contains baths.
48
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The antiquity of the Hercules Baths are beyond question.
Many votive tablets and statues sufficiently attest that they were
dedicated to Hercules and that they were known to the Romans as
early as the reign of Hadrian, with whom they were in high
repute for their medicinal virtues.
From June to September these baths are the favourite resort
of the Hungarians and Transylvanians, and, besides, receiving
occasionally members of every other part of the Austrian domi-
nions, a rich Boyard from Wallachia, an uncouth prince from Ser-
via, and a vagabond Englishman, may often be seen mingling
with the gay groups on the evening promenade. An English-
man must almost have ceased to be a wonder now, but it is not
very long since some very pretty little Banatians were terribly-
scolded by mamma for running out to get a peep at an islander,
a sort of thing, as they urged in excuse, they had never seen in
their lives before, and which they were not a little disappointed
to find so much like other human beings.
There are few bathing-places can boast so really beautiful a
neighbourhood as this ; for several miles up the valley, where a
foot-path has been cut through the woods, nothing can be more
exquisitely lovely than the scenery. And then, there are moun-
tains to ascend, a real robber's cave to explore, a little waterfall
to visit, besides excursions, to I know not how many wonderful
places in the neighbourhood to be made. But the white precipi-
tous rocks, which make the valley so picturesque, render it ex-
cessively close, and in July and August it is scarcely possible to
move out in the day-time. These same rocks, however, are not
to be scorned, for they are so high and close as to produce an early
sunset, and thus leave a long cool twilight for the promenade.
So much greater is the heat in this valley than elsewhere, that
the tarantula and scorpion, unknown in other parts of Hungary,
are far from uncommon.
Beautiful, however, as Mehadia is, its beauty will not please
for ever ; as is often the case with other beauties, its appearance
is useful as an attraction, but it requires other qualities to keep
alive our interest in them. It may be an effectual cure,* as the
* There are nine different springs here in use, each varying consider-
ably in the proportions of their mineral contents, as given by chemical
analysis. They have all, however, more or less, the same ingredients,
of which the chief are muriates of soda and lime, sulphate of lime, sulphu-
retted hydrogen gas, nitrogen gas, and carbonic acid gas, except the
Hercules bath, which contains no sulphuretted hydrogen. The tempera-
MEHADIA.
49
doctors, vouch for an infinity of human ills, but to a healthy man, a
long residence there is apt to induce one as bad as any in the list
— ennui. In the morning it is de rigueur to parboil yourself in
the fetid waters, from which you escape so exhausted, that lean-
ing out of the window and watching your neighbour enjoying
the same recreation, is all you are capable of. At one, the gen-
tlemen meet at the table d'hote, — the ladies generally dine in
their own rooms, — and consume a very indifferent dinner, not-
withstanding the eulogies of some travellers just escaped from qua-
rantine diet. Till six, the time must still be killed. A little quiet
gambling is generally transacted about this time, by such as have
a taste for it, and smoking too was a great resource, especially
after some cosmopolite Turks had philanthropically established
themselves in one corner of the place with a large stock of Chi-
bouques and Latakia, to the great edification of all honest Chris-
tians who loved good tobacco. At six, the beau monde makes
its appearance, the gipsy band strikes up its joyous notes, and till
eight, the promenade of Mehadia is gay with music and beauty.
A bad German theatre and an occasional ball add to the amuse-
ments of those who like them, but there is a want of some com-
mon place of re-union, which prevents the society coming toge-
ther as much as it otherwise would.
The deficiency of accommodation here is a crying evil, and
new arrivals are not unfrequently obliged to sleep on tables and
chairs in the public dining-room. On returning to my room one
night, rather late, I found the whole passage covered with mat-
tresses on which were stretched some dozen human figures ; many
of whom were young and very pretty girls of the middle class,
some of them unfortunate cripples, and all freshly arrived, and
ture varies in the different springs from 32° to 50° of Reaumur, but a cook-
ing apparatus enables one to regulate the temperature at will. Mehadia
is considered in Hungary as the very first in the healing powers of its
waters. It is particularly recommended in indolent skin diseases, incases
of gout in all its forms, chronic rheumatism, scrofula, chronic diseases of
the joints, complicated mercurial affections, old liver complaints, in all
that prolific class called Versfopfungen by the Germans, hysteria, hypo-
chondria, and many other of the opprobria medica. An eye-bath is ar-
ranged so that the eye may be exposed to the hot mineral vapour, and
is much used in chronic affections of that organ. Nothing but experience
can decide on the credit due to mineral waters in diseases, but on the
healthy body I do not think I ever felt any produce a greater effect than
these; the weakness and profuse perspiration which follows the bath is
extreme. — Vide Die Hercules Bader bei Mehadia, von J. G. Schwarzott.
VOL. II. — 5
50 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
thankful even for this shelter. In this condition they remained
a week before they could procure rooms.
The political economist in such a case would quietly fold his
arms and say the supply will be regulated by the demand, and
so it might elsewhere, but Mehadia is on the military frontiers,
and consequently under the administration of the Kammer, which,
with its usual forethought and good sense refuses permission to
any private individual to build an hotel, except on condition that
no one shall enter it till all the present accommodations are oc-
cupied, for fear of injuring the present proprietors. This is an
instance of the advantages accruing from the excessive care of a
paternal government : here it deprives its poor children of a com-
fortable lodging — would to God it never deprived them of still
more important blessings !
SZEGEDIN. 51
CHAPTER III.
Szegedin. — The Banat. — its History. — Fertility. — State of Agriculture. —
Climate. — Mines. — Population. — Prosperous Villages. — The Peasant
and the Bishop of Agram. — The New Urbarium. — The Kammeral Ad-
ministration.— Temesvar. — Roads. — Baron Wenkheim's Reforms. — A
Wolf Hunt.
IT was by Szegedin that we entered this El Dorado — this land
of promise for Christianized Jews, and ennobled Greeks. Sze-
gedin is itself one of the most disagreeable towns in Hungary ; its
streets are wide, and traversed by planks, which, howev.er useful
they may be in keeping people on foot out of the muddy abyss
on each side, are particularly unpleasant to those who are bumped
over them to the imminent hazard of their carriage-springs. The
houses look damp and deserted ; and the ruins of the old fortress,
which once commanded the passage of the Theiss, add to the de-
solation, without increasing the beauty of the place. I doubt,
however, if Szegedin really merits the character which, perhaps,
my feelings have associated with it : a dull day, or his own ill-
humour, often give a most incorrect colouring to the passing tra-
veller's observations. It is, in fact, a town of considerable traf-
fic, with which its situation, at the confluence of two such rivers
as the Theiss and Maros, has naturally endowed it.
It was Sunday when we passed ; and, among the holiday-
makers, I remarked what I suspect to be a remnant of Turkish ha-
bits. The women of the lower classes wore slippers without
heels, fancifully worked on the front in silk or worsted ; just, in
fact, the in-door chaussure of the ladies of Constantinople. Be-
yond the town, the Maros had overflowed its banks, and formed
an immense lake, extending for several miles to the south. This
appeared, however, so frequent an occurrence, as to have induced
* Though not directly in our present route, I have thought it best to take
the whole of the Banat together, that I might give a more complete idea
of its position and extent.
52 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the people to provide against it, for we passed through the
\vaters on a good raised road to Szoreg.
Our route from thence to Temesvar, lay through a flat, and
often swampy country ; but at the same time so overladen with
the riches of production that I do not recollect ever to have seen
so luxuriant a prospect in any other part of the world. It was
the month of July, and the harvest was already begun. Every
field was waving with the bright yellow corn, often so full in
the head as to have sunk under its own weight, and the whole
plain seemed alive with labourers, though apparently there were
not half the number required for the work before them.
The Banat is a district in the south-east corner of Hungary,
lying between the Theiss, Maros, and Danube, and containing
the three counties of Thororital, Temesvar, and Krasso. It is
not one hundred years since the Turks were in possession of this
province; and it was not till the close of the last century, that it
was entirely free from Moslem incursion. Those who have vi-
sited any of the countries under the Ottoman rule, will easily
understand the wild and savage state in which this beautiful land
then was. The philanthropic Joseph II. determined to render
it equally populous and civilized with the rest of Hungary.
From the flatness of a large portion of the surface, and from the
quantity of rivers by which it is watered, immense morasses
were formed, which tainted the air, and made it really then what
some French writer now undeservedly calls it, " le tombeau des
ctrangers." To tempt settlers, the land was sold at exceeding-
ly moderate prices; and Germans, Greeks, Turks, Servians, Wai-
lacks, nay, even French and Italians, were brought over to peo-
ple this luxuriant wilderness. The soil, a rich black loam, hi-
therto untouched by the plough, yielded the most extraordinary
produce. Fortunes were rapidly made; and, at the present day,
some of the wealthiest of the Hungarian gentry were, half a
century ago, poor adventurers in the Banat.
To those who have never lived in any but an old country,
the soil of which is impoverished by the use of many ages, it is
difficult to believe what riches are hidden in untilled ground.
The productive powers of a naturally good soil, deposited by
swamps and rivers, when heightened by a climate more nearly
tropical than temperate, are wonderful. The same crops are
here repeated year after year, on the same spots; the ground is
only once turned up to receive the seed ; a fallow is unknown ;
manure is never used, but is thrown away as injurious; and yet
PRODUCTIONS OF THE BANAT. 53
with the greatest care and labour in other places, I never saw
such abundant produce as ill-treated unaided Nature here bestows
upon her children. Except the olive and orange, there is scarce-
ly a product of Europe which does not thrive in the Banat. I
do not know that I can enumerate all the kinds of crop raised ;
but, among others, are wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, maize, flax,
hemp, rape, sun-flowers (for oil,) tobacco of different kinds, wine,
and silk, — nay, even cotton, tried as an experiment, is said to
have succeeded.
All through Hungary, the state of agriculture, among the
peasantry, is in a very primitive state. In the poorer parts, they
allow the ground to fallow every other year, and sometimes ma-
nure it, though rarely. As for changing the crops, that is little
attended to. Here they will continue year after year the same
thing, without its making any apparent difference. Nowhere
are the agricultural instruments of a ruder form, or more ineffi-
ciently employed than in the Banat. The plough is generally a
simple, one-handled instrument, heavy, and ill-adapted for pene-
trating deeply into the soil. The fork is merely a branch of a
tree, which happened to fork naturally, and which is peeled and
sharpened for use. The corn is rarely stacked, being commonly
trodden out by horses as soon as it is cut. In the Wallack vil-
lages, notwithstanding the capabilities of the soil, maize is almost
the only crop cultivated. Barley is rarely found in any part of
Hungary; and, strange to say, where so many horses are kept,
horse-beans are unknown. Green crops, except among a few
agricultural reformers, are completely neglected. The crop of
hay is commonly cut twice in a season. I do not remember ever
to have seen irrigation practised, though there are few countries
in which it would be productive of greater advantages.
The climate of the Banat, in summer, approaches nearly to
that of Italy ; but the winter, though less inclement than in the
rest of Hungary, is still too long and severe for the olive or the
orange. Even in summer, the nights are often intensely cold.
After the hottest day, the sun no sooner sets than a cool breeze
rises, refreshing at first, but which becomes dangerous to those
who are unprepared for it. The Hungarian never travels without
his fur or sheep-skin coat ; and the want of such a defence is often
the cause of fever to the unsuspecting stranger.
The scenery of the Banat is extremely various; from the flat
plains of Thorontal to the snowy mountains of Krasso, almost
every variety may be found which the lover of Nature can de-
54 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
sire. The rare, though seldom visited, beauties of the Maros,
the smiling neighbourhood of Lugos, the darker attractions of
the Cserna and the Reka, and the fine woods and pretty streams
with which the Banat abounds, may justly entitle it to boast
itself among the most favoured parts of Hungary.
The mines of the Banat, though of great antiquity,* and still
worked, are less productive than those of the north. Near Ora-
witza, coal has been found, and is now in use for the steamboats,
which the English engineers declare to be in no way inferior to
the best Newcastle. The Banat mines are worked chiefly for
copper, lead, tin, and zinc: of copper, about 7,000 cent, are
annually produced; of lead, about 2,000 cent.; and of zinc,
about 500 cent. The quantity of iron obtained I could not
ascertain. About five thousand miners are employed. It is a
curious fact that, owing it is said to maladministration, the coal
is as dear as that obtained from England via Constantinople,
notwithstanding the distance of carriage.
But one of the most curious features of the Banat is the motley
appearance of its inhabitants, who, as the different races are
generally in distinct villages, have preserved their national cha-
racteristics quite pure. In one village, which, from the superi-
ority of its buildings, and from the large and handsome school-
house, you at once recognise to be German, you still see the old-
fashioned costume of the Bavarian broom-girl, and the light blue
eyes and sandy hair of their colder father-land. A few miles off,
you enter a place formed only of the wooden hovels of the Wai-
lacks ; and here, though it is in the midst of harvest, you find a
number of lazy fellows lying about their doors, while their half-
robed wives amuse themselves with an occupation about their
husbands' heads, for which the English language has no word
fit for ears polite. The languages are preserved as pure as other
nationalisms; and though the German can often speak Wallachian,
you may be quite sure that the Wallack can only speak his own
barbarous tongue. The Magyar and the Ratz, are equally cha-
racteristic and distinct. In one place, I think Kanisa, on finding
the drivers spoke neither German, Hungarian, nor Wallack — for
the ear soon teaches one to distinguish these languages — I in-
quired of a respectable-looking person, who was standing in the
inn-yard, from whence they were? " Bulgarians," he answered in
German: "and it is just one hundred years since they left Tur-
key, and established themselves on this spot, under the protec-
* Some time since a silrer coin was found, indicating the date at which
these mines were first worked by the Romans.
PROSPERITY. 55
tion of the Emperor." The size of the village, and the appear-
ance of the houses, sufficiently bespoke them to be a prosperous
and flourishing colony.
In some places, people of two or three nations are mixed to-
gether, and it not unfrequently happens, that next door neigh-
bours cannot understand each other. The different nations rarely
intermarry, — a Magyar with a Wallack, never. I do not here
enter into the manners or customs of the inhabitants of the Banat,
because every nation retains its own, and most of these, except
the Wallacks, we have already spoken of, and of them we shall
say more when we get into Transylvania.
It is scarcely possible, in passing through some of the German
villages of the Banat, such for instance as Hatzfeld, not to ex-
claim, as a Scotch friend of mine did, "Would to God our own
people could enjoy the prosperity in which these peasants live."
It is, in fact, impossible -to imagine those who live by the labour
of their hands, enjoying more of the material good things of the
world than they do. In addition to the richest land in the coun-
try, the Banat peasant has many privileges peculiar to himself,
conferred when it was an object to attract settlers from other
districts, and these he still preserves. Among other things he
is free from the " long journeys," the " hunting," the " spin-
ning," the " chopping and carrying of wood," and from the tithe
of fruit and vegetables. He has, moreover, free rights of fish-
ing, of cutting reeds, and feeding his pigs, arid gathering sticks
in his master's forests, many of which, though trifling in them-
selves, give to the sober and industrious peasant, a great oppor-
tunity to improve his position. But, more than all, he has the
liberty to redeem half his days of labour, at the rate of ten
kreutzers, or five pence per day, an advantage of which he never
fails to avail himself.
From the last station, before we arrived at Temesvar, a Ger-
man peasant was our driver, who, on my inquiring to whom the
village, Billiet, belonged, shook his head, and said, "The Bishop
of Agram." I was sure that portentous shake of the head meant
something sorrowful ; and, as I never yet saw man in sorrow
that did not wish to tell his woes, I knew I had only to encou-
rage him, to get it all out ; and accordingly, from an inquiring
look, he took courage, pulled his horse up to a walk, and, turn-
ing half round on the box, began, "Why, sir, Billiet, and many
other villages round here belong to the Bishop of Agram, who
lives a long way off, and keeps his prefects here. Now sir, this
56 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
year the crops are very heavy, so the prefect comes with the
new urbarium, and says, 'I have the right to order you peasants
to send from each house two men four days in each week during
the harvest, that the corn may be the sooner in, and accordingly,
I expect you to obey.' But in our village, as indeed in all others,
this urbarium is kept, and many have read it carefully, and found
nothing of the sort in it ; for, on the contrary, it is stated that a
peasant holding an entire fief must send in harvest time one man for
four days in two weeks, only, but then no more can be demanded
for a fortnight. And so, sir, the Biro thought also, and he goes
to the prefect to tell him his orders were unjust, and that he
could not put them into execution. With that the prefect flies
into a passion, tells the judge his business is to do what is ordered,
not to bother his head about what he does not understand, and
calls him a rogue, and other bad names which he did not deserve,
for he is a very honest man, and respected by all the village.
Determined not to suffer such an insult, the Biro replied that he
neither could nor would act against the law and his conscience,
and said that if he was a rogue, he could be no fit person to exe-
cute any longer the duties of Biro, and he therefore begged to
Jay down his stick of office. The next day the prefect sent
orders to the peasants to elect a new Biro, but the peasants re-
chose their former one, declaring that they would obey no other ;
and so at present the affair stands, no one knowing how it will
terminate."
All these misfortunes, the poor fellow seemed to think came
from living under a bishop, and he complained sadly that the
Emperor had so soon given them another after the death of the
last. "We had hardly done rejoicing that our old Bishop was
dead," he continued, " when a new one came in his place."
It is a prerogative of the Hungarian crown to retain the reve-
nue of a bishopric for three years, between the death of one in-
cumbent and the installation of another, and it is very rarely
that the right is not taken full advantage of, but in the present
instance, the see remained vacant only six months. It must not
be supposed that the tenants of the late bishop bore him any
personal ill-will ; indeed, as he lived in Croatia, and they in
the Banat, they could know very little of him; but absenteeism
begets no good-will any where, and the hope of being under the
officers of the Kammer or Exchequer for three years, instead of
the Bishop's steward, would more than have consoled them for
the death of a dozen such prelates. I believe I must let the
THE KAMMER. 57
reader a little into the mysteries of this Exchequer Stewardship,
this Kammeral Administration, before he can fully comprehend
the peasant's joy at his Bishop's death, or his disappointment at
his successor's speedy appointment.
The King of Hungary is heir, in default of male descendants,
of all fiefs male, under which title most of the land in Hungary
is held, with the condition, however, that he shall, when he sees
fit, confer it on others, as the reward of public services. All
newly-conquered land of course belongs, in like manner, to the
crown, so that at one time, the whole of the Banat, and the
greater part of it still, as well as many estates* in other parts
of the country, are enjoyed by the king under this title. The
stewardship of such vast possessions necessarily employs a
great number of persons, all of whom, particularly the inferiors,
are, according to the rule of the Austrian Government, very
badly paid. As might naturally be expected under such a sys-
tem, none but the very highest officers are insensible to the
charms of a bribe. If an estate is to be purchased, the valuer
must be feed that he may not over-value it, the resident-steward
must be feed that he may not injure him in another point, and
the clerks of the offices must also be feed in order to induce
them to open their books and afford the necessary information.
If the peasant of the Kamraer wishes to escape a day's labour, a
fat capon, or a dozen fresh eggs make the overseer of the Kam-
mer forget to call him out ; if this land is bad or wet, and if a
portion in the neigbourhood farmed by the Karnmer be better, a
few florins adroitly distributed to the overseer, steward, valuer,
clerks, and commissioners, make them all think it for the Kam-
mer's benefit to exchange the good land for the bad. In many
parts where this corrupt system has been carried out to its full
extent, the peasant has no idea, when any favour of this kind is
refused him, that it has been denied from a sense of its injustice,
but believes only that the offered bribe has not been high enough.
So openly is this system pursued, that it is a matter of constant
joke among the officers themselves. The knowledge of these
practices has produced such a want of confidence on the part of
the superior members of the Kammer in their subalterns, that
they have put a stop to every thing like improvement in the
lands of Government, as affording only additional opportunities
* These estates must not be confounded with the Fiscal or Crown
Estates 5 a vast and inalienable property, from which a great part of the
King of Hungary's revenues are derived.
58 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
for robbery on the part of their officers. Many very worthy
officers — for honourable men are to be found even under such
corrupting circumstances — disgusted at this want of energy at the
source, dispirited by the damp thrown upon every scheme they
have proposed for improving the property, and increasing the
revenue, and irritated at being suspected of crimes they are in-
capable of, have sunk into inactive followers of a bad system, in-
stead of becoming, what they might have been, its efficient reform-
ers. I remember a steward one day pointing out to me some
beautifully rich land, overgrown with thorns, in one of the love-
liest valleys of the Banat. " You see the riches the soil offers us
here," said he; "you observe that the peasants sow nothing but
maize, and that the greater portion of the land is useless. We
have not even wheat for our own use. Shocked at so great a
waste, and convinced that the soil would produce wheat, I tried
the experiment on ground before untilled, and raised as fine a
crop as I could wish. In my yearly report, of course this was
mentioned, and I suggested the importance of more extended
trials : would you believe that I received a severe reprimand for
my experiment, that the correspondence on the subject lasted
two years, and that, had not the success been so very evident, I
should have lost my place? As it was, I was desired for the
future not to depart from the usual routine without positive
orders from my superiors !"
If such is the administration of estates which have been for
years in the hands of the Kammer, it may easily be imagined how
it must be with the estates of the church when the officers of the
Kammer obtained a casual and only temporary possession of them,
— what glorious opportunities for speculation! how certain the
officers would be to make the best of their short harvest! and
how easily the peasants might find their profit under such a
stewardship !
Now we are on the subject of the Kammer, we may as well
point out another of the inconveniences arising from a bad sys-
tem of administration. The Government, oppressed by the
greatest financial difficulties, wishes to sell the whole of the
Kammeral property to pay some of the state debts. I ought to
add, by way of parenthesis, that the donation of these estates,
as a reward for public services, has become merely a legal fiction
of late years ; and though it has been frequently protested against
by the Diet, they really are sold like any other property.
Whether it is that his Majesty does not think any of his subjects*
THE HAMMER. 59
services of such sterling value as to merit reward, or whether he
thinks the payment of a good round sum into the Royal exche-
quer the most acceptable service they can render, I leave for
those to decide who better understand royal estimations of such
matters — but so it is.* The sale, however, has progressed but
slowly; in fact, the stewards liked their situations, the valuers
were good friends of the stewards, and so the prices set on the
estates were such, that few were tempted to disturb them in
their possession: only those who wish to obtain the rights of
nobility, as rich citizens, christened Jews, or foreign settlers, now
buy land of the exchequer.
That the consequences have been a serious injury to Govern-
ment, a great impediment to the improvement of the country,
and in fact an advantage to none but lazy and unjust stewards,
are facts which every one admits, but no remedy has yet been
applied.
Temesvar, the capital of the Banat, and the winter residence
of the rich Banatians, is one of the prettiest towns I know any
where. It has two handsome squares, and a number of very fine
buildings. The county-hall, the palace of the liberal and en-
lightened Bishop of Csanad, the residence of the commander, and
the Town-house, are all remarkable for their size and appearance.
It was little better than a heap of huts in 1718, when Prince
Eugene besieged the Turks, who then held it, and drove them
for ever from this fair possession. At that time, too, the country
round was a great swamp, and constantly infested with fevers of
the most fatal character. Prince Eugene laid the plan of the
present town, and commenced the fortifications by which it is
surrounded. I have no doubt the defences are very good, for
there are all manner of angles and ditches, and forts, and bas-
tions, and great guns, and little guns; so that wherever a man
goes, he has the pleasant impression that half-a-dozen muzzles
are pointing directly his way, and to an uninitiated son of peace
that would appear just the impression a good fortification ought
to convey.
It is scarcely necessary to remain half an hour in Temesvar,
to be convinced that, however successfully Prince Eugene may
*Entrenous, reader, I believe it is better it should remain so. The
king would be responsible to no one for the disposal of this powerful source
of patronage, and it would naturally be exercised in favour of political
partisans of the court party. In the mean time it is a pet grievance of the
Diet; and serves very well to talk about.
60 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
have driven the Turks themselves from the country, neither he
nor his soldiers could eradicate the strong marks of Turkish
blood with which the good people of Temesvar are inoculated.
A black eye and delicately arched nose, of a character perfectly
eastern, cross one's path every moment. The Greek and Jew-
ish families too who live here in great numbers, for the sake of
trade, add to the foreign aspect of the population. We observed
one or two beautiful heads under the little red Greek caps, the
long braids of dark hair mixing fancifully with the bright purple
tassels of that most beautiful of head-dresses. Of the society of
Temesvar, I can say nothing from personal knowledge. Re-
port, that scandal-bearing jade, rather laughs at the costly dis-
play of wealth indulged in by the beau monde here ; accuses it of
any thing but an excess of mental cultivation ; and sneers about
luxury and the fruit of newly acquired wealth, displayed without
the taste which it requires a polished education and the habits
of good society to confer. But then, after all, Report is proba-
bly poor and envious; and I have no doubt Temesvar has just as
good a tale against her meanness and pride, and probably laughs
just as heartily about great names and little means, proud hearts
and empty pockets.
In that corner of the Banat, between Temesvar and the con-
fines of Hungary, on the south and east, — in other words, in the
beautiful county of Krasso, — the traveller can scarcely fail to
notice the different state of the roads from those he has been pre-
viously accustomed to. Some thirty years ago the roads in this
same county were impassable, the whole district was little bet-
ter than a den of thieves, and the misery consequent on vice and
disorder was every where most severely felt. Determined to re-
medy this evil, Government appointed as F6 Ispan of the county,
Baron Wenkheim, a man of enlarged views and of great energy
of character. Under his direction, affairs soon assumed a dif-
ferent aspect. A police was formed and maintained with almost
military strictness of discipline, justice was administered with un-
bending severity, and the Baron soon succeeded in establishing
a fear and respect for the law which it had long wanted. Se-
curity once obtained, it became his object to render it permanent.
From the scattered manner in which the villages were built, it
was found exceedingly difficult to obtain evidence of a suspected
person's movements ; those of the peasantry who were anxious to
screen an offender from the hands of justice, could always plead
the distance of their dwellings, as a reason for their alleged or
BARON WENKHEIM. 61
real ignorance of his movements. An order was given for the
regulation of villages, by which they were brought near the
public roads, built in a regular manner, no house being allowed
to be at more than a certain distance from another, and every
man was thus brought within the knowledge and observation of
his neighbours. In case of the trial of any peasant, his imme-
diate neighbours were, and are to this day, summoned to give
evidence of his outgoings and incomings, of his character, means
of living, and common occupations. It is obligatory on the
neighbours to give this evidence; and, I believe, they are punish-
able if they do not take due notice of such facts. To the legal
antiquary it will be scarcely necessary to mention the similarity
of this system to the institution of frank pledges, or tithings, as
described by Hallam to have existed among the Anglo-Saxons,
in very remote times.*
The state of the roads was another object of his attention.
Extensive lines of road were laid down, by which, in the course
of a few years, not only all the large places, but every two vil-
lages also would be united by a good road. Wenkheim's doc-
trine was, that it was better to do such things at once — for
independently of the present benefit, it was as yet thought no
hardship by the peasants that they should be made to work at
them, and therefore was none; but the time was fast approaching
when the peasant would have other ideas on such matters, and
what was now easy might then be impossible. These lines of road
are not yet completed ; for after Wenkheim's death, which took
place before his plans were executed, various causes retarded
the finishing of them : but they are still in progress, and Krasso
is already one of the most quiet and peaceable parts of the king-
dom, and certainly the best-furnished with roads of any county
in Hungary.
While on a visit to Baron B in the neighbourhood of
Lugos, we had an opportunity of joining in an amusement com-
mon enough in the wooded parts of the Banat. Among the
baron's neighbours who had been invited to meet us at dinner,
there was an eager sportsman, who of course led the conversation
to his favourite theme. I had too much fellow-feeling not to be
* I am not sure whether the same rule extends to other parts of Hun-
gary, but I am inclined to believe it does; and I think that it offers a more*
probable explanation of the existence of those large villages, and the ab-
sence of single houses, than that given by Marmont, who has been pleased
to theorize on this subject after his own particular fashion.
VOL. II. — 6
62 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
a willing listener, and glorious tales did he recount to us of
wolves, and boars, and bears which had fallen before his rifle.
Though we were positively to have started the next morning, it
somehow or other happened that before the evening was over,,
we were busy in giving orders to have our guns cleaned, arranging
the plan of operations, and listening to our host's preparatory
orders for a wolf-hunt. On inquiry in the village, he was as-
sured that wolves had been seen and tracked in the vineyards
only two days before, and every one was quite certain there were
several in the neighbourhood.
Now, although in the Banat the peasant is not obliged to at-
tend his lord for three days' hunting, as in other parts of Hun-
gary, yet it is rarely he refuses the request to aid in the sport.,
especially when wolves are about, or when, as in the present
case, he likes his master and receives refreshments for his trouble.
Accordingly, when we got up next morning we found no less
than a hundred peasants collected about the house, waiting for
us. As soon as our party had assembled, which consisted of
some of the neighbouring gentry and of the officers quartered at
Lugos, and after a hearty breakfast, which would have done
honour to Scotland, had been concluded with a glass of Banat
whiskey, Sliwowitz, out we sallied, three wagons and four being
in attendance to conduct us to the place of meeting.
Here the peasants were already collected, and an old sports-
man was arranging and pointing out their stations as we came
up. Twrenty of them were furnished with guns, some of them
in a melancholy state of infirmity ; but, as they were principally
intended to frighten the game, it was of little consequence : the
rest were to act merely as drivers.
We made our first cast in a low wood, half gorse, half timber,
which occupied the two sides of a little valley, and which was
traversed by the dry beds of several old water-courses. Towards
one part of these courses the drivers were to make so as to force
the game to break in that direction ; and here, at twenty or thirty
yards' distance from each other, we were stationed. As the
stranger, I was placed in the position most likely to have the first
shot ; and most anxiously did I listen to the yells and shouts of
the treibers, as they called to each other to enable them to keep
their lines, and to the dropping shots of the jagers, intended
to rouse the game if any there should be. It is not the plea-
santest thing in the world for an uncertain shot to have half-a-
dozen sportsmen below him on such an occasion as this, for the
A WOLF-HUNT. 63
•special purpose of " wiping his eye," should he miss the first shot
lie ever made at a wolf, especially if he finds himself starting at
the crack of every dry bough and carrying his piece to his shoul-
der at every black-bird that flutters from her perch; for though
their politeness might spare the stranger the joke aloud, a sports-
man's instinct tells him they would riot enjoy it the less in silence.
In thinking over such a scene afterwards, it might occur to one
that there was some little danger among so many guns in a thick
wood, especially when balls or slugs were chiefly used; but, at
the time, I defy a man who likes sport to plague himself with
such fancies. By degrees the shouts became nearer, but there
was nothing I could take for a view-halloo, — the which, though
I have no idea what sort of thing an Hungarian peasant would
make of it, I would be bound to recognise by instinct, — and at
last one treiber and then another came up, and the Treib was de-
clared out.
Several times did we make our cast in different woods, but still
with the same ill success, till evening came on, when we returned
to bear the railings of the ladies — always unmerciful on luckless
sportsmen. So ended our Treib-jagd. Our kind host, however,
took it quite to heart; "Such ingratitude," he said, "of the
worthless beasts! not a year passes that they do not worry mex
a colt or two ; and now, on the only occasion when I have wished
to see their grinning faces, not one would make his appearance."
Let me add, that when I met him next year he was still incon-
solable at the disappointment, though he had taken pretty good
revenge a month after our visit, when they had killed seven in
one day out of the very wood we first beat.
A good dinner — a necessary conclusion to hunting, be the coun-
try what it may — soon drove all the thoughts of disappointment
out of our heads, and we were only sorry we could not stay to
accept the invitation of a boar-hunt, which our sporting friend
of the preceding evening would fain have pressed on us.
64 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER IV.
THE VALLEY OF HATSZEG.
Valley of the Temes.— Wallack Beauty.— Ovid's Tower.— Iron Works
at Ruskberg.— Effects of regular Work and regular Pay. — Reformers
in Hungary. — Iron Bridge. — Iron-gate Pass, between Hungary and
Transylvania. — Hospitality. — Varhely the Ulpia Trajana of the Romans.
— The Dacians under their native kings conquered by Trajan. — Wal-
lack Language like the Italian. — Wallacks of Dacian, not Roman Origin.
— Roman Remains at Varhely. — Amphitheatre. — Mosaics.
INSTEAD of entering Transylvania by any of the usual routes,
we proceeded from Mehadia along the banks of the Temes,
through some most lovely scenery, and along as good a road as
any in England, — for we were still in the military frontiers, — to
Karansebes, and then turning to the east we took the direction
of the Iron-gate pass. The valley of the Temes is deficient in
grandeur, but it is wild and wooded. Twice narrowing itself
into a rocky pass where the road has been won from the moun-
tain side, and again widening into meadows and cornfields, it pre-
sents every change of colour, and every variety of scene which
can add charms to a landscape. The peasants too in their antique
costumes were still new to us, and the women were, or at least
we thought them, remarkably beautiful. As we walked along
the streets of Karansebes during the market-day, the number of
beauties we met was extraordinary. It is curious how various
are the opinions different travellers form of the beauty of a peo-
ple. One passes along a road and meets nothing but pretty faces,
— as certainly was the case with us here; another follows and
sees not a beauty in the whole country. This struck me the more
forcibly, as I again (afterwards) passed over this very road, and
should certainly have formed but an ill opinion of the people's
comeliness from my second visit.
To the lovers of classical reminiscences, Ovid's tower is a name
of irresistible attraction. About two miles from Karansebes, on
a hill at the foot of the mountain Mika, is a small square castle,
Non domus apta satis;
OVID S TOWER.
65
which has obtained the popular title of Ovid's Tower, and whence
are said to have issued those sweet lamentations at his cruel des-
tiny which still keep a world in admiration. I know the learned
say his place of banishment was on the other side of the Danube
at Tomi, on the borders of the Black Sea. But I still am in-
clined to hope that some part of Ovid's sufferings might find a lo-
cation here ; — where indeed could the poor poet have cried with
greater truth,
Lassus in extremis jaceo populisqup, locisque:
Heu quani vicina est ultima terra mihi ]
It is pleasant to believe that the Roman soldiers, when the con-
quests of Trajan, some half century later, had thrown Dacia in-
to their hands, paused in their career of victory — for it was along
(his valley they marched — to visit the prison of their popular
poet, and hand down the tradition of his residence there to the
present Wai lacks,
A short distance from Karansebes, we turned off the high-road
*o visit the iron-works at Ruskberg. The Messieurs Hoffmann,
Germans of great enterprise, having purchased the estate of Rusk-
i>erg from the Government, have established in this wild valley
<i colony of now no less^than two thousand five hundred persons,
who are actively engaged in their works. Though the iron-foun-
dry is the principal object of their industry, the Messieurs Hoff-
mann have by no means confined themselves to it. Having found
ores of silver, lead, and copper, as well as iron in their valley,
they work them all. With that good fortune too, which so often
attends the genius of enterprise, they discovered that a part of
the rock overhanging the little stream which bends its course
through the valley, was just of the height required for casting
shot. Now it happened that in all Hungary, Transylvania, and
Wallachia, there was no shot-tower, though sporting is a very
common amusement, so the Hoffmanns were at once able to estab-
lish a trade which consumed not only all their own lead, but
obliged them to purchase more. Their shot-tower is simply a fine
crag one hundred and forty-four feet high. At the top is a small
wooden house, in which the lead is melted and allowed to pass
through the cullender-shaped mould, whence the shot falls di-
rectly into a little basin formed in the brook below.
The iron-works are highej up the valley, and there we found
quite a second colony composed of all nations, speaking all lan-
guages; Magyars and Wallacks, Germans and Gipsies, Sclaves
(5*
66 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
and Frenchmen, were working together apparently in the great-
est harmony. I was much pleased with the account these gen-
tlemen gave us of the conduct and character of the different races
employed by them ; for it bore me out in an old theory of mine,
that there is more good than evil in the worst of men, the first
being an essential part of their nature, the last mostly the fruit
of circumstances. At Ruskberg, though the various nations pre-
sented marked national distinctions, yet the same treatment and
the same position have produced nearly the same effects in all.
By good management, regular payment, and constant employ-
ment, the lazy Wallack had become an industrious artisan, and
the wandering, roguish, degraded gipsy, a clever steady workman.
Yet many times have I heard injudicious philanthropists in Hun-
gary declare how impossible it was to make the Wallacks la-
bour, and that merely because they had failed in some pet scheme
for changing in a day their habits and modes of life, the work of
centuries ! How many kind-hearted people have given clothes
to the naked gipsy, and offered him the shelter of a roof, and
have branded him afterwards as incapable of civilization, and as
insensible to the commonest feelings of gratitude ; because he sold
the one to supply himself with what he needed more, or forsook
the other to seek some occupation less foreign to his tastes and
habits !
The Reformer's is always an arduous task; but when his ef-
forts are directed to the improvement of the manners and the
character of men, it is a labour to which very few are equal.
To be able to enter into the thoughts and feelings of others — to
appreciate circumstances, in which one has never been placed —
to judge of the wants and necessities to which they give rise —
to seize the points by which men may be influenced — to eradi-
cate the bad and leave the good parts of their character un-
touched—to devote heart and soul, without a thought of self-
interest to such a work, and then to bear cheerfully the suspicion,
the calumny, the opposition of those for whom one has laboured,
— these are some of the qualities required by him who undertakes
to reform mankind. As for those philanthropic absolutists, who
insist on making men happy either in this world or the next,
whether they will or not, I hold them to be the greatest enemies
of their species. If, instead of enforcing on man a happiness
which does not suit him, they would but content themselves with
removing all those obstacles which bad laws and the false insti-
tutions of society impose between poverty and improvement; — •
IRON BRIDGE. 67
if they would but busy themselves in placing man in a position
to help himselfj and take care to show him an example in their
own persons of those virtues they are most anxious he should
practise ; I am convinced that the spirit of moral advancement,
and the desire of bettering his condition, are principles so strong-
ly implanted in human nature, that they must prevail. Nay, so
certain do I feel of this improvability in the human race, that I
have often thought the great men of the earth must needs have
employed all their wit and cunning to invent wicked laws to de-
press the little men, or the little would long ere this have been
much greater than they are, — though it is just possible that the
great might have grown somewhat less by the process.
But it is time to return to the iron works. The Messieurs
Hoffmann showed us the parts of an iron bridge they were con-
structing for Mehadia, on a plan similar to one already erected
at Lugos. This bridge was said to have been invented by one
of their workmen, a German, who constructed as a model a small
bridge over the brook of Ruskberg. The model bridge, which
has been erected some years, and is in common use, is about
eighteen feet long by four wide, and weighs only 1 cent. The
principle — a new one,* so far as I am aware — depends on the
tension of the arch being maintained by the binding-rods, which
unite the two ends, and which is consequently increased the
greater the weight imposed. It will be better understood by
supposing two strung bows laid on piers to represent the bridge,
the road being formed only by planks resting on the strings.
This bridge has the advantages of being the lightest and cheap-
est, of affording the greatest quantity of space below, and of re-
quiring, at the same time, the least height in the piers supporting
it. Three or four of these bridges are now erected in different
parts of Hungary, varying in some minute details only, and have
been found to answer extremely well.
Another novelty, at least to me, which their works presented
was this. Requiring a great deal of wood for building, they fell
their own timber, saw it in their own mills, and, to avoid the in-
convenience arising from its greenness, they dry it before using
it. This is done by placing the planks in a small closed build-
ing, into which a stream of hot steam is directed, which, entering
the wood, drives out its natural juices — I suppose on the princi-
* Having shown a drawing of this bridge to Mr. Tierney Clark, he as-
sures me that a similar one exists in Yorkshire, and that it has been built
many years.
(53 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
pie of endosraose and exosmose — penetrating the vessels in which
they are contained, and supplying their place. The moisture
from the steam is easily got rid of by a little exposure to the
sun. Supposing the shrinking of new wood to occur from the
gradual drying out of these juices — and it is highly probable that
in the close texture of wood, viscous fluids, confined in their proper
vessels, would require much time to exude — the theory seems
plausible; and, what is still more, Messieurs Hoffmann assured
me that experience had proved it to be correct, for wood so
treated did not shrink afterwards, nor was it in any respect infe-
rior to old wood.
It is unnecessary to speak of all the works we saw carried on
here — the smelting-works, crushing-mills, washing-floors, iron-
hammer, smelting furnace, casting-floors, moulding-rooms, shot-
sorting, engine-making, sawing-mills, indeed, almost all the
ruder processes to which the working of metals leads. We
were pressed to stay another day and to visit the mines which
were still higher up the valley, and which are said to be particu-
larly interesting to the geologist, from some peculiarities in the
strata which they present, as well as a quarry of fine white mar-
ble, which has been used by the statuary; but we were already
in October, and the traveller can scarcely count on fine weather
in Hungary after the commencement of November, so that we
were forced reluctantly to decline.
The border tract between Hungary and Transylvania could
not boast the smoothest of roads; but we arrived safely at the
summit of the low mountain pass, where a Wallack cross, curi-
ously carved with the bastard Greek letters which the Wallacks
use, the top covered in by a neat shingle-roof, something like
Robinson Crusoe's umbrella, marked the boundary. On the
Hungarian side we had the cold bare mountains, ripening in the
distance into wooded hills, beyond which we could just perceive
the rich plain of the Banat; while, towards Transylvania, a deep
mountain gorge, whose yellow-tinted hanging woods buried its
depths in mystery, carried the eye over a succession of lovely
hills and valleys, to which the deep warm shadows of an autum-
nal sunset lent a charrn of peculiar grace and beauty.
At the narrowest part of this pass the Romans are said to
have had literally an iron gate, which gave its name to the place.
At present not a remain of any kind exists ; but it is curious that
three of the most difficult passages which Trajan encountered in
his expedition against Dacia — in the Balkan, on the Danube
VARHELY.
69
below Orsova, and at the entrance of Transylvania — should all
retain the name of the Iron-Gate Pass, in the language of the
common people, to the present day. This pass has been alter-
nately contested by Dacian, Roman, Turk, and Christian; and
many are the scenes of savage glory it has witnessed ; many the
dying groans it has received. Happily, these times are gone by ;
and the Borderer, who now keeps his solitary guard on the con-
tested point, finds no more formidable enemy than the poor salt-
smuggler; and the pass itself is only a terror to the horses, who
can hardly drag their burden through its deep and clayey roads.
We were fortunate to have passed it before night, which over-
took us rather suddenly as we approached the village of Varhely.
Here we were willing to stay, could quarters be obtained ; but
hearing that nothing like an inn was to be found, we gave orders
to proceed on to Hatszeg, though the driver declared his horses
were tired, and the road worse than ever. During the conver-
sation which ensued, an old Wallack joined the party, and of-
fered his opinion on the folly of my proposition very unreservedly,
wondering why we could not be content to stop at the house of
the Dumnie (Dominus) — the squire of the village. Now, though
I knew that Transylvania was the very home of hospitality, I
did not like to demand it quite so unceremoniously ; but the peasant
saved me the necessity, for, trotting off he returned in a few se-
conds with an invitation from his master, for us to make use of
his house during our stay.
The Wallack's Dumnie. was a Hungarian noble of the poorer
class, possessing one-third of the village of Varhely, and living
in the style of one of our smallest farmers. The family consisted
of the young master, his mother and two sisters, who, though
they spoke only Hungarian and Wallack, came out to receive us,
and assured us that we were heartily welcome. The house was
a pretty building of one story, raised four feet above the ground,
and was entered by a- handsome portico. It consisted of the
kitchen, which was half filled with the high hearth, two rooms
on each side, and below store-rooms and cow-houses; the
whole being enclosed by a garden on one side, and by the large
farm-yard and buildings on the other. We were shown into the
best rooms, usually occupied by the family as sleeping-rooms ;
and, in a very short time, the beds were covered with the whitest
linen, while the table offered a hearty supper to console us for
the cold dinner we had taken during the morning, and to satisfy
the keen appetite the mountain air had blessed us with.
70 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Varhely or Gradistie, in the language of the Wallacks, is a
place of so much interest, that we thought ourselves singularly
fortunate in obtaining our present shelter. Though now a mi-
serable Wallack village, Varhely occupies the site of Sarmisege-
thusa, the former capital of the Dacians, the residence of Dece-
balus, their king; and on the ruins of which, Ulpia Trajana was
founded, — the imperial city which Trajan destined as the seat of
government, for his conquests beyond the Danube,
The name of Dacia scarcely makes its appearance in history,
till the time of Alexander, when the Dacians, under their King
Sarmis, refusing to submit to the conqueror's arms, their king-
dom was ravaged, and peace with difficulty obtained. This
Sarmis is said to have built the town, which was named from
him, and this is rendered almost certain by a gold coin found
near Thorda, and which bears his effigy, with the words 2Ap-
Mis BAziA on one side, and on the reverse, the fortified gate
of a town. On the division of Alexander's conquests among
his generals, Thrace, together with the countries on either side
the Danube, fell to the share of Lysimachus. But Dacia had
been overrun, not subdued ; and the new king found his subjects
so little inclined to accept his rule, that he was obliged to march
against them at the head of a large force. Dromichoetes, the
successor of Sarmis, was prepared for the attack, and succeeded,
not only in resisting the Grecian army, but in capturing its chief,
and appropriating the rich plunder of his camp.
It is probable that at this time, either from the plunder of the
camp, or from the ransom of his prisoners, the Dacian King ob-
tained an immense treasure, for on two separate occasions, — if I
am rightly informed, once in 1545, and again about twenty years
since,— many thousand gold coins have been discovered in this
neighbourhood, some of them bearing the name of Lysimachus,
and others the word KOSON from the name of the town Cossea
in Thrace, where they were struck. I am in possession of some
of these coins; and though many were melted down by the
Jews, in Wallachia, to whom they were conveyed across the
frontier in loaves of bread, they are still very common, and are
frequently used by the Transylvanians for signet rings, and other
ornaments.
From this time, for nearly two hundred and fifty years, the
history of Dacia is almost a blank, but in the commencement of
Augustus's reign we find these barbarians, led on by their King
Cotyso, — the same probably whom Ovid addresses,
TRAJAN'S CONQUEST,
71
Regia progenies, cui nobilitalis origo,
Notnen in Eumolpi pervenit usque, Coty,
Fama loquax vestras si jam pervenit ad aures;
Me tibi finitimi parte jacere soli! —
rushing down into Italy, and committing such ravages as to fix
the attention of Rome on them as dangerous enemies. Engaged
for some years in frequent wars, with various fortune, they ob-
tained at last so decided an advantage over the weakness of
Domitian as to reduce that Emperor to accept a peace, accom-
panied by the most disgraceful conditions, and among others the
payment of a yearly tribute to Dacia. Decebalus, however, the
then King of the Dacians, had, in the eyes of Rome, merited his
destruction by his success, and no sooner did Trajan assume the
Imperial purple than he determined to restore to its brightness
the tarnished honour of the empire, and accordingly prepared an
expedition against Dacia, which he headed himself.
Trajan seems to have passed through Pannonia (Hungary,) to
have crossed the Theiss, and followed the course of the Maros
into Transylvania. His first great battle was on the Crossfield,
near Thorda. After an obstinate contest, the Dacians were com-
pletely routed, and Decebalus obliged to take refuge in Sarmisege-
thusa. The Crossfield is still called by the Wallack peasants
the "Prat de Trajan" (Pratum Trajani,) a curious instance of
the tenacity of a people's recollections. Reduced to the last ex-
tremity, Decebalus was obliged to accept humiliating conditions,
which he took the first opportunity of breaking. Trajan, how-
ever, had determined that Dacia should form a Roman province,
and he at once set out again to complete his conquest.
Better acquainted with the geography of the country, Trajan
chose a nearer route, and one by which he might at once reach
his enemy's capital. It was on this occasion that he crossed the
Danube, below the Iron Gate, where his famous bridge was
afterwards built, and sending one part of his army along the
Aluta, he himself seems to have followed the valley which now
leads from Orsova, by Mehadia. and Karansebes, over the Iron-
gate Pass, direct to Sarmisegethusa. On the column of Trajan,
at Rome, the chief events of these two campaigns are most
minutely depicted, and thus completely do away with many fa-
bles which historians have appended *to the story. It appears
that the Dacians, unable any longer to defend their capital, set
fire to it, and fled to the mountains. Decebalus, finding it im-
possible to escape his pursuers, stabbed himself and many of his
72 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
followers destroyed themselves by poison to avoid subjection to
the Romans. It is much to be desired that the history of this
war should be written by one acquainted with the topography
and antiquities of Transylvania, as well as with the materials
which Rome and her writers afford.
Trajan, when he had completed the subjugation of the coun-
try, turned his attention to the security of the new province.
The present Transylvania became Dacia Mediterranea; Walla-
chia and Moldavia, Dacia Transalpina ; and the Banat, Dacia
Ripensis. The bridge over the Danube, the road cut in the
rock along its banks, the formation of colonies at Varhely,
Karlsburg, Thorda, and several other places, and the connecting
them by roads, remains of which still exist, were the means he
employed to perpetuate the power of Rome, in the newly-acquired
territory. *
Notwithstanding the resolution of Hadrian to forsake the con-
quests of his predecessor, and the steps he actually took for that
purpose, the Romans seemed to have remained masters of Dacia,
till the time of Aurelian, when they finally retired across the
Danube, and gave up Dacia to the Goths.
Although the duration of the Roman empire in this country
was much shorter than in many others of Europe — about one
hundred and seventy years only, — yet in none did they leave
such striking remains of their domination, especially in the lan-
guage, as here. The Wallack of the present day calls himself
" Rumunyi," and retains a traditional pride of ancestry, in spite
of his present degradation. The language now spoken by all
the people of this nation is soft, abounding in vowels, and de-
riving most of its words from the Latin. The pronunciation re-
sembles much the Italian, and it is extraordinary that the in-
flexions and terminations of the words have a much greater si-
milarity to the modern language of Italy than to their Latin
original. This would tend to prove, as no connexion has existed
between the countries since that time, either that the vulgar
language of Rome was more simple than we commonly imagine,
*• It has been said that Trajan, through the treachery of a Dacian, dis-
covered the hidden treasures of Decebalus, which he had concealed in the
bed of a brook, having turned its course to enable him to place them there.
This story derives some confirmation from the column, on which, after
the taking of the city, are seen several horses, bearing to Trajan panniers
filled with treasures, principally consisting of rich cups and vessels. The
coins found in 1545 were actually discovered in the bed of this very
brook.
WALLACK LANGUAGE.
73
or that, in both cases, the changes have been the natural ones to
\vhich a language submits, on its being mixed with others, and
simplified by the use of an uneducated or foreign people. No-
thing is so complex in the quantity of its inflexions as a pure
language, nothing so simple as a compound and mixed one.
Some of the Wallack words are, I believe, Sclavish, which may
be accounted for by supposing the Sclavish to have been the origi-
nal language of the Dacians, (and from certain Sclavish names of
rivers and mountains here, as well as in Wallachia, I am inclined
to believe this the case,) or it may be owing to the later mixture
of the races, but the preponderance of Latin is so great as to
strike a foreigner immediately, and to render the acquisition of
the language very easy. On one occasion, being without a ser-
vant who spoke the language, I learned enough, for a traveller's
needs, in a day or two, and when at a loss, I always resorted to
Italian, which was often understood, and with a slight change of
sound became Wallack.*
While I am dabbling in the philosophy of language, let me
not forget a trait which, on my return from Turkey, struck me
very forcibly. From the Turk the Wallack has borrowed but
few words; but one familiar sound has become so fixed in his
vocabulary, that he will never lose it: and it marks, as well as
a hundred pages, the relation in which the Turk and Wallack
stood to each other. This little word is, " haide,!" In Con-
stantinople it is the Frenchman's " va-t-en " to the beggar-boy,
the Austrian's " marchir " to his dog, our " come-up " to a horse,
or the " begone " of an angry master to his servant — yet none
of these languages have any one word of command applied alike
to man or beast ; but such is the " haide " of the Turk, and such
the word he hath bequeathed to the Wallack language, — a last-
ing monument of his imperious sway. However the Wallack
poet may in after-ages gloss over the fact of his people's slavery,
his own tongue will belie him as often as the familiar " haide "
escapes from his lips.
It is difficult to say how far the Wallack of the present day
has a title to his claim of Roman descent. It was natural enough
that the half-civilized Dacians should regard with contempt
and hatred the savage hordes which succeeded the Romans, and,
although conquered, that they should proudly cherish the name
of Rumunyi. The greater number of the Roman colonists re-
* I may instance bun cai, for buoni cavalli ; and «pa, for aqua, &c.
VOL. II. 7
74 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
tired across the Danube, but it is possible that some may have
remained behind, and from such the Wallacks of Hatszeg claim
their descent. The rest, I believe, are content with the honour
of that mixture of Roman and Dacian blood which one may na-
turally suppose to have taken place between the conquerors and
the conquered.
That this admixture of races, however, has had so great an
influence as travellers have been led to think, from observing the
difference of features between the Wallack and his neighbours,
the Magyars and Saxons, I am much inclined to doubt, for
the features of the Wallacks are more like those of the Da-
cian of Trajan's column, than those either of the Romans or of
the modern Italians. The more I think of the matter, the more
I am convinced that the majority of the Wallacks are true Da-
cians.
Preceded by our host, we commenced a survey of Ulpia Tra-
jana. Just beyond the village, we found a large space of seve-
ral acres covered with stones of all sizes, which had once been
used in building ; and in some places we discovered the arched
roofs of vaulted chambers, which had been in several places
broken into, but they seemed only to be the lower parts of the
buildings, and possessed little interest. This space is somewhat
higher than the rest of the country, and has been surrounded by
a ditch and mound, which we found extended a quarter of a mile
into the village. It is called by the people the Csetatie, fortified
place or castle; but to what age it belongs, or what it may have
been, I know not. A little further on, in the same direction, we
came upon the remains of an amphitheatre. The outer walls are
entirely covered with earth, forming a grassy bank of about
twelve feet high, and surround an oval space of about seventy-
five yards long, by forty-five in its greatest width. The arena
is now under plough, and produces a fine crop of Indian corn.
Scarcely a stone is left, and yet the form declares, as strongly as
evidence can do, its origin and destination. Our host, who owns
this part of the village, seemed proud in telling us the good spe-
culation he made, in selling the large hewn stones which once
covered the sides and surface of the place, to his neighbours, who
were building houses. As well as we could make out, they
were laid in the form of steps,* and from his praises of their
* I am inclined to think that the name of Gradistie may have heen
given to the place by the Wallacks in cosequence of these steps. —
(Gradus.)
ROMAN REMAINS. 75
size, they must have been considerable. The shafts of two pil-
lars and a stone seat, with some Roman letters, which now or-
nament our host's yard, were brought, he said, from this place.
From hence, we could trace elevations and inequalities in the
ground, which, though now overgrown with grass, seemed to
indicate the sites of former buildings, for more than a mile along
the plain. It is said, that remains of an aqueduct still exist; but
of these we observed nothing, any more than of the Roman road,
though it is highly probable that a better knowledge of the coun-
try, and the ability to converse with the people, might have ena-
bled us to discover them. The difficulty of obtaining any infor-
mation from an uneducated farmer, through the interpretation of
an ignorant servant, is very discouraging.
It is impossible to stand on the ruins of this amphitheatre,
with the traces of a former city around you, the beautiful plain
stretched out at your feet, and bounded by a range of distant
hills, without calling to mind Rome, her Campagna, and her clear
blue mountains. The very forms of the hills towards Hatszeg
favoured the illusion; and, as the last rays of the setting sun,
gilded their tops, we had already made out a Tivoli, an Albano,
and a Frascati.
Towards the middle of the village, we were conducted to see
a Mosaic pavement, discovered here in 1823. To obtain a sight
of this object, however, we had been obliged to send off the ser-
vant early in the morning to a village ten miles distant, where
the lady, to whom this part of Varhely belongs, lives; for she
had erected a shed over the pavement, to preserve it from the
destructive hands of visiters, and would only give the key to
persons with whom she thought it would be safe. As we were
totally unknown, we had some doubt as to the success of our ap-
plication; but the servant returned with the key, which the lady
had no hesitation, she said, in lending to Englishmen, as she felt
sure they would do no injury ; and with this very polite message
she had sent also some wine for our use, as none was to be ob-
tained at Varhely. How lucky, that she guessed Englishmen
loved genuine wine as well as genuine antiquities!
About three feet below the surface, and surrounded by the
original walls which are eighteen inches high, we found two
Mosaic pavements, which, from their size, separation by a wall,
and relative position, were probably the floors of two baths.
The chamber on the left, nearly twenty feet square, was occupied
by a very perfect Mosaic, surrounded by a highly ornamented
76 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
border, representing the visit of Priam to Achilles, to beg the
dead body of Hector. The names of nPiAMOS, AXIAAETS, and
ATTOMEAON, the sword-bearer of Achilles, are worked in Greek
letters; while Mercury, who has conducted Priam, is sufficiently
indicated by his caduceus and wings. The kneeling figure of
Priam, embracing the knees of Achilles, is well drawn, and full
of expression, and the dress of the Trojan king is worthy of re-
mark, as bearing a considerable resemblance to that worn by the
Wallacks in winter. The drawing and shading of Mercury
declare the artist to have been among the best of the time; few,
if any, of those of Rome or Pompeii are superior. The sitting
figure of Achilles, apparently crowned with laurels, though the
head as well as the breast have suffered, is easy and dignified.
The colours, though not bright, are tolerably well preserved.
At first, the whole was so covered with dust, that it was with
difficulty any colour could be distinguished; but, after carefully
washing it, and drying it, they came out more clearly. . Some
few parts have received a slight incrustation of lime, which might
easily be removed with a knife, but we dared not attempt it. The
Wallack, who was intrusted to take back the key, looked suffi-
ciently alarmed at the washing; and his ignorance might easily
have given an unfavourable report to his mistress, and caused
other travellers still greater difficulties in seeing it had we at-
tempted to remove the lime.
The Mosaic on the right represents the judgment of Paris.
The first figure is Venus, apparently holding the coveted apple
in her left hand above her shoulder. A tight blue and white
figured dress covers her to the hips, from whence loose drapery
hangs down to the feet. The second figure is probably Juno,
whose face, as well as that of her neighbour, whose helmet, gor-
gon-headed breastplate, and spear, bespeak her Minerva, is over-
clouded by the scowl of disappointed vanity. The left hand of
Minerva, probably rested on her shield; but the whole of the
lower corner is much injured and very indistinct. These three
figures are all beautifully worked out with rich colours, and a
little cleansing from the lime would render them quite distinct.
On the other side, Paris sits in judgment, wearing the Phrygian
cap ; and behind him, stands Mercury : both these figures are
considerably injured, and scarcely equal to the others in work-
manship. Part of the body of Mercury is wanting, and its
place is supplied by the white Mosaic, ancient, but from the dif-
MOSAICS.
77
ferent size and colour of the pieces evidently repaired by another
hand.
We had found so much trouble — it took us the greater part
of a day — in removing the dust and dirt with which these Mo-
saics were obscured, that we got two linen covers made, and gave
directions that they should always be placed over them, except
when they were shown. As the peasants who were constantly
with us, saw the pleasure we took in such things, they soon
brought every relic of antiquity the village could boast; among
others, a small female head in white marble, part of a small Doric
capital of delicate workmanship, besides several common silver
and copper coins of Roman Emperors, found in the place. We
paid them for these things, not on account of their intrinsic value,
but rather to encourage them to preserve every thing they might
find. The larger objects we deposited with the Mosaics, where,
I dare say, future travellers will find them. It was not till after
we had left Varhely, that I was aware that a second Mosaic
had been discovered there; but in a paper by M. A. Ackner, in
the " Transylvania," — a very useful periodical, now defunct,
dedicated to the antiquaries of this country, — I find mention of
a large Mosaic, discovered in 1832, of which only a small part
remained perfect, and which, from some dispute among those to
whom the land belonged, had been again covered up.
78 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER V.
VALLEY OF HATSZEG.
Demsus. — The Leiter-Wagen. — Roman Temple — its Form and probable
History. — Paintings in Wallack Churches — Wallack Priests and their
Wives. — Russian Influence over the Members of the Greek Church. —
Origin of the United Greek Church. — Religious Oppression. — Educa-
tion of the Greek Priesthood. — Village of Varhely. — The Wallack
Women. — Wai lacks and Scotchmen. — Wallack Vices and Wallack
, Virtues. — The Devil's Dancers. — Our Host's Family. — Household Ar-
rangements.— The Buffalo.
THE next morning our host offered to drive us over to Demsus,
to show us some antiquities there ; and as even he said the road
was too bad for our carriage, we were glad to content ourselves
with a Leiter-Wagen, so called from the similarity which its sides
bear to a ladder. In this part of the world, every thing is in so
very primitive a state, that these carriages are not only deficient
in springs, but they have often not even a particle of iron about
them, so that it is impossible to conceive by what means they
hold together. They are gifted, however, with the singular
power of bending about like a snake; and, as one wheel mounts
a bank, while the other falls into a pit, the body accommodates
itself, by a few gentle contortions, to these varieties of position,
without in any way deranging itself or its contents.
Trusting ourselves to this conveyance, we followed the low
range of sand-stone hills which confine the valley on one side,
while, on the other, are the marble cliffs bounding Wallachia, —
as far as Pesteny, where we turned into a lesser valley which led
us to Demsus. On a small hill, which overlooks the twenty or
thirty cottages which constitute this humble village, stands a stone
building now used as a Wallack church. It is small, with a cu-
rious half-ruined steeple, its ensemble so bizarre, as to bespeak at
once considerable intervals between the periods of the erection
of its different parts, and variety in the taste of its architects. It
seems to have been originally a Roman temple, the interior of
which was about eight yards square, with a semicircular dome,
ROMAN TEMPLE. 79
a recess towards the east, and a portico to the west. The place
of the portico is now supplied by high walls composed of stones,
evidently brought from other parts of the building, and more re-
cently converted to their present purpose. The entrance to the
body of the temple remains in its original state ; it is small, low,
and quite simple. In the interior are four large square pillars,
supporting an equal number of clumsy round arches, on which
again the tower rests. These pillars bear monumental inscrip-
tions,* and some figures of horses, and are evidently of Roman
workmanship; but I must confess, I never saw any thing similar
in any other Roman temple, nor do I ever remember to have
seen before this kind of inscription on pillars. Indeed, in form
these pillars more resemble altars, although from their position
and similarity they appear to have been originally intended for the
purpose to which they are still applied. It is possible, that in
the centre of these four arches the altar had formerly stood, and
a square piece of the floor, which is still without pavement,
though the rest has its ancient covering of hewn stone, indicates
the want of something which had once occupied this spot. In
the semicircular recess behind might have stood the statue of the
god.
The exterior walls are supported by recent buttresses, in the
construction of which the shafts of several pillars have been em-
ployed, which, as well as some others which lie near, had pro-
bably belonged to the portico. In another part I observed a
Corinthian capital reversed, and built into the wall ; it appeared
rich, and in a pure style, and may serve to determine the order
of the architecture. For what purpose an arched passage which
runs along the south side was intended, I was quite unable tosur-
* Among the most perfect I copied the following:
D.M.
G • OCTAVIO • NEPOTE
VIX • AN • LXX • IVLIA
VALENTA HE RES CON
IVGI PENTISSIMO
FACENDVM PROCV
RAVIT - H-S-E-
VALERIA CARA
VIX • AN • XXIX
T • FLAVIVS APER
SCRIBA COL
SARM • CONIVG1
B A R I S S I M A E
80 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
raise. By means of the half-broken walls of the semicircular
dome, we mounted to the outside of the tower. Here we found
an opening into a small chamber, two yards square and one high,
in the body of the tower, and from this there is a very small
opening into a circular passage, running round the inside of the
little tower between the outer wall and the chimney-like opening,
which gives light to the interior. The tower itself is built
partly of bricks, partly of stones and pieces of marble from
other parts of the building. This tower is to me a complete
puzzle. It is evidently later than some other parts of the build-
ing, yet it is too elegant to be the work of mere barbarians. As
for the use to which the chamber and circular passage had been
put, I cannot even offer a suggestion. They cannot have been
intended, as some one supposes, to have concealed the priest who
spoke the oracle, for they would not have enabled him to com-
municate with the statue ; they could scarcely have served as
hiding-places for treasure; and there is no mark of the tower
having been used in Christian times for a belfry. Besides the
inscriptions I have copied, there are fragments of several others,
but none of them afford any clue to the history of the building,
nor any indication to what god it was dedicated, unless indeed,
the D.M. at the head of the first, and the figure of the horse may
not suggest Mars as its patron. I am inclined to believe, that
the four pillars, the arches, and the tower, were built after the
temple itself by such of the descendants of the Romans as re-
mained after the evacuation of Dacia, and when the original build-
ing had suffered from the attacks of some of the earlier barba-
rian invaders. On ascending the tower, we observed two statues
of lions much injured, and apparently but rudely carved.
This temple is now, and has been from time immemorial, used
by the Wallacks as a church, to which circumstance it probably
owes its preservation. The semicircular recess forms the altar,
which is adorned by the most wretched prints of Greek virgins,
St. Georges, and other grim saints, and is separated from the rest
of the building by a carved wooden screen. The walls, as is
common in Greek churches, are covered with rude frescoes : in
the present instance, they are very practical illustrations of the
evils of immorality, and if the husbands and wives of Demsus do
not obey a certain commandment, it is not for want of knowing
how the devil will catch them at their peccadilloes, for it is here
painted to the most minute details. I have often been much
amused with these pictures in the Wallack churches ; for, though
WALLACK PRIESTS. 81
too gross for description, they contain so much of that racy,
often sarcastic wit proper to Rabelais or Chaucer, wrought out
with a minuteness of diabolical detail and fertility of imagination
worthy a Breughel, that it recalls to one's mind the laboured il-
luminations of our old missals. Notwithstanding its sins against
pure taste, there is often much that is good in the church's hu-
mour; nor, despite the reverence due to the holy character of the
subject, is it possible to repress a smile at the sly malice of the
monkish illuminator, when he decks out the pharisee in the robes
and jewels of some neighbouring bishop ; or at the prurient ima-
gination of the cloister, when it breaks forth in warm delinea-
t on of all the charms and temptations by which sin can lead poor
man astray.
As we were looking at the church, the Wallack priest came
up and spoke to us. He was dressed in a very white linen shirt,
fashioned like that of the common peasant, and fastened round
his waist by a leathern belt; loose linen trowsers formed his
nether habit, and the rude sandal of the country served as co-
vering for his feet. Except from a somewhat greater neatness of
person, and the long black beard which hung down to his breast,
the Wallack priest was in no way distinguished from the hum-
blest of his flock. With just enough education to read the ser-
vice of the church, just enough wealth to make them sympathize
with the poor, and just enough religion to enable them to console
them in their afflictions, these men exercise a greater power over
the simple peasant than the most cunning Jesuit, the most wealthy
Episcopalian, or the most rigid Calvinist. This is a strong point
in favour of the Wallack priest; but I suspect he owes it more to
his position than his character; the sympathy of equality begets
affection, for though the rich may pity the poor, none but the
poor can sympathize with them, because none other can know
their wants and feelings.
I have already said^ that the Wallacks belong to the Greek
church ; and in accordance with its rules, the lower order of
the clergy or the parish-priests, are allowed to marry, though
the monks and the higher dignitaries are condemned to celibacy.
One effect which results from the strict adherence to the letter
of the Gospel in this matter, is to make the priest's wife the hap-
piest woman in the parish; for, as he can be but "the husband of
one wife," he takes the greatest possible care not to lose her,
and in consequence pays a heavy tax in the indulgence of whims
and humours, an opposition to which might endanger his partner's
82 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
safety and condemn him to a state of single misery. The educa-
tion of a Wai lack priest is generally very low, and I have known
cases in which the common peasant has been ordained merely on
paying the stipulated sum to the bishop. If we may believe the
Hungarian nobles, the Wallack priest is characterized by cunning
malice, which he employs to maintain his power over the pea-
sant, to enrich himself, and to foment discord between landlord
and tenant. The fasts and feasts of the Greek church, which
extend to nearly one-third of the year, and during which the pea-
sant is strictly forbidden to labour for his worldly profit, the
priest adroitly avails himself of, by assuring him that he may
labour in .God's service; — which, being liberally interpreted,
means his priest's, — and so the lazy and superstitious Wallack,
who will scarcely move a limb for his own support, willingly
wastes the sweat of his brow in tilling the Papa's glebe on feast
days, and thus earns his soul's salvation.
The prelates of the Greek church, and the priests officiating
in large towns, receive a better education than those of the vil-
lages: and, in appearance at least, have an air of greater intel-
ligence and respectability. The dress of the higher class of
priests is the same as that so common in Greece and Turkey, — a
long black cloak reaching to the feet, which, with the beard and
black locks flowing over the shoulders, are often so arranged as
to show no small portion of earthly vanity. I am not fond of
priests generally,— they are apt to have sly fat minds,— but I
took a positive dislike to these fellows, when I saw the looks
they directed at the beautiful half-naked Wallack girls, who al-
ways stoop down to kiss the Popa's hand whenever they pass
him.
As political agents and spies of the Russian court, the Wallack
priests are said to be made use of, and I am fully inclined to be-
lieve it ; for they regard the Archbishop of Moscow as their pri-
mate, and the Emperor of Russia as the head of their church.
The ritual of the Greek church in Hungary, contains a prayer
for the Emperor and King, — such is the title of the sovereign of
Austria and Hungary, — the last part only of which the Wallacks
however apply to their own monarch, the first being reserved
for the Emperor of Russia. This account I have heard, not
only of the Wallacks, but also of the Croatians and Sclavonians,
among whom the Greek faith is equally predominant, and where
the influence of Russia is still farther strengthened by analogy
of language. A few years ago, when Austria was supposed to
GREEK CHURCHES. 83
be a little opposed to the aggressive strides of Russia, a Wallack
almanac, printed at Bucharest, and extensively circulated in
Transylvania, openly called upon the Wallacks of that country
to wrest the power from the Hungarian usurpers, and boldly as-
sert their own right to the land of their fathers. It is not, there-
fore, without reason that Austria has feared this foreign influ-
ence in the heart of her dominions, nor without reason that she
has endeavoured to counteract it. Unfortunately, however, in-
stead of acting in a frank and liberal spirit, equalizing all reli-
gions, removing causes of discontent, and undermining the influ-
ence of ignorance by the diffusion of knowledge, the spirit of
Jesuitical propagandism has been let loose on the country, and
that feeling of bitter hatred has in consequence been engendered,
which any thing like persecution is always sure to beget.
The plan of Government was to form a Catholic Greek, or
united Greek church, as it is called, — that is, a church in almost
all doctrinal and essential points like the original Greek, but ac-
knowledging the Roman Pontiff as its head. The marriage of
priests and the use of the vernacular tongue in the services of
the church wyere yielded by the politic conclave of the Vatican.
The temporal powers were not behindhand in concessions. The
members of the Greek church, in Transylvania, had hitherto
been excluded from a share in the Government; the Conformists
were offered a full participation, not only in the rights but in the
favours also,. which are showered on the Catholics. By dint of
such means, and others somewhat less justifiable, the scheme suc-
ceeded to a certain extent, the priest received solid reasons for
his compliance with the new doctrines, and sometimes brought
over his flock to obedience. In other cases, especially in the
valley of Hatszeg, the people refused to change their religion in
spite of the priest's apostacy, and declined his offices, wrhile the
Government, on the other hand, refused to allow any other to
officiate, so that instances have been mentioned to me of villages
in which, for thirty years, no Christian ceremony, or sacrament,
had been performed. Men had been born, married, and had
died unchristened, unblessed, unshrived. It is only those who
know the sacred character with which the superstitious Wal-
lack clothes his priest, and the importance he attaches to the
sacraments of his church, who can appreciate the strength of the
feeling which induced him to resist the one, or the cruelty which
has been practised in depriving him of the other.
Statistical works on Transylvania are very much rarer than
84 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
on Hungary, and even those which exist are of less authority ;
so that it is difficult to say, with accuracy, what the proportion
of the Wallacks to the rest of the inhabitants is, or to state the
relative numbers belonging to the Greek and the united Greek
churches. According to the best authority I can command at
present, the Wallacks amount to about eight hundred and fifty
thousand. Now the'^Schematismus"* of the united Greek church
of 1835, gives the number of souls professing that creed, at five
hundred and fifty-one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one, so
that if conscientiously correct (which I doubt) it would give the
majority very much in their favour. The clergy as well as the
people of this belief enjoy all the privileges of Catholics, and
their bishop has a seat in the chamber. According to the work
just quoted, they have at Balasfalva a Lyceum, Gymnasium, and
Normal School, with an abundant array of professors in theology
and philosophy.
As far as I am aware, the members of the pure Greek church
of Transylvania have no place of education for their priesthood,
although in Hungary, where they amount to a million and a half,
they have a college at Carlowitz, which generally contains
about fifty theological students, besides schools, in Neusatz, Mis-
kolcz, and Temesvar. Notwithstanding this, even in Hungary,
and still more in Transylvania, the common Wallack priest has
for the most part no better education than the village school has
afforded, and no more learning than is just sufficient to get through
the services of the church.
In rambling over the scattered village of Vdrhely in search
of traces of former times, we had ample opportunities of observ-
ing the state of its present occupants. The houses of the Wal-
lacks are as simple as possible. They generally consist of only
one small room, in which old and young, men and women, are
indiscriminately mixed, and not unfrequently too the pigs and
fowls come in for their share of the accommodation. The ma-
terial of the building is usually the unhewn stems of trees lined
inside with mud, and covered with a very high roof, composed
of straw, thrown carelessly on, and frequently retained in its
place by branches of trees hung across it. I need not point out
to the reader the difference between this hovel and the many-
chambered dwelling of the Magyar, the white walls and careful
* Schematismusvenerabilis Cleri GrseciRitus Catholicorum Dioeceseos
Frogarastensis, in Transylvania, pro anno a Christo nato 1835? ab unione
cum Ecclesia Romaria 138. Blasii, typis Seminarii Dicecesani.
WALLACK WOMEN.
85
thatch of which would do honour to a cottage orne of the Isle
of Wight. Under the overhanging roof are laid out in summer
the beds of the whole family, sometimes shaded by a decent cur-
tain ; and before the door is generally that semi-fluid mass yclept
a puddle, where the pigs and children indulge in their siesta.
As we passed one door a group of urchins were quarrelling with
their unclean companions for the enjoyment of a large melon,
which was fast disappearing in the struggle, while an old woman
sat listlessly watching the strife. I shall not easily forget the
figure this woman presented. With no sort of covering save the
linen shift, which was open as low as the waist, its whiteness
strangely contrasting with the colour of the body it should have
concealed, — the blear eye and vacant gaze of extreme age, the
clotted masses of hair bound with a narrow fillet round the head,
the fleshless legs, and the long pendulous breasts exposed with-
out any idea of shame, presented a picture, the horrors of which
I have rarely seen equalled. And to such a state is the Wallack
woman, so beautiful in the freshness of youth, reduced before she
has arrived at what we should call a middle age. This is as
much owing to hard labour, as to bad nourishment and exposure
to the sun. The very early marriages, too, common among the
Wallacks, aid this premature decline. Girls frequently marry
at thirteen or fourteen, and the men rarely later than eighteen.
I remember Baron B coming in laughing one day at a
request which a boy of fourteen had just made to be allowed to
marry, a request to which he had of course not assented. If a
peasant is asked what he wants a wife for, he usually answers
to comb him and keep him clean.
The Wallack woman is never by any chance seen idle. As
she returns from market it is her breast that is bulged out with
the purchases of the day;* it is her head that bears the water
from the village well ; she dyes the wool or flax, spins the thread,
weaves the web, and makes the dresses of her family. In har-
vest she joins the men in cutting the corn, and, though less strong,
she is more active and willing at the task. She uses the spindle
and distaff as the princesses of Homer did, and as they are still
used in the Campagna of Rome, arid they are scarcely ever out
* Nothing can be more ludicrous than the appearance these women
sometimes present. The front of the chemise is always open, and, amonjj
other purposes, serves that of a pocket. A woman coming from market
often fills it with cabbages, meat, and perhaps a dozen other articles,
forming altogether a most astounding protuberance,-
VOL. II. — 8
86 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of her hand. You may see her at the market suckling her child,
higgling for her eggs and butter, and twirling her spindle at the
same time, with a dexterity really astonishing. As far as clean-
liness goes, however, she is a bad housewife ; nor does her labour
produce great effects. Among, the. German settlers it is a pro-
verb, "to be as busy as a Wallack woman, and do as little."
The dress, which I have already described, is with some varia-
tions every where the same. The apron has sometimes little or
no fringe, and at other times is little else than fringe. In winter
they commonly wear the same thick pantaloons as <the men> cover
themselves with a guba, or pelzrockel, and wrap up the feet in
cloth sandals..
The pattern of the aprons, in which greens and feds, blues
and blacks, are the most common colours, reminded me very
strongly of the Scotch plaid, especially at the borders, where the
colours often cross and form the exact tartan patterns: but J was
still more struck when I observed the well known shepherd's
plaid, the .common black and white check, I bought one piece
of this kind, and Scotchmen, to whom I have shown it, at once
claimed it as their own. It is generally of very coarse texture,
being spun from the long wool of the common sheep, and is
loosely woven. The dyes which the Wallacks manage to give
their cloths, are celebrated for their brilliancy and durability.
The mention of Scotch plaids reminds me that I have seen some
author, I think Herodotus, quoted as an authority tha.t the Aga-
thyrsse, said to have been the ancient inhabitants of Dacia^ owned
the same origin as the. Picts of Scotland. Without entering into
such a knotty discussion, I merely throw out for the considera-
tion of Gaelic antiquaries the facts, that the Wallacks wear the
tartan, that the Wallacks love the bagpipe, and that the Wallacks
drink an inordinate quantity of sliwowitz, alias .mountain dew,—
the which I hold to be strong marks of similarity of taste, if not
of identity of origin. ., './ •.*;? ^7;, /
In appearance, the common Wallack presents a decided dif-
ference from either Magyar", Sclave, or German. In height, I
should say, that he was below the medium, and generally rather
slightly built and thin. I His features are often fine, the; nose
arched, the eyes dark, the hair long, black, and wavy, but the
expression too often one of fear and cunning to be agreeable. I
seldom remember to have seen among them the dull heavy look
of the Sclavack, but still more rarely the proud self-respecting
carriage of the Magyar. Seventeen hundred years' subjection
COWARDICE AND ITS CAUSE.
87
has done its work; and I can readily believe that many of the
vices attributed to the Wallacks are possessed by them, — for they
are the vices of slaves. They are not, however, without their
redeeming qualities.
In examining the characteristics of the Wallack, if I appear
somewhat as his apologist, it is because I did not find him so
bad as he was described to me, and because it is natural to in-
terest oneself rather in defending the weak than in strengthening
the strong.
The Wallack is generally considered treacherous, revengeful,
and entirely deficient in -gratitude. If once insulted, he is said
to carry the recollection of it till opportunity favours his weakness
and enables him to accomplish his revenge. This is rather his
misfortune than his fault. If .stronger, like other people, he would
revenge himself without waiting.
Cowardice is another fault very commonly attributed to the
Wallack. I remember Count S saying, he believed every
other European, except the Neapolitan and Wallack, might be
made to fight. It is certain that nothing depresses the courage
so surely as subjection, and so long a period of it as these people
have endured cannot have been without effect; yet the Wallack
peasant is a bold and successful smuggler, and no one is more
ready to attack a wolf or bear ; but it is hard to persuade any,
except very stupid men, to fight without a better object than
that of adding to the glory of those they do not love. A long
succession of ill treatment had rendered them timid and suspicious.
A few years ago, a German Count settled among the Wallacks,
and with the kindest intentions endeavoured to excite them to
industry by giving rewards to those who best cultivated their
land. For this purpose, all the peasants of the village were as-
sembled together with due solemnity, but no sooner did their
seigneur appear among them than the whole assemblage, as
though seized with a panic, started off, and could never be got
together again. They were firmly persuaded that some trick
was to be played upon them; as for any one doing them a ser-
vice for their own sakes, experience had not taught them to think
such a thing possible. The treatment of the peasantry, how-
ever, improves every year with the improved knowledge of their
masters. I knew an old Countess in Transylvania who used to
lament that " times were sadly changed, — peasants were no
longer so respectful as they used to be;"^she could remember
walking to church on the backs of the peasants who knelt down
88 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
in the mud to allow her to pass over them without soiling her
shoes. She could also remember, though less partial to the
recollection, a rising of the peasantry, when nothing but the
kindness with which her mother had generally treated them,
saved her from the cruel death which many of her neighbours
met with.
The Magyar peasant holds the Wallacks in the most sovereign
contempt. He calls them a " people who let their shirts hang
out," from the manner in which they wear that article of clothing
over the lower part of their dress; and classes them with Jews
and Gipsies. Even when living in the same village, the Magyar
never intermarries with the Wallack.
That the Wallack is idle and drunken it would be very diffi-
cult to deny. Even in the midst of harvest you will see him
lying in the sun sleeping all the more comfortably because he
knows he ought to be working. His com is always the last
cut, and it is very often left to shell on the ground for want of
timely gathering; yet scarcely a winter passes that he is not
starving with hunger. If he has a wagon to drive, he is gene-
rally found asleep at the bottom of it; if he has a message to
carry, ten to one but he gets drunk on the way, and sleeps over
the time in which it should be executed. But if it be difficult to
deny these faults, it is easy to find a palliation for them. The
half- forced labour with which the Hungarian peasants pay their
rent, has the natural tendency to produce not only a disposition,
but a determination to do as little as possible in any given time.
Add to this, that at least a third of the year is occupied by feasts
and fasts, when, by their religion, labour is forbidden them; that
the double tithes of the church and landlord check improvement;
that the injustice with which they have been treated has destroyed
all confidence in justice, and every sentiment of security; and
it will not then be difficult to guess why they are idle. The
weakness of body induced by bad nourishment, and still more by
the fasts of the Greek church, which are maintained with an
austerity of which Catholicism has no idea, and which often re-
duces them to the last degree of debility, and sometimes even
causes death, is another very efficient cause. I have often heard
this alluded to by land-owners, who have declared, that with
the best will the Wallack could not perform the same amount of
labour as the well-fed German or Magyar. An English labourer,
of that sturdy independent caste which is not yet, thank God,
extinct among us, observed to his travelled master, who was tell-
SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE,
89
ing him with how much less food the poor on the Continent were
contented, " Look ye, sir, them foreign chaps may eat and drink
less than we do, but I'll warrant they work less too. Them as
does not live well, can't work well." Never did philosophy
utter a more certain truth.
Another cause for laziness may be found in the paucity of the
Wallack's wants, and in the ease with which they are supplied.
The earth, almost spontaneously, affords him maize for his po-
lenta,—or mamaliga, as he calls it, — and his wife manufactures
from the wool and hemp of his little farm all that is required for
his household use and personal clothing.
Many Hungarians, I know, hold that it would be impossible
to cultivate, were rents substituted for Robot, especially where
the peasantry are Wallacks; but only let commerce open a fair
market and introduce desirable objects of purchase, and the Wai-
lack will scarcely belie principles of which all ages and nations
have proved the truth. There is no want of enterprise among
them, for nothing pleases them more than a little commercial
speculation. Should a peculiarly fine season have sent a better
crop than usual, the Wallaek will load his little wagon, harness
his oxen, provide himself with his maize loaf and bit of bacon,
and set off for some distant market where he thinks he can turn
his produce to account. It is true, he sleeps on the top of his
load the whole way, perhaps he drinks a good part of the money
before he gets back, probably a Jew cheats him out of the rest
of it in exchange for some worthless trinkets for his wife, — still
the spirit of commercial enterprise is there, little as its benefits
are felt.
When the new road was Cutting between Orsova and Mol-
dova, there was ho difficulty in finding Wallaek workmen at
eight pence per day, though they were employed at a labour to
which they were unaccustomed, which prevented them from re-
turning to their houses, obliged their wives to bring them food
from a great distance^ and exposed them to many inconveniences
attendant on the nature of the undertaking. Regular payment
has great attractions; and, if successful in one case, there is
every reason to believe it would be so in others where the cir-
cumstances are still more favourable.
When I hear the Wallaek peasant accused of want of grati-
tude, I am apt to lose patience, for he has had so very little op-
portunity of indulging in that feeling, that it is rather the fault
J'4.. 8*
90 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of his oppressors than of himself, if it be totally eradicated from
his nature. But I question the fact: in some cases, his conduct
bears the appearance of ingratitude, merely because he suspects
the motive with which a benefit is conferred ; but when under-
stood, it is felt and acknowledged. An intimate friend of mine,
who, during the prevalence of the cholera which raged so fear-
fully in Transylvania in 1836, remained in his village, and who,
aided by his lady, rendered every assistance which it was possi-
ble, both by medicine and personal advice, to the poor around
him, had occasion, after the cessation of the disease, and at the
commencement of harvest, to leave home for a short time. He
hastened back, anxious to provide for the exigencies of the sea-
son, which require the greatest exertions on the part of the mas-
ter in this country, and on his arrival he was astonished to find
every thing finished. The peasants had collected together of
their own accord, and agreed to join their labour, cut his corn,
and get in his harvest before he came back, to show their grati-
tude for his kindness to them in the hour of need.
Ignorant as the Wallack peasant may be, he can distinguish
between the man who merely wishes to benefit him and the man
who really does so. Every landlord knows, that to gain his
Wallack peasants' hearts, it is only necessary that he should
look in upon their feasts, and accept their invitations to mar-
riages and funerals; in short, it is only necessary that he should
appear to be interested in what really interests them, and he is
certain of their love.
The intractable obstinacy, which is often charged against
these people because they refuse instruction and decline well-
meant but injudicious efforts to improve them, often arises from
the affection they entertain for their national language and reli-
gion, and from the fear that such means are employed only to
rob them of these their only treasures. A gentleman, who was
desirous of improving his peasantry, established a school, ap-
pointed and paid a master, and ordered that all the children
should attend. His chief object was to teach the Magyar lan-
guage, an object very desirable, and one which, by judicious ma-
nagement, might be effected in time; but, unfortunately, in the
present instance, this was the first thing begun with. On revisiting
his estate, after half a year's absence, he found his school-room
entirely deserted, and the schoolmaster declaring that he could
get no one to come to him. On remonstrating with them, the
peasants, with that stupid air which the countryman can assume
SUPERSTITION. 91
so well when he wishes to conceal his cunning, answered, that
they were afraid their children might become wiser than them-
selves and cease to obey them. In all probability, the priest
had become alarmed, excited the fears of his flock, and forbidden
them the school. A little prudence, personal attention, and
foresight, would easily overcome such obstacles.
One of the Wallack's most prominent virtues is, his love for
his parents, and his respect and care for them in their old age.
They would consider it a disgrace to allow any one else to sup-
port their aged and poor, while they could do it themselves; and
I certainly do not remember to have seen any beggars among
them. The idiot is here, as with all the peasants of Hungary,
considered a privileged person, and is allowed to make himself
at home in every cottage.
There is, among the Wallacks, a peculiar tenacity to localities,
which, besides having maintained them in this land, where Ro-
mans, Goths, Vandals, and Huns, in vain tried to gain a perma-
nent footing, still attaches them, notwithstanding the injuries and
injustice to which they are exposed, so forcibly to their native
villages, that if a possibility of existence remains, they rarely
quit them. This tenacity is an important fact, and ought to
make the Magyars very cautious how they attempt to force pre-
maturely any reform in language, religion, or customs, on such
a people. They may, perhaps, be led, — no one has yet been able
to drive them. Rude as he is the Wallack feels deeply ; he
loves the land his fathers tilled, the house his fathers lived in,
the soil where their bones have found a resting-place. Such
sentiments may sometimes interfere with the schemes of the im-
prover, or the profits of the speculator; but, utilitarian as I am,
I should be sorry to see this stuff of the heart bartered for such
gains as theirs: I hate the pseudo-philosophy which cannot ap-
preciate the utility of sentiment and beauty.
United to a very strong religious feeling, which they manifest
sufficiently by the exertions they make to obtain suitable places
of worship, they possess a mass of superstition which mixes it-
self up with every action of their lives. Many of their beliefs
and superstitious observances strongly resemble those of some
other nations; whether from direct communication, or because
similarity of circumstances produces similarity of ideas, I leave
others to decide. The notion of hidden treasures being concealed
under old castles, in tombs, and such like places, is very com-
mon; and, as in Tartary and Circassia, the peasants here be-
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
lieve them to be guarded by some evil spirit. In the old castle
of Gyalu, formerly a fortress of Rakotzy, now rendered a very
agreeable residence by Count Banffy, it has always been said
that the treasures of that unfortunate prince were buried. A
few years since, some of the servants obtained permission to dig
under the great gateway, where rumour located the hidden
wealth, and to search for it, and they proceeded accordingly
with their task; but on the second day, or rather night, — for
they worked in darkness, — something so mysterious and horrible
took place, that one of the men died of fright soon after, and
the others begged permission to be sent away, though nothing
could ever draw from them the cause of their alarm, or induce
them to recommence their search.
Like the Turks, the Wallacks ornament their burial places
by planting a tree at the head and another at the foot of
every grave ; but, instead of the funereal cypress, they plant the
swetshen or plum, from which they make their brandy,— a very lite-
ral illustration " of seeking consolation from the tomb." For the
death of near relations, they mourn by going bare-headed for a
certain time — a severe test of sincerity in a country where the
excesses of heat and cold are so great as here.
The village- well is still, all over Hungary, the favourite gos-
siping spot for matrons and maids. There is a custom which I
often noticed among the Wallacks, of throwing over a small quan-
tity of the water from the full pitcher before it is carried away.
It appears that this is done to appease the spirit of the well, who
might otherwise make her pure draught an evil-bearing potion.
I las this not some analogy to the Roman libations to their gods ?
The analogy, if it be one, is strengthened by the classically-
formed earthen vessels which the Wallacks commonly use, and
which are often exceedingly elegant.
The only occupation in which the Wallack shows any pecu-
liar talent, is that of a carpenter; here, I believe, he is allowed
to excel. His house frequently bears proof of his taste in this
particular in the wooden ornaments about the gates, windows,
and roof; and it is rarely the church and cross are not adorned
with the rude carvings of the Wallack's knife. Domestic manu-
factures, too, assume an importance unknown amongst more civil-
ized people. The Wallack grows his own flax, his wife spins it
into yarn, weaves it into cloth, dyes it of various colours, cuts it
out, and works it up into clothes for her family. The wool goes
through nearly the same processes; and is made to serve for leg-
VARHELY MILLS. 93
wrappings, aprons, jackets, and cloaks. The sheepskin cap and
sandals are mostly of home fabrication, so that this ignorant pea-
sant has more knowledge of the ways and means of procuring
for himself what is necessary for his existence and happiness than
half the wise men of Europe: that he should not, however, be
a perfect master of so many trades is scarcely wonderful.
Varhely contains some sad specimens of essays in the mill-
wright's art. Along the brook, which bounds one side of
the village, we observed a number of small wooden buildings
placed across the stream, and rising considerably above its sur-
face. One of these boxes, about eight feet square, we entered,
and found it a very primitive mill, managed by two girls. The
wheel was horizontal, and placed in the middle of the stream,
and below the mill ; the water falling about one foot on the some-
what spoon-shaped paddles. I do not know7 whether the reader
ever noticed the wheel in a patent chimney-top, because the idea
might have been borrowed from a Vdrhely mill, so similar are
they in form.
The chief amusement of the Wallacks, after sleeping and
smoking, is dancing to the bagpipe or fiddle. On the Sunday
evening, a dozen men will collect together, and, joining arms,
dance in a circle, alternately advancing and retiring, beating time
with the feet, clapping the hands, and singing. 'The women in
the mean time stand round, waiting till one or more of the men
start out from the circle, seize their fair prey, whirl her round
for some time in a rude waltz, and then, leaving her, return to
the circle, dance again the same round, and again, as the fancy
seizes, choose another fair one for the waltz.
The Wallack is a most resolute keeper of feasts, and he very
often at these times contracts debts, — which are always scrupu-
lously paid, — to enable him to entertain, with becoming honour,
his friends of the neighbouring villages. On such occasions,
oxen and sheep are roasted whole ; wine and brandy flow in ri-
vulets ; the seigneur is invited in the good old fashion to come and
sanction by his presence his peasants' sports; and for three whole
days a scene of wild revelry, which often ends a little a I'lrland-
aise, is kept up, with a vigour of which one would scarcely have
believed them capable.
The Wallacks, especially those of this neighbourhood, have a
custom of which I never heard elsewhere. A party of idle young
fellows sell themselves, as they say, to the devil, for a term of
three, five, or seven years, — the number must be unequal, or the
94 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
devil will not hold the bargain, — engaging to dance without
ceasing during the whole of that period, except when they sleep;
in consideration of which, they expect their infernal purchaser
will supply them with food and wine liberally, and render them
irresistible among the rustic belles. Accordingly, dressed in
their gayest attire, these merry vagabonds start out from their
native village, and literally dance through the country. Every
where they are received with open arms; the men glad of an ex-
cuse for jollity, the women anxious, perhaps, to prove their pow-
er, all unite to feed and fete the devil's dancers ; so that it is
scarcely wonderful there should be willing slaves to so merry a
servitude. When their time is up they return home, and become
quiet peasants for the rest of their lives.
We had now spent two or three days at Varhely, and it was
quite time we should relieve the hospitable family who had re-
ceived us from the burden of our visit. When we found it so
late on the second day, that we could scarcely get to the next
place before dark hour, I desired the servant to intimate our
wish to trespass on them for another night. A smile lit up the
old lady's countenance as she came in, and assured us, as eloquent-
ly as words which we did not understand, and looks that we did,
could do, that we were welcome to stay as long as we pleased.
It was a constant cause of regret to us that we could only com-
municate with these good people through the servant, for they
frequently came and sat with us; and indeed the pretty little
daughter was generally at work in our apartment the whole
afternoon. Though frugal, our fare had been good; and our
supper of this evening may serve as a sample. First, came on a
paprika hendel, — not a stewed fowl with red pepper, such as is
often served up at more polished tables, — but a large tureen of
rich greasy soup, red with paprika, and flavoured by a couple of
fowls cut up and swimming in it. After this, came a dish made
of broken barley and milk, forming a thickish paste, and, though
not tempting in appearance, very good. Some remarkably fine
potatoes, boiled in their jackets, and some fresh butter, followed
by a dessert of plums, apples, pears, and grapes, concluded the
meal. Meat we had only once, for in these small villages where
no rich proprietor lives, butchers' meat cannot always be obtained.
Wine or beer, as I have said, they had absolutely none; and,
but for the thoughtfulness of the lady of the Mosaic, we should
have been condemned to water.
Here, as well as in other parts of Transylvania, we enjoyed
DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS. 95
the luxury of buffalo's cream with our coffee. Paris must hide
her head for very shame, — she has no idea of the luxury of true
cafe, a la creme. In the first place, the buffalo's milk is much
richer than that of the cow, and then the method of preparing
it here is perfect. Over-night, a little three-legged earthen pot,
a labosj is placed over a very slow fire, and, as the cream rises
to the surface and clots, it is gently moved on one side with a
spoon to allow more to rise on the vacant space. This is placed
aside, and the next morning is boiled for use ; of course, the clot
is the best part, and a. good house-wife divides it out with great
exactness. Buffaloes, rarely seen in Hungary, are exceedingly
common here, and their slow movements seem to suit the Wai-
lack precisely. Their power is reckoned equal to that of twice
as many oxen, but their pace is only half as fast. In hot
weather, the sight of water renders them beyond all control, and
many amusing tales are told of carriages lodged in the middle of
rivers, spite of driver, whip, or goad. When excited, the fury
of the buffalo is said to be terrific, he tramples to death the ob-
ject of his rage, and a year rarely happens in which some pea-
sants do not fall victims to these shapeless monsters.
During our sojourn at Varhely, we observed a deficiency of
what is considered, in every other part of Europe, the most ne-
cessary article of bed-room furniture, and for which it was rather
perplexing to find a substitute. It is odd enough, that among
the old-fashioned and primitive of the Transylvanians, an idea of
shame is attached to the employment of such articles within the
precincts of the buildings they inhabit. This might be account-
ed for by the circumstance that the bed-rooms were always
formerly, and even still are among the less wealthy, used as
sitting-rooms; but it would appear that it springs from a deeper
feeling, for the Magyars have a sense of cleanliness and of de-
cency connected with such matters which the traveller will
search for in vain over the rest of continental Europe, and which
even we should consider hyperdelicate. None have more preju-
dices, if such they can be called, on matters of decency, than the
Hungarian peasants. Certain duties, which the delicate English
house-maid does not consider below her, the Magyar girl cannot
be brought to perform ; so that in many houses, where what the
old people call dirty German customs are introduced — for every
thing a graybeard thinks dirty or immoral he calls German— a
gipsy girl is kept expressly to execute the duties necessarily
96 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
arising therefrom. This poor creature, in consequence, is regard-
ed as unclean by the rest of the servants.
From the evidently straitened circumstances of this family,
we were anxious in some way to repay them for the trouble we
had given them, and the servant said he thought it would be
most acceptable in money. They received what we offered
without shame or pretended hesitation. I was not less pleased
with this, than with the kindness and courtesy of their whole
conduct towards us. At first, when asked for a night's lodging,
they would not hear of any thing in the way of remuneration ;
but when we had stayed some days with them, and had put them
to considerable expense, and when they saw that we were rich
enough to pay, they then no longer hesitated to receive it.
VALLEY OF HATSZEG. 97
CHAPTER VI.
ROUTE TO KLAUSENBURG.
Valley of Hatszeg. — Wallack Gallantry. — Transylvanian Travelling. —
Arrival at Vayda Hunyad. — The Gipsy Girl. — Hunyadi Janos. — Castle
of Hunyad.— The painted Tower. — A Deputation. — A rogue found out.
— Deva. — Valley of the Maros. — H taken for a Spy. — Visit to the
Mines of Nagy Ag. — Politeness from a Stranger. — Transylvanian Post-
office. — Sandstone of the Felek.
IT was a cloudy wet day that we turned our backs on Varhely,
so that although we crossed the entire valley, or rather plain of
H&tszeg, we saw but little of its beauty ; occasionally a bright
sunbeam burst out, and gave us a glimpse of its glories, but it
passed too soon to allow us to appreciate or enjoy them. We
had been warned that the roads in this neighbourhood were bad,
but we found them worse even than we had expected, and yet
this is the shortest and most direct route from Transylvania to
the Danube. From the state, however, in which the road is
kept, often so as to be dangerous, and at times even impassable,
the one by Deva and Lugos, though much longer, is used in pre-
ference.
It must be very bad weather indeed which the traveller, in a
new country, cannot turn to account if he will ; in the present
instance the wet muddy road afforded us an opportunity of wit-
nessing a striking example of Wallack gallantry and Wallack
modesty. A stout peasant, wrapped up in his guba of thick
white cloth, was riding very composedly through the wet, for it
could not hurt him, — while his wife was trotting in the mud by
his side, her clothes — proh pudor! — gathered up to her hips to
keep them out of the dirt. This mode of disposing of their
dress is exceedingly common among the Wallack women, and it is
not without some astonishment that the stranger sees half a dozen
of them prepare in this manner to cross a brook, which they do
without the least feeling of shame.
The town of Hatszeg had no attraction to detain us, and we
started next morning for Hunyad, which we were assured we
VOL. n. — 9
98 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
should reach in two hours. The first part of the road was bad,
and we began to doubt if we should arrive so soon as we ex-
pected. The horses and driver we had engaged from the neigh-
bourhood of Karansebes, to take us as far as we required — for
in this part of Transylvania, the peasantry are so poor that they
have few horses, and use either oxen or buffaloes for agricultu-
ral purposes — were evidently unequal to the task. I wished
much to persuade our coachman to let me take a relay of oxen,
but he declared his horses were capable of any thing, and would
not hear of help. The first hill beyond Hatszeg occupied us
an hour, for the road was nothing more than soft tenacious clay,
good enough perhaps in dry weather, but now almost impassable.
Fortunately we were not without cause for consolation; for on
getting out of the carriage to walk, and looking back, our eyes
fell on such a scene as I do not think the world can equal in love-
liness. The plain, from Varhely to Hatszeg, yellow with the
over-ripe maize, traversed by half a dozen streams, broken by
low hills, and sprinkled over with cottages and country-houses,
lay stretched out at our feet, its mountain boundaries rising
through the clouds, which hung on their sides, and disclosing their
summits, whitened by the first fall of the autumn snow, and all
heightened by the magic lights and shades of a fitful sky, formed
a picture of most exquisite beauty.
The first hill conquered, we descended to the village of Szilvas,
a collection of poor huts, apparently shut out from the world by
the hills which surrounded it on every side. Up the steepest of
these hills our road now lay. In vain the horses exerted them-
selves,— they were quite tired out. As we passed through the
village, S had observed some oxen in a yard, and for these
we now sent. But their Wallack owner saw our need, and
would only let us have them on paying an exorbitant sum, and
that, too, before they left his yard. There was no help; the
money was paid, and the four oxen were harnessed to the four
horses. These beasts, however, seemed to know the place, and
most resolutely declined drawing in the right direction, and not
all the flogging and pushing of the drivers could prevent them
from dragging us back into the village. The peasant, however,
was as cunning as the oxen, and he determined to deceive them
by going another way, and, by crossing the ploughed fields, es-
cape that part of the road. So far all went well; but we again
reached the road, and now both horses and oxen stood stock still ;
they seemed to have come to a mutual agreement to draw no fur-
A TRANSYLVANIAN VIEW. 99
ther. As for flogging and shouting, there was no lack of either,
for there were five of us, and we all united voices and hands in
the labour. The beasts only kicked. Again we sent off for aid,
and comforted ourselves in the mean time with the spare fare —
some hard-boiled eggs and well garlicked salami — which our
prog-basket afforded. After about an hour's waiting without
any appearance of the arrival of fresh relay — travelling in Tran-
sylvania demandeth much patience — a merry-looking fellow, with
a strong arm and long whip, came singing by, and inquired the
reason of our untimely halt. No sooner did he hear that want
of power, not want of will, detained us, than angry, apparently
at the unreasonable conduct of the cattle — with whom I am by
no means sure he had not, like the Irish whisperer, some secret
intelligence — he gave a few such persuading flourishes of his long
whip, that off set both oxen and horses, nor did they stop their
gallop till they reached the top of the mountain.
While we waited there for the servant's return we had leisure
to enjoy the extensive panorama spread out before us — plains,
valleys, rivers, and wooded mountains, backed by still higher
mountains rising over each other, as far as the eye could reach.
The valleys of Hatszeg and Hunyad, the plain before Varhely,
the hill of Deva, with its ruined castle, lay all before us ; beyond
them stretched out the Iron-Door Pass, the often-mentioned
mountains of Wallachia, and the gold-bearing peaks round Sza-
latna. We could plainly perceive too the course of the river
Strehl, now formed into a respectable stream by the union of the
many brooks of the valley of Hatszeg, and which had cut itself
a passage through the rocks to the Maros. It is in this direction
that the road between Hatszeg and Deva ought to pass. I feel
convinced that the Roman road took this course, and as soon as
ever this part of Transylvania receives its fair share of attention,
— it is now by far the most uncultivated and savage, — a great
commercial road will undoubtedly unite, in this direction, Tran-
sylvania with the Danube.
Before we reached Hunyad, H , who had been left at
Varhely in hopes of getting some views of the valley, which,
however, the cloudy weather prevented, overtook us in a light
wagon of the country, with which he had galloped over difficul-
ties our heavier carriage had stuck fast in. It was quite dark
when we stopped before some house where the sound of music
led us to suppose we had found an inn. We were mistaken, how-
ever, and while the servant was making inquiries, and receiving
100 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
answers which he could not understand, as to the whereabouts
of the hostelry, a gipsy girl came out of the house, and, hearing
the nature of our difficulty, at once took the arrangement of the
matter on herself. At a single bound she threw herself into
H 's wagon, seated herself beside him, and, giving her orders
to the peasant, desired him to drive through the river up the steep
bank and along the deep road: we being left to follow them to
the inn as best we could. Before we arrived, our gipsy guide
had roused the whole house, got the keys of the chambers, un-
locked the rooms, and while we were yet joking H on his
adventure, the heroine of it had already lit the fires, mended the
cracked stoves,* got the carriage unloaded, laid the cloth, and
was cooking the supper, ere it was yet ordered. Every thing was
so quickly done, that it had an air of conjuration about it. It
was strange to find one whom, five minutes before, we had never
even seen, already our guide, our hostess, our cook, our factotum.
Nor was the interest lessened when we had time to observe our
mysterious friend. Lila was a pretty gipsy girl of about sixteen,
with features more regular than those of her tribe commonly are,
but with all a gipsy's cunning flattery on her tongue. She was
rather fancifully dressed, for over the Wallack shirt she had a
bodice of scarlet cloth, embroidered with black. The coloured
fillet over her forehead was ornamented with a gay bow in front,
and behind each ear was a nosegay of the brightest flowers.
Her rich brown hair, parted in front, fell in a profusion of clus-
tering curls on her neck, and hung down the back in the long-
braided band of maidenhood. She spoke alternately Wallack,
Magyar, and German, as she in turns scolded, directed, and
coaxed. Before we ceased wondering at so pleasant an appari-
tion, a good supper was smoking on the table, and the pretty
gipsy by her laughing and talking almost persuaded us that we
were supping on ambrosia, while she played the gentle Hebe to
our godships. We could never understand the mystery which
seemed to belong to Lila's movements. They told us she was a
gipsy of the neighbourhood, who often came into the town, and
who was allowed to be about the house as much as she pleased.
* The common stoves are made of tiles of coarse earthenware, the se-
parate parts being united together by clay, which of course requires con-
stant reparation, especially at the commencement of winter. The vessel
of water which Dr. Arnot observed on the stoves on the Continent, and
which he supposes to be placed there to supply moisture to the atmos-
phere, is intended to absorb the bad smell which a stove often emits.
HUNYADI. 101
had no occupation there, yet she had done every thing. The
gipsies are generally such rogues that they are scarcely permitted
to enter any house, yet every thing was perfectly secure with her.
Our first duty at Hunyad, after taking breakfast, which Lila,
dressed more gaily than before, had prepared for us, was to visit
the old castle, as it is historically interesting, having been built
by the greatest man Transylvania ever produced, Hunyadi Janos,
the Governor of Hungary and father of Mathias Corvinus. Tra-
dition assigns to Hunyadi a descent from Sigisrnund, King of
Hungary. The tale runs thus: —
As Sigismund was passing through Transylvania, on his way
to subdue his rebel vassal, the Woiwode of Wallachia, chance
threw in his way a beautiful Wallack girl, Elizabeth Marsinai,
the pride of the valley of Hatszeg. Without disclosing his rank,
the gay monarch triumphed over the affections of the simple
peasant, and, as he left her to prosecute his wars, he gave her
his signet ring, with the injunction, that when the fruit of their
love should see the light, she should carry it to the King, in
Buda, who, on recognising the ring, would be sure to treat her
and her child with kindness.
The following year, as Elizabeth and the infant made their
progress towards the distant capital, the young mother, over-
come by fatigue, fell asleep under the shade of a tree. The
child in the mean time played with the ring, which hung like an
amulet round his neck. A mischievous dawT, who watched the
infant's sports, at last hopped from his perch to join the play,
and seizing the bauble in his beak, flew off with the prize.
Awakened by the child's cries, Elizabeth saw with horror all her
hopes of greatness dependent on the humour of a wicked wilful
bird. Her brother, her companion and protector in this long
journey, was fortunately a keen sportsman; and, as he heard her
wailing, an arrow from his bow laid the cause of her sorrows at
her feet. The ring recovered, the little party joyfully resumed
their way, and when they reached their destination, and re-
counted their adventures, the delighted monarch could not suf-
ficiently testify his pleasure. He at once bestowed on his son
the name of Hunyadi, and presented him with the town of Hun-
yad, and sixty surrounding villages. The surname of Corvinus,
later adopted, with the arms, a crow and ring, were assumed in
memory of the events of this journey. Szonakos, the village
which gave birth to Elizabeth, was declared tax-free for ever; a
right which it still enjoys.
9*
102 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The name of Hunyadi was destined to eclipse even that of his
royal father. Brought up amidst the wars, to which the state
of the times and the increasing boldness and power of the Turks
gave rise, Hunyadi found himself called on at an early age to
protect the district over which he had been placed from the in-
roads of the barbarians. In the reign of Sigismund the Turks
had ventured, for the first time, across the boundaries of Hun-
gary, and already had the southern parts of Transylvania been
rendered scarcely habitable, so frequent and so fierce had their
attacks become. After the death of Albert, and before his suc-
cessor was determined on, Hunyadi gained a series of glorious
victories over the Moslems, following them through Wallachia,
across the Danube into Bulgaria, and obliging them to yield up
possession of the fortresses of Servia and Bosnia, thus placing all
these countries under the vassalage of Hungary. By the sup-
port chiefly of Hunyadi, now strengthened by his victories, La-
dislaus V. was secured on the throne, and his first act was to
give peace to the kingdom, by a truce with the Turks, most
solemnly ratified for a period of ten years. To this treaty Hun-
yadi was a party, nor can any sophistry release him from the
disgrace of having broken his word when, only a few days after,
the Pope's legate, by that miserable sophism of the church, that
faith is not to be held with infidels, persuaded him to violate a
solemn engagement, and, unprovoked, recommence the war against
the Moslems. The treachery was, however, fearfully punished
before Varna — the false king killed, his army destroyed, and
Hunyadi himself, flying and at last imprisoned, was just retribu-
tion for the crime.
After the death of the king, Hunyadi was appointed Governor
of Hungary, during the minority of Ladislaus VI., and though
at the head of a powerful army, and surrounded by a large party,
he never attempted to grasp a higher power than that which the
assembled people had delegated to him. When, at the age of
thirteen, the king was placed upon the throne by the machina-
tions of Hunyadi's sworn foes — no great man had worse ones —
he at once gave up his power into the feeble hands which could
scarcely have wrested it from him. The feelings of the country,
however, were so strongly with him, that he was appointed cap-
tain-general of the kingdom, and loaded with honours and en-
dowments.
The Turks had now taken Constantinople, and all Europe
was roused against them. Crusades were preached ; the Monk
CASTLE OF HUNYAD. 103
Capistran roused Christendom from its lethargy ; and Hunyadi,
aided by the practised troops from Germany, again took the field.
His last campaign was his most brilliant one. After a contest
of three successive days, Belgrade fell into his hands, and the
Infidel hordes were pursued by the victorious Christians almost
to the gates of Constantinople. But their Emperor had little
time to enjoy his victory, for, in a few days, disease consumed a
life which so many wars had left untouched. But for Hunyadi
Janos it is exceedingly probable that the Turks would have
swept over the whole of Europe, as so many of their Eastern
predecessors in invasion had already done, and, instead of being
only on the outskirts, as they now are, we might have seen them
established in its very centre. Their career of victory was, how-
ever, checked, their thoughts of conquest turned in another di-
rection, and although, when weaker hands than those of Hunyadi
guided the reins of government, they did gain a temporary footing
in Hungary, yet the confidence inspired by his victories enabled
the Magyars to make head against them, and finally to expel
them from the land.
The castle of Vayda * Hunyad is finely situated on a bold
precipitous limestone-cliff, washed on three sides by two small
rivers, the Cserna and Zalasd, which meet at this point. On
the opposite side of the Zalasd, rises another rock of the same
height, which slopes gradually down to the town, and is fortified.
From this second rock the castle is approached by a long wooden
bridge, at a dizzy height above the stream and road below. The
end of the bridge nearest the castle, by a simple contrivance, is
made to rise and fill up the portal of the watch-tower, which it
closes like a door. This is the simplest drawbridge and gate, as
well as the most effectual, I ever saw, and it is still in constant
use. There is no pulley or chain employed ; it is so balanced
that it can be raised by placing the foot on the opposite end, the
weight of the body being sufficient to turn the scale and to raise
the huge mass in the air. The part of the castle on the right of
the entrance is that built by Hunyadi, that on the left wras re-
paired, and in part built by a Count Bethleh, at a later date.
The wall on the right is almost unbroken by windows, except
near the top, where a singularly elegant Gothic balcony runs
along its whole length, forming a succession of windows fitted
for the lighting of a long hall or gallery.
* It is called Vayda (Woiwode, or Governor) Hunyad, from the rank
of the person to whom it gave its name, and to distinguish it from Pan fly
Hunyad? a town in another part of Transylvania.
104 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
On crossing the bridge, one of the officers of the iron works —
for the castle now serves as a depot for the Government iron ob-
tained from the mines in the neighbourhood — very politely of-
fered to conduct us over it. The interior forms an irregularly
shaped court, of which the solid rock constitutes the pavement,
and is completely surrounded by the buildings of the castle. A
gallery runs round three sides of this court, and most of the
windows open upon it. We entered by a Gothic door on the
right, and found ourselves in a large room, extending along the
whole of one side of the castle, divided by pillars in the centre,
and supporting a number of arches, on which rests the groined
ceiling. On the capital of one of the pillars, a scroll, pictu-
resquely disposed, bears the following inscription in Gothic cha-
racters: —
opus fecit ft'erf magn'tfcus Johannes fgunfatoas
1452."
The proportions of this room are at present destroyed by a
partition which cuts off a part of it for the convenience of the
Government officers, who use it as a counting-house. The rest
of the space is occupied by bars of iron. It is probable that this
part formed the Ritter Saal, though they assured us it was on
the story above. This, however, we found divided into three or
four very handsome rooms, which are said to have been fitted up
for and used by the Emperor Francis, some years since. From
these rooms glass doors open to the Gothic balcony I before
spoke of, which is divided into several compartments by solid
walls, forming the most lovely little boudoirs imaginable. The
opposite side of the court is occupied by some of the officers, as
a dwelling, and a very handsome one it makes. It is kept in
very good order; indeed the whole building seems in good repair,
and nothing can be more elegant than the drawing-rooms which
the huge round-towers form, nothing more beautiful than the
views presented from their windows.
About the largest tower there is something mysterious, for to
all appearance it is a solid mass of masonry ; nor could our guide
give any further account of it. Attempts had been made, he
said, to penetrate it, but nothing had been discovered; it was
found solid throughout. The exterior of this tower is still
painted, as tradition reports it has been ever since its erection.
It is in black and white, disposed chequerwise, and looks as ugly
as possible. I have noticed, in speaking of Arva, that the ancient
THE PAINTED TOWER. 105
castles of Hungary were mostly painted outwardly; at the pre-
sent time Hunyad is the only one, perhaps, in which the custom
is maintained. I have observed, however, other buildings painted
in Hungary even at the present day. At Lugos, the Greek
church is ornamented in this way. If I mistake not, private
houses, in some old towns, still have their walls painted ; but the
best example, if I may be allowed to anticipate, is in the old
court-house and prison of Klausenburg. This building is covered
over with allegorical designs, and is divided into compartments
bearing wise Latin inscriptions, in reference to the purposes of
the building, and the duties of its occupants. I am not aware
that this custom ever prevailed in England, or in any other part
of the Continent except Hungary, with respect to the outer walls
of castles, common as it is in the enclosed courts and porticoes of
Italy. I know of no instance in which the manner called fresco
has been employed in Hungary ; those I have seen were all in
common oil colours.
We were a little surprised on our return to the inn, to receive
a request, through our servant, that we should accept a compli-
mentary visit from some of the inhabitants of the town, as we
were the first Englishmen who were known to have passed
through Hunyad. It would have been difficult to refuse this
proffered civility, however little inclination we might feel to play
the part assigned us, and we therefore ordered in as many chairs
as our miserable room could contain, and turning the beds into
sofas, we sat in due state to receive the delegates of Vayda Hun-
yad to our noble selves, — the wandering representatives of
the United kingdom'of Great Britain and Ireland. The servant
opened the door with considerable ceremony, and announced the
names, titles and occupations of four as fat little burgesses as
could be found in any snug country town of our own island.
The spokesman of the party, the fattest and most important per-
son, was the doctor, who expressed in a very complimentary
speech, in German, the pleasure they had in seeing Englishmen,
members of a constitutional country, and Protestants, like them-
selves, in their town, and as we were the first who had ever
so far honoured it, they could not omit the opportunity, et cetera,
et cetera. Of course we could only express our deep sense of
the compliment paid us, our admiration of the country, and our
conviction that as the facilities of travelling became more general,
the beauties of Transylvania would attract many of our country-
men to visit them. Thereupon Tokay and biscuits were handed
106 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
round, and a parley commenced, consisting principally of ques-
tions on their side, apparently arranged by previous concert, and
propounded by the doctor, which were answered on our parts as
we were able. They consisted chiefly of inquiries relative to
points in English law and government, which had puzzled them —
no wonder, for they sometimes puzzle even their own authors — in
reading the journals, and in regard to the appearance and cha-
racter of public men whose acts or speeches had interested them.
This was another proof of the consideration our dear native land
enjoyed among strangers, and we were delighted to satisfy to the
best of our power an interest so flattering to England, and so
useful to other constitutional countries. In teaching the world
that a peaceable reform, obtained by moral arms alone, is more
effectual than the most brilliant revolution, England has done
more for the liberties of mankind than all the nations of ancient
or modern times.
After some time our visiters took their leave, and we prepared
to continue our journey, but a difficulty arose which we had not
expected. The bill which the landlord presented to us for the
very slender accommodation received, was so exorbitant, that it
was impossible to overlook such gross imposition. Suspecting
that our servant was a rogue, I declined his service as an inter-
preter on this occasion, and a stranger kindly offered his assist-
ance. It was well I had recourse to this precaution, for I found
the rascal had been carousing all night with a party he had ac-
cidentally met, and that he had desired the landlord to put the
wine, — I forget how many quarts each,— down to our account.
On this exposure, and on being subjected to some little abuse by
the landlady for certain other offences, the fellow seized a knife
and advanced towards the woman with a threat to murder her
if she repeated her words. Luckily I caught sight of the knife,
and obliged him to relinquish it, but I shall not easily forget his
appearance at that moment. He was a strong-built man with
an expression of countenance much resembling a wolf, and he had
become excited to the utmost fury by the discovery. He was
red and foaming with rage when I threatened to strike him to
the ground (for I am fortunately a strong man,) if he did not re-
linquish the knife, but in an instant, with a power over himself
I never saw equalled, he bowed low, and in his usual humble
voice replied, f( Certainly, if my master commands it." I need
hardly say that I got rid of him as soon as possible, for I hold
that no rogue is so dangerous as one who can command himself.
GOLD MINES OF NAGY AG. 107
On a former occasion my suspicions had been raised against him
from finding my pistols unloaded and stuffed with dirt ; a pre-
caution which I have no doubt he had adopted in case of detec-
tion in any roguery.
As we got into the carriage, Lila was there to bid us adieu.
Her beauty, her good humour, and her happy way of rendering
herself useful, made us quite sorry to part with her, and, I be-
lieve S did propose to equip her " enjocke," and take her
with us; but S is a wild fellow! I know nothing can be
more ridiculous than to fancy a gipsy sentimental, and yet, in
spite of ridicule, I would swear I saw a tear glisten in the poor
girl's eye as we drove off. A few kind words are rarely lost,
even on a gipsy.
At Deva, our next station, we spent, or rather misspent a
couple of days ; for, placing ourselves under the guidance of a
young gentleman who offered to show us the lions of the neigh-
bourhood, we saw only what he thought lions, and not what we
should have selected as such.
About ten miles from Deva, there are some of the richest gold
mines in Transylvania, those of Nagy Ag, and Szekerem, and
to these he promised to conduct us. With great difficulty we
got to the foot of the mountain, over almost impassable roads,
where we found oxen ready to drag us up the nearly perpendi-
cular rock, and several peasants in attendance, to hold the car-
riage from falling over. We had often occasion to wonder at
the dislike the Hungarian seems to have to walking, but, from
imitation, we fell into their customs, sitting still in our carriage,
to be slowly dragged through and over places which we could
have surmounted much more easily and quickly on foot. Once
at the mines, we were conducted along a new railway adit,
which I, of course, imagined would conduct us to the workings;
but, alas ! it will only get there some years hence, for it is yet
unfinished ; and, in the mean time, we were obliged to content
ourselves with the ride on the rail-road for our trouble, it being
declared too late to see the other works when we got back.
Our guide assured us that many ladies and gentlemen came to
see the railway, but nobody thought of going into the mines, so
that he had no idea we could have wished such a thing.
The quantity of gold and silver obtained here, though less
than formerly, is still considerable; not less than one hundred
and fifty marks of gold, and seven hundred and fifty of silver,
per annum. These mines are peculiarly interesting to the
108 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
mineralogist, as being the richest in tellurium of any in Europe;
indeed it was here that metal was first discovered. I afterwards
saw a specimen of pure gold from Szekerem, in the form of a
tree, — I think mineralogists call it tree gold. It was two inches
high, standing quite out from the matrix, and was most beauti-
fully branched and foliated.
Deva, situated on the banks of the Maros, is worth visiting,
were it only for the view from the old castle. On the very
point of a rock, which rises above the little town, stands the
ruins of a fortress, said to have been begun by the Romans,
though it was probably used for such purposes ever since the
country was inhabited. It is now, however, a very small ruin,
although a number of walls and turrets on different parts of the
hill show the extent the castle once had. It has lately been
repaired in a tasteless manner, and now serves as a watch-tower
for a few frontier soldiers.
The view extends, towards the west, along the beautiful val-
ley of the Maros, and, to the east, as far as the blue mountains
of Zalatna, which were tipped with the first fall of the autumn's
snow. Lover, as I am, of rivers and valleys, I know few that
I prefer to the Maros and its vale. I shall have opportunity
enough hereafter of describing the higher part of this river, for
I afterwards traced it nearly to its source, but of its downward
course I may as well speak now, though I did not visit it till a
later period.
The first part of the Maros valley, towards the borders of
Hungary, is rich, well wooded, and occasionally ornamented
with pretty country houses. At Dobra the road leaves it, and
I know nothing more of it till some time after it has reached
Hungary. Those, however, who are acquainted with the bor-
der district, describe it as wild to the last degree ; — the river
bound in its channel by precipitous rocks, and the valley dark-
ened by forests of the native oak, which have never known the
woodman's axe. At Kdpolna's the valley widens considerably,
and presents a scene of extraordinary loveliness. For perhaps
fifteen miles in length, by three or four in width, extends a plain
covered with white villages, and groaning under the richest
crops of corn, surrounded on every side by mountains covered
to their summits by forests of oak, and traversed, in its whole
extent, by the river now grown wide and powerful.
There are few things in any country which have struck me
as being more beautiful than this part of the valley of the Maros,
H TAKEN FOR A SPY. 109
but it is completely unknown even to Hungarians. The whole
of it at present belongs to the Kamraer; and, as it is subject to
frequent inundations, against which no precautions are taken,
its inhabitants are doomed to much poverty and suffering.
When sold, as it will shortly be, it is to be hoped that private
capital and enterprise will make it the elysium which nature
seems to have intended it should become.
How far steam navigation will succeed on the Maros, in its
present state, is extremely doubtful, as it is a very wide and
wayward stream, and, in summer, has sometimes not more than
two feet of water ;" but there is no doubt it might be made navi-
gable, and probably it will be, as soon as increased population
on its banks shall demand an outlet for their productions.
As H was too unwell to day to climb the castle hill on
foot, and yet unwilling to leave without some memorial of the
scene, a peasant was found who undertook to convey him to the
summit in a leiter-wagen. Up, accordingly, he went, and just
as he had placed himself comfortably to his work, a borderer
from the castle, stepping cautiously as a cat about to seize a
mouse, hastened towards him, till he was stopped at a little dis-
tance by the driver. H had observed the man, but as the
latter contented himself with holding a long and loud colloquy
with the Wallack, and as H did not understand the lan-
guage, he took no farther notice of him, nor did the soldier offer
any other molestation to the artist, than by keeping a very sharp
eye on his movements, and never quitting the wagen till it
arrived at the inn. Judge, then, of H 's surprise, on coming
down, to be congratulated at his escape from imprisonment !
The simple grenzer, persuaded that the ruins of Deva formed a.
most important fortress, had come to arrest the daring spy who
was taking a plan of its defences, and was armed with a rope,
which he was just about to throw over H 's arms when the
peasant interposed, and with great difficulty persuaded him to
delay the seizure till he had accompanied him to the village, ami
informed himself better on the subject. It was a very gocd
joke when so well over, but it might have been otherwise; to
be suspected as a spy, bound, and in the hands of a very rude
and ignorant soldiery, is a position by no means free from dangei .
Nor was this the only adventure which befell our luckle? s
friend at Deva. While quietly finishing his sketches in the inn,
he observed an ill-conditioned fellow staring at him through th"
half-opened door, when, calling the servant, he desired him to
VOL. II. 10
110 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
inquire his business. Upon this the ill-conditioned man became
excessively abusive, declared that " H was a spy, a rogue,
a German, or something still worse; that he saw things which
he was sure were for no good, and that he would denounce him
to the authorities." The servant requested him to change his
quarters, but he protested he was a Nemes Ember, and W7oulci
stay where he liked, and do what he liked. As soon as the
authorities heard of this affair, they sent to beg we would excuse
the brutality and ignorance of an individual who had never seen
more of the world than his native country, and who was noto-
rious as one of the most troublesome fellowrs in it, assuring us,
at the same time, that they had taken care that we should not
be subject to any farther molestation.
We had been promised vorspann at five in the morning to take
us on the next stage to Szasvaros: but at ten, in spite of repeat-
ed demands, no horses had appeared, and we were obliged to or-
der post-horses. In Transylvania, generally, it is extremely dif-
ficult to obtain vorspann ; indeed, 1 believe it is not allowed to any
one except the officers of the county or of the crown. On the
other hand, the post is much better than in Hungary ; and the
principal roads are maintained in a state that ought to put many
continental states to the blush. The cross roads, however, are
in a most deplorable condition here; — nothing can be worse.
Count S , I remember, said he travelled for six weeks in
Transylvania, and was overturned six times.
As we approached Miihlenbach, where we meant to remain
for the night, a heavy snow-storm warned us that winter was
setting in, and induced us to change our intended route, and, in-
stead of proceeding to Hermanstadt, to go directly to Klausen-
burg. The inn was so full, that they had no apartment to offer
us but a very small room, where it was impossible to stow three
beds ; and we were preparing to encounter the night and storm
on the road, when a gentleman, who had preceded us, sent to of-
fer his large room in exchange for our small one. As this was
a person we had never seen, and who knew only that we were
foreigners, and in difficulty, it is worth adducing, as one of the
thousand proofs of the civilities we received merely in right of
our character as strangers. This gentleman joined us in the
evening, and proved to be a Szekler connected with the post-
office. He was a very agreeable companion, from whom we
received much information, which the reader will have the bene-
fit of at the proper time and place. With respect to the depart-
raent in which he was employed, he assured us, that the reports
so often repeated of letters being opened were entirely without
foundation, as far at least as Hermanstadt was concerned; and,
he believed, they were equally unfounded with respect to every
other place in Hungary and Transylvania. As to what took
place at Vienna, he knew only from hearsay.
As we returned next morning for a short distance on our road
of the preceding evening, we found we had passed over a plain
of some extent, and called from its richness the Kenyer Mezo,
(bread-field,) illustrious in Transylvanian history for a great vic-
tory gained over the Turks by one of their native princes, Ba-
thori Istva"n, in 1479.
I shall say nothing more of our journey to Klausenburg, which
occupied us two days, for we scarcely put our heads out of the
carriages, so miserably cold and wet had it become; and, as we
shall pass over the same ground when we visit the mines of Za-
latna, it is of no importance. As we reached the summit of the
long hill, down which a winding road of two or three miles' de-
scent leads to the capital, the sun was pleased to show himself
ere he set over the now white mountains, and gave us a beauti-
ful glimpse of the valley of the Szamos, with Klausenburg in
the midst, just below us. The Szamos is the second river in
Transylvania in point of size, and flows through another of those
valleys which give to this country the appearance of a mass of
small mountains traversed in various directions by rivers, which
have cut out for themselves water-courses from one hundred
yards to a mile or two in width, occasionally, where a tributary
stream lends its force, widening into small plains like those of
Hatszeg, Kenyer Mezo, Harom-szek, and Thorda. The principal
roads are formed along these valleys, so that travelling in Tran-
sylvania presents a succession of beautiful scenes rarely to be met
with in other lands.
A curious substitute has been found for curb-stones to the
bridges and dangerous places in the descent of the Felek hill.
The stratum, a fine sand-stone, has formed itself naturally, in
some places, into nearly perfect globes of considerable size, —
four times that of a man's head, — which are used as curb-stones,
and which answer perfectly well for the purpose to which they
have been applied. I observed one place on the road where
these stones were quarried, and it appeared that they were
formed between two layers of the sand-stone, some of them
assuming the cylindrical form ; but almost all more or less nodu-
112 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
lated. We galloped down the Felek hill at a tremendous rate,
chiefly, I believe, because the weak horses, and weaker harness,
had not strength enough to hold back ; nor did we feel ourselves
safe till we whirled through one of the old-fashioned gates of
Klausenburg, and were rattling over its rough pavement. The
only tolerable inn within the walls was full, and we were fain to
content ourselves with such accommodation as was furnished by
the best of those in the suburbs.
TRANSYLVANIA. 113
CHAPTER VTI.
TRANSYLVANIA. — HISTORY AND POLITICS.
Transylvania. — Its Population. — Settlement of the Szeklers, — of the
Magyars, — of the Saxons, — under Woiwodes. — Zapolya. — Native
Princes.— Bethlen Gabor. — Aristocratic Democracy. — Union with Aus-
tria.— Diploma Leopoldinum. — Confirmed by Maria Theresa. — Actual
Form of Government. — Constitution infringed. — Opposition. — Baron
Wesselenyi. — County Meetings. — Grievances.— General Vlasits. —
Diet of 1834.— Archduke Ferdinand.— History of the Diet.— Violent
Dissolution. — Moral Opposition.
A STRANGE little country is this Transylvania! Very likely
the reader never heard its name before, and yet some hundred
years ago it was in close alliance with England ; and, long before
religious liberty, annual parliaments, payment of members, and
the election of magistrates were dreamed of, amongst us, they
were granted to Transylvania, by a solemn charter of their Prince,
the Emperor of Austria. Here is this country, on the very limits
of European civilization, yet possessing institutions and rights,
for which the most civilized have not been thought sufficiently
advanced.
The distinctions and differences among the population of Hun-
gary have offered us a singular spectacle enough, but the Tran-
sylvanians far outpass them in these matters, as they vary among
themselves, not only in language, race, and religion, but in civil
laws and political institutions. The Magyar, the Szekler, the
Saxon, and the Wallack, have all their rights, but differing most
materially in nature and extent from each other. The whole
population of the country does not amount to more than two mil-
lions,* yet they have among them four established religions, —
*The best statistical authority on which I can lay my hand is a small
geography of Transylvania, by Lebrecht, published as far back as 1804.
The whole population is estimated at 1,458,559 (without the clergy;) of
these, 729.316 are Wallack&; about 358,596 Magyars; about 123,085,
Szeklers; 181,790 Saxons; while of Gipsies, Jews, Greeks, Armenians
and Bulgarians, there are about 65,772. In the " Transylvania^ published
in 1833, it is conjectured to have risen to 2,034,375, including the Tran-
sylvanian military Borderers.
10*
114 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
besides several others tolerated, — at least four languages, and I
know not how many different national customs, prejudices, and
modes of feeling.
It is not my intention to enter upon these matters at any length.
Suffice it to say, that there are three nations, the Magyar, the
Szekler, and the Saxon, which have each a part in the govern-
ment of the country. They inhabit different districts ; the Mag-
yars, the whole west and centre; the Szeklers, the east and
north ; and the Saxons, the greater part of the south ; and with
these are mixed up a number of Wallacks, Gipsies, Jews, Arme-
nians, &c. In order to give the English reader some idea of this
country, and of its present state, I believe it will be best to dedi-
cate a page or two to its previous history.
When the Romans finally retired from Dacia, and Aurelian
offered as many of the inhabitants as chose to accept it, a refuge
in Moesia, which he named his Dacia,* the country was left de-
fenceless, and open to the incursions of those barbarous hordes
which in turn cursed Europe with their devastating presence.
The greater part of these seem to have passed and repassed
Transylvania, without either effecting the total destruction of
the Dacians, or being able to establish themselves in the country.
Of one of them, however, a considerable number — whether cut
off from the principal body of the enemy, or separated by some
quarrel among themselves, or stationed to retain a command of
the mountain-passes, and so facilitate a return, is unknown —
were left behind the rest; and there their descendants remain to
the present day. These are the Szeklers.
From which of these savage nations the Szeklers, or Siculi,
are derived, is one of those historical puzzles in which the learned
of Hungary are fond of losing themselves. Attila and his Huns
having gained the widest renown, if not the best, Szekler anti-
quaries generally fix on them as their forefathers. But, be that
as it may, the Magyars found them where they now are, on their
entering the country in the tenth century; and as they were evi-
dently of the same family — for their language, features, charac-
ter, all declare them Magyars, — they were received into favour,
and allowed to retain free possession of their lands, on condition
of guarding the frontier.
The Magyars made themselves masters of Dacia and Pannonia
as early as the beginning of the tenth century, and from that
*The Wallacks, still found in some parts of Bulgaria, are probably the
descendants of those who followed Aurelian.
SEPARATION FROM HUNGARY. 115
time till 1526, Transylvania was little more than a part of Hun-
gary, though it must be confessed a very unruly part. A cer-
tain degree of independence is still maintained. It was governed
by a Woiwode appointed by the King of Hungary, who seems
to have held Diets to consult with the nobles on the affairs of
the country. These meetings were sometimes even presided over
by the Kings of Hungary themselves. During the greater part
of this period, Transylvania was rarely without suffering the evils
of domestic or foreign warfare, and so terribly was the popula-
tion diminished, that whole tracts of country lay waste for
want of cultivators. To supply this deficiency, foreign co-
lonists were invited to re-people the wasted districts. As early
as the middle of the twelfth century, a colony of Germans, from
the Rhine country, were tempted by the offer of a fertile soil,
and by a promise of the enjoyment of their own customs and
religion, as well as of certain other privileges, to settle in the
nearly deserted Transylvania. It is to this colony the present
Saxons owe their origin.
It was not till the battle of Mohacs had reduced the power of
Hungary to so low an ebb, that she accepted an Austrian Em-
peror for her king, and till she so far forgot her ancient traditions,
as eventually to establish the succession hereditary in that fa-
mily, that Trarisylvania, under Zapolya, threw off her dependence
on Hungary, and proclaimed herself an independent state. Za-
polya's views were not confined to Transylvania ; his object was
the crown of Hungary, and it is certain that his schemes during
the weak reign of Ludwig II. constantly tended to that object,
and it is even suspected that his absence from Mohacs was caused
by the same ambitious motive. Be that as it may, although ac-
tually crowned at Stuhlweissenburg, and although supported by
a large party, he was unable to establish himself on the throne,
and he was finally reduced to the principality of Transylvania,
which he may be said to have founded.
Transylvania achieved her independence, if such it can be
called, under bad auspices, for Zapolya submitted to the degra-
dation of paying a tribute to the Porte, as the condition on which
he should receive aid against the arms of Austria. For more
than a century and a half, Transylvania continued in this state
of partial independence, sometimes paying tribute to the Porte,
sometimes seeking the support of Austria, but always throwing
off her allegiance, both to one and the other, the moment her
own strength or rather their weakness, afforded her the slightest
116 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
chance of doing so with impunity. During this period, the
country was governed by native princes, generally chosen by the
Diet, but rarely without the intervention of a Turkish Pasha, or
an Austrian ambassador, and sometimes they were nominated
by one of these powers without even the form of an election.
Short as was the time, Transylvanian historians enumerate, with
exultation, no less than twenty-four possessors of the Crown, as
if the number of princes increased the brilliancy of the epoch.
Of these, one reigned only a single day, others not more than a
year; and it often happened that two reigned at the same time,
the one acknowledging himself a vassal of Austria, the other a
tributary of the Porte. Of all these princes, but few have either
acquired or deserved a European reputation. Bethlen Gabor,
who presided over the destinies of Transylvania, nearly at the
same period as Cromwell over those of England, is the most
striking exception; like Cromwell, he was a stanch adherent to
the doctrines of Calvin, a successful general, and a man of most
determined resolution and untiring energy. As a sign of the
times, rather than as a characteristic of the man, it may be men-
tioned that Bethlen composed psalms which are still sung in the
Reformed churches, and that he read the Bible through twenty
times. Two of Bethlen's most constant objects were the banish-
ment of the Jesuits from Transylvania, and the securing the rights
of the Protestants in Hungary; but to accomplish the first, he
did not hesitate to persecute to the death, and the second seems
to have been rather a cloak to ambition than the object in which
that ambition centred. The part which Bethlen took in the
Thirty Years' War, gave a European importance to Transylva-
nia, such as it never before nor since that time has enjoyed. For
many years Bethlen's favourite project was the restoration of the
kingdom of Dacia, including Transylvania and Hungary east of
the Theiss, in favour of himself; and the only reason that can be
assigned for his having abandoned this project was, the failure of
heirs to inherit his power and glory. He died childless. The
engagements of Bethlen with the chiefs of the Thirty Years'
War, the faithlessness of the Jesuit ministers of the Austrian
court, and the discontent of the Protestants of Hungary, together
with his own, ambition, made the life of this prince a constant
series of intrigues and wars. That his character should come
out quite clear from such a trial is hardly to be expected ; indeed,
in the intricate mazes of policy, there seems to have been few
paths, however tortuous, which he did not tread; yet it is im-
CIVIL WARS. 117
possible not to admire the greatness of his designs, the fertility
of his resources, his diplomatic skill, and the noble principle of
religious liberty, for which he professed to struggle.
What the strength and cunning of a Bethlen Gabor was un-
able to hold in peace and security, the comparative feebleness of
his successors rendered a perpetual object of contest. For a long
series of years, Transylvania was engaged in wars, half political,
half religious, in which neither the bigotry of the mass was
rendered respectable by its sincerity, nor the restless turbulence
of the chiefs by their faith or disinterestedness. The Protestants
of the mountains of Transylvania, and the half nomade population
of the plains of Hungary, were ever ready to engage in expedi-
tions, where their faith was to be defended, and plunder to be
gained. Nor were adventurous leaders wanting; who, if they
did not gain freedom from the struggle, rarely failed to increase
their patrimony by obtaining rich grants of lands ere their zeal
could be cooled. As the first battle of Mohacs may be said to
have given rise to this state, so the second battle of Mohacs may
be considered to have put an end to it.
It has often astonished me to hear Transylvanians speak of
the period during which they were ruled by native princes^ as
the golden age of their history, the epoch of national glory, the
time to which their national songs and legends all relate. Is it
that national independence has such charms for a people, that
civil war, with all its horrors, foreign invasion, with all its suite
of crimes, can be forgotten under the influence of its magic name?
It must be so; and yet are there men who dare to mock such
sentiments, and who dispose of nations with as little regard to
their feelings as if they were flocks of sheep.
Perhaps, too, it may be that this period was the one most
fruitful in the establishment of free institutions, of which the
benefits are still felt. If the weakness of Transylvanian princes
gave a vast weight to the demands of the aristocracy, their need
of support during such long wars, induced them to extend the
privileges of that aristocracy to so great a number as to render
it almost a democracy. It is to this circumstance we must at-
tribute the character of freedom which distinguishes the institu-
tions of Transylvania.* It was no longer a privileged few
* Transylvania can scarcely be considered an aristocracy any more than
America can. The native Indians and negroes of America — the free
negroes of the north, I mean, for Transylvania knows nothing so degrading
as absolute slavery — occupy the place of the gipsies and Wallacks of
Transylvania • the rest of the inhabitants of both countries enjoying nearly
equal rights.
118 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
demanding power to restrain the suffering many. The aristoc-
racy became a people, demanding liberty for all, except the
conquered part of the nation. The establishment of equal rights
for four denominations, at a time when all the rest of Europe
was persecuting for religion's sake, was an act so far above the
paltry spirit of oligarchic legislation, that we can account for
it in no other way than by reference to that great extension of
political rights enjoyed by the Transylvanians, and which was,
in a great measure, achieved under their native princes.
Another circumstance which has made the Transylvanians
look back to the government of their native princes with affec-
tion and regret, is the frightful persecutions to which, in the
earlier times of their subjection, they were exposed at the hands
of foreign masters, and, in later days, the violence with which
their constitutional rights have been trampled under foot. The
names of Basta, Caraffa, and Heister, generals of Austria, to
whom the task of oppressing Transylvania was in turn com-
mitted, are never mentioned without a shudder, even to the
present time. The peasant still tells his children of the sad days
when Basta, after having taken all their cattle, harnessed their
forefathers to his wagons, and thus .supplied his army with
forage and transport.*
Without attempting to trace the constitutional history of
Transylvania step by step, through its various phases of deve-
lopment, it may be worth while to pause a moment, and ex-
amine its great foundation stone, the celebrated Diploma Leo-
poldinum, as it not only contains the chief elements of the form
of government which has been in operation from the day on
which it was granted to the present, but may serve also to give
us some notion of the progress made by the nation previous to
the period when it was obtained. The want of good historians
of Transylvania, — at least in the German language, and I believe
also in the Hungarian, — the disturbed and unsettled character
of the period itself, and the fact that the institutions were then
rather forming than formed, must be our excuse for not entering
more fully into the political condition of the country, previous
to the date of the Diploma. It is certain, however, that the
princes were elected,! but the form of election was exceedingly
* A kind of wheelbarrow was introduced for that purpose by Basta,
and they are still called Basta szeker, or Basta's carriages.
| I have been astonished to hear really sensible men refer to the time
when they elected to, — that is, quarrelled for, fought for, intrigued for,
bribed for, betrayed for; — the throne., as a period of glory; and the loss of
DIPLOMA LEOPOLDINUM. 119
indeterminate, and the supreme power was more frequently ob-
tained by force of arms than by a majority of votes. The Diets
were held annually under some princes, nearly dispensed with
by others. The members were in part elected, in part nomi-
nated, and in part, I suspect, even hereditary.
In judging of the state of legislation previous to the Diploma
Leopoldinum, it must not be forgotten that Austria obtained the
election of the emperor as prince of Transylvania, chiefly through
the influence of treachery on the part of one or two Transyl-
vanians, seconded by the weakness of the aged prince Apaffi,
and by the presence of a large army under Caraffa, and that the
Diploma was, therefore, little more than a compromise forced on
the country, between the absolute principle of the Austrian
Government, and the almost republican forms then in use in
Transylvania.
The first article of the Diploma gives an assurance of equal
rights to the four religions, viz., the Catholic, Lutheran, Re-
formed and Unkarian, and the permission to build new churches
wherever their numbers may require them.
The second secures to each religion all the lands, tithes,
benefices, foundations, churches, schools, &c., then actually pos-
sessed by them, although they may have belonged formerly to
the Catholics.
The third ensures the Transylvanians the enjoyment of their
civil privileges, according to the established laws of Hungary,
while by the Saxons their own municipal organization is to be
retained.
By the fourth it is promised that nothing shall be changed
in the form of government, in the appointment of the privy
council, in the constitution of the Diet, the manner of voting, or
the administration of justice, except the right of appeal to the
crown.
The fifth excludes foreigners from the possession of offices.
By the sixth it is declared that property reverting to the
crown, by the extinction of families, shall be bestowed on other
deserving persons, and that Transylvanians possessing property
in Hungary shall enjoy it, with the same rights as Hungarians.
that privilege as the greatest misfortune. I, on the contrary, believe sin-
cerely that the greatest — some might say the only — advantage Hungary
and Transylvania have received from their connexion with Austria, is the
loss of this right, and the establishment of an hereditary succession to the
crown.
120 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
By the seventh, it is stipulated that the president of the privy
council, the commander-in-chief of the Transylvanian militia,
the chancellor, the members of the privy council, the prothono-
taries, and other high dignitaries, must be natives, chosen by the
Diet, although requiring the royal assent to their election.
By the eighth it is provided that in the privy council a fourth
of the members shall be Catholics, as likewise in the supreme
courts of justice.
By the ninth, an annual Diet is guarantied, the dissolution to
depend on the royal will.
It is stipulated by the tenth that the governor shall reside in
the country, and that he, as well as the privy council and the
members of the court of justice, shall be paid by the crown.
It is agreed by the eleventh, that in peace the country shall
pay an annual tribute of fifty thousand thalers; in time of war,
against Hungary and Transylvania^ four hundred thousand
florins, including supplies delivered in kind. The assessment of
this sum to be left to the Diet. All other charges are to be
borne by the crown, out of the Kammeral revenues derived from
the Fiscal estates, salt tax, metal tax, among the Saxons the
customs' tenth, and in the Hungarian counties the tithe rent.*
By the twelfth the free Szeklers are to remain tax free, but
bound to do military service.
The thirteenth provides that the taxes, duties, and customs
shall not be increased beyond what they had previously been.
By the fourteenth, the tithes are to be rented by the land-
owners, but the fiscus is to receive the arenda canon or compo-
sition.
By the fifteenth, the country is required to maintain troops
for its occupation and protection, under the command of an
Austrian general; but he is not to mix in civil affairs, and must
maintain a good understanding with the governor, the Diet, and
the privy council, in matters of war.
* This tithe-rent arises from the secularization of all the church pro-
perty under one of the princes, — I think the Unitarian Zapolya Zsigmund.
Previous to that time the nobles had paid tithe to the church, they were
now to pay it to the fiscus. As the collection in kind more than swal-
lowed up the profits of the tax, it was generally let, or compounded for,
by a fixed sum of money, paid by the nobles, who had then the right to
collect the tithe from their own peasants. This composition is paid to
the present day.— A great part of the Transylvanian clergy of the estab-
lished religions are paid by the government. The Greek church alone
entirely maintains its own.
TRANSYLVANIA UNDER AUSTRIA. 121
By the sixteenth, the people are to be relieved from the bur-
den of supporting and lodging travellers, by the establishment
of posts and inns.
Although the Austrian power was long rendered uncertain by
a series of civil wars, in which Transylvania took a leading part,
it was finally established on a firm basis, and, as the Austrian
party grew stronger, the more liberal articles of the Diploma
were gradually invaded, but the monarchs, nevertheless, con-
tinued to swear to their observance, and no legal modification
was ever made in its provisions. Maria Theresa imitated her
predecessors, and adopted the Diploma in all its extent, requiring
only that the Diet, in return, should formally renounce the right
of electing the prince, and accept the pragmatic sanction esta-
blishing the succession in her and her descendants. Here, as in
Hungary, during the latter years of Maria Theresa's reign, and
during the whole of Joseph's, the constitution was in abeyance,
nor, during the very few occasions on which the Diet was called
together, towards the end of the eighteenth and the beginning
of the nineteenth centuries, did any important change take place.
The long wars in which Austria became engaged soon after,
furnished an excuse for ruling without a Diet, and so matters
remained till 1830.
The actual form of government, then, as settled by the Di-
ploma Leopoldinum, and according to law, — if not always ac-
cording to fact, — existing at the present time, is nearly as fol-
lows:—
A Governor, aided by a Privy Council, Secretaries, and others,
corresponding with the Transylvanian chancery at Vienna, — in
other words, acting under the direction of an Austrian minister,
— constitute the executive, whilst the legislative is formed by a
Diet, to be held every year. The appointment of the executive
is to be vested jointly in the Diet and the Crown.* For every
office the Diet is to candidate or nominate three individuals from
each of the received religions, that is, twelve persons for each of-
fice, from among whom the Crown appoints one.
The Diet itself forms only one body, though it is composed of
various elements. Every county and free town sends its mem-
bers,— the Magyars about forty-six, the Szeklers eighteen, and
the Saxons eighteen also ; the members of the towns in Transyl-
* This is a disputed point which I do not pretend to decide, but merely
state how it actually takes place; whether right or wrong, I leave others
to determine.
VOL. II. — 11
122 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
vania have the same rights as those of the counties; the Catho-
lic church sends two members, representatives of abbeys. The
Catholic and united Greek Bishops claim each a seat also. Be-
sides these, there are Regalists, as they are called, (a sort of
Peers,) who sit and vote with the others, but who are not en-
dowed with any other power or title in consequence. Some of
these are nominated by the Crown for life, others have seats in
virtue of their office, as the Lords Lieutenant, Privy Councillors,
and Secretaries. The number of Regalists is said to have been
limited to eighty-nine by Maria Theresa, but this regulation has
been grossly infringed, the present number exceeding two hun-
dred.
Besides the candidation of the executive, the duties of the
Diet may be said to consist in the making and altering of laws
for the internal government of the country, the voting supplies
of troops, the levying, but not voting the contribution, and the
conferring the Indigenat* or right of citizenship upon strangers.
The Municipal Government of the counties and towns is nearly
the same as that of Hungary, except among the Saxons, of
whose form of local government we shall speak further hereafter.
From the little we have said, it is easy to see how grossly the
institutions of Transylvania have been violated ; and one far bet-
ter able to judge than we can possibly be, Baron Kemeny Denes,
has publicly declared, " that of the whole Diploma Leopoldinum,
but one article has been faithfully observed, and that is the one
stipulating that the general commanding the troops should be a
German ! "
The length of time which elapsed without the assembling of
the States, and the consequent illegal appointment of all the
chief officers; the neglect to call the county-meetings, and the
want of legal sanction to all the municipal proceedings, were
fast destroying in the minds of the people all confidence in the
faith of the Government, all trust in its officers, and almost all
respect for the laws they administered. A corrupt bureaucracy,
whose interest it was to maintain this order, or rather disorder,
of things, because by its illegality alone could its members exist,
* Although the King can make any Hungarian peasant noble, he can-
not confer on a foreigner, not even on an Austrian subject, the rights of
Hungarian nobility; this power, both in Hungary and Transylvania, the
Diet reserves to itself. The Indigenat tax — in Hungary two thousand,
and in Transylvania one thousand ducats — is often remitted as a compli-
ment to the person on whom the right of citizenship is conferred.
PARTIES. 123
was fast demoralizing the country by an exhibition of the basest
subserviency to power, and of the most open contempt for every
principle of honour and honesty.
Fortunately, the very excess of its viciousness was the cause
of saving the country. A number of well-meaning men, who
had consented to aid Joseph in his constitutional violence, be-
cause they saw it associated with so much that was enlightened
and good, shrunk with horror from a system which alike vio-
lated the rights of the nation, and the rights of man. The
stanch conservative party, which had never been juggled out of
its consistency by any pretence of amelioration, and which loved
old things because they were old, still hated the innovators, how-
ever they might otherwise have liked their principles; and be-
sides these, a new party had arisen, far more powerful than all
the others. The progress made in the West of Europe, during
the last quarter of a century, in the establishment of rational
freedom, was not without its effect even in this distant part of
the globe. In vain the youth of Transylvania were forbidden to
exercise their ancient privilege of visiting foreign universities ; in
vain the strictest censorship endeavoured to suppress and muti-
late the truth; liberal facts, and liberal principles found their
way into the country, and a Liberal party was gradually formed.
By this party the ancient institutions were all the more closely
cherished, because they were free; nor were there wanting
among them those who felt that stronger guarantees were re-
quired for the observance of these institutions, and above all,
that it was necessary to extend the privileges, now exclusively
enjoyed by the nobles, to the other classes of society. The
greater portion of this party, however, have no higher wish than
to return to the strict letter of the constitution, as enjoyed by
their ancestors, and sworn to by the Emperor, and they claim
therefore for themselves the title of conservatives, and denounce
their adversaries as destructives.
The events of 1830, which shook all Europe to its basis, gave
a voice, in Transylvania, to those feelings of discontent which
had been long entertained in secret, and the country, as with one
accord, demanded that the county-meetings should be summoned,
and a Diet called together.
A really strong popular feeling rarely wants a good leader to
direct its expression ; in Transylvania such a leader was found
in Baron Wesselenyi Miklos. In addition to the advantages of
rank and fortune, Wesselenyi possesses so much energy and cou-
124 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
rage, so much truth and sincerity, and withal an eloquence so
powerful, that it is not astonishing he was soon acknowledged as
the head of the party.
The first point conceded by Government was the county-meet-
ings, and these were immediately taken advantage of to give ex-
pression to public opinion. In the absence of a free press, these
meetings were of the greatest importance ; they operated as
safety valves, which, while they may have given vent to some
useless vapour, served to inform the observer under how great a
pressure the machine was labouring.
Wesselenyi, and a party of his friends, purchased small por-
tions of land in every county, that they might have the right of
attending, and of speaking at every public meeting. They had
no lack of matter for the exercise of their oratory ; the unconsti-
tutional procedure of withholding the Diet, the consequent ille-
gal appointment of the great officers, and the neglect of munici-
pal privileges, were all subjects for eloquent declamation. Then,
too, since the last Diet, no less than twenty thousand soldiers
had been raised in Transylvania without the consent of the na-
tion. The taxes, — that subject which touches the most indiffe-
rent, and in which some men believe the whole science of poli-
tics to consist, — were open enough to animadversion : for from
the 300,000 florins stipulated in the Diploma, they had been ar-
bitrarily raised to upwards of a million and a half.* The salt
tax, too, which the Government had been allowed to increase
during the war, still continued at the war rate after fifteen years
of peace. The export and import duties, which the Diploma
expressly declared should not be altered, had been raised so high
as to be prohibitory.
The grievances of the Protestants were deep, and, from their
numbers and intelligence, of much importance : they demanded
that they should enjoy their rights, and be admitted to places of
trust and profit equally with the Catholics; they objected to the
forced observance of Catholic holidays, and they protested against
the injustice of forcing the Catholics, who wished to become
Protestants, to undergo six weeks' instruction from a priest,
while the Protestant was received into the Catholic church with-
out the slightest difficulty being thrown in his way.
* The exact amount of the present contribution is not known. The
mode of levying it has been completely changed ; a fixed sum is paid by
the peasant for his land per acre, and for his cattle, sheep, &c., so much
per head, without any relation to any stipulated agreement, so that the tax
goes on increasing in amount probably every year.
SUCCESS OF THE LIBERALS. 125
The Szeklers were discontented that one portion of their na-
tion were obliged both to serve in the army and to pay taxes;
and the Saxons — even the quiet, submissive Saxons — were not
without their griefs. Their municipal constitution had been
completely changed, and, instead of being governed by officers
freely elected by the people, they found themselves delivered over
to the tender mercies of a self-elected bureaucracy.
These and a host of minor abuses, which had crept into the
administration from the want of due popular control, formed the
subject-matter of the harangues of Wessel'Snyi and his friends,
and they were insisted on with a degree of courage and energy
which lent force to their acknowledged truth. The Liberals
carried the day at almost every meeting at which they presented
themselves; petitions and remonstrances, more loud and more
angry as delay exhausted the patience of the petitioners, crowded
the archives of the Chancery : petitions and remonstrances soon
grew into demands, and demands at last assumed the form of
threats. Baron Wesselenyi publicly announced his intention to
allow no soldiers to be levied on his estates till a Diet had been
granted. Not only individuals, but several counties followed
his example.
In the mean time Baron Josika, the Court-nominated gover-
nor, overlooking the legal and constitutional character of the
opposition, saw nothing but revolution in these demonstrations,
and he is said to have written the most exaggerated reports of
their danger to Vienna, and to have demanded a supply of troops
to repress them.
So violent a measure seems to have startled even the Court
itself, and, though troops were sent, they sent with them a com-
missioner, General Vlasits, with power to inquire into the state
of the country, and to apply the necessary remedies to the exist-
ing evils. On a certain day the county-meetings were assembled
in every part of Transylvania, and an edict of the Crown was
published, denouncing the decision of the former meetings, as il-
legal and null, and promising them a Diet and the reform of
abuses, on condition of their retracting the offensive resolutions.
Although several of the counties refused to adopt this sugges-
tion and stultify their former acts, General Vlasits reported the
country to be in perfect tranquillity, and the reports of the revo-
lution, which he had been sent down to quell, without a shadow
of foundation. The conduct of Vlasits though intrusted with
so delicate a mission, secured for him even the respect and esteem
126 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of those most strongly opposed to him ; but by the Court, his
efforts were not favourably regarded, and he was shortly after-
wards recalled.
The moment, however, was now come when it was thought
no longer safe to resist the popular wish. The Court knew full
well that Wesselenyi* was a man to keep his word, the counties
too were firm in supporting him, and, under such circumstances,
a collision, in which the nobles would appear as the protectors
of the peasantry, was to be avoided at any price. A Diet was
granted.
In 1 834, then , the Transy 1 vanian Diet was again called together,
after an interval of twenty-three years.
The election returns left no doubt as to the state of opinion in
the country, even if any could have been entertained before.
The members of both towns and counties were, with few excep-
tions, liberal. The Regalists, by office, as well as the Regalists
by royal appointment, were also strongly tinctured with the same
opinions; and, consequently, the governor, with his little band of
faithful officials, saw before him nothing but the melancholy pros-
pect of a certain defeat.
It is necessary that the Diet should be opened by a royal com-
missioner; and the person chosen for the purpose was the Arch-
duke Ferdinand d'Este, the brother of the Duke of Modena,
and a near relation of the Emperor. The influence which the
high rank of the commissioner might naturally be expected to
exercise on the nobility, was probably calculated upon as likely
to strengthen the Court party; but, unfortunately, the well-
known sentiments of the Arch-duke in favour of absolutism, and
the troops which soon followed his arrival gave his appearance
* A short time previous to this, when Wesselenyi was attending a levee
of the Emperor at Presburg, the sovereign, in making his round of the cir-
cle, stopped opposite our Transylvanian, already distinguished as a Liberal
leader, and, shaking his head very ominously, addressed him, " Take care,
Baron Wesselenyi, take care what you are about! recollect that many of
your family have been unfortunate!" — (His father was confined for seven
years in the Kuffstein.) " Unfortunate, your majesty, they have been,
but ever undeserving of their misfortunes also!" was Wesselenyi's bold
and honest answer. It is only those who know the habitual stiffness and
decorum of an Austrian court that can conceive the consternation into
which the whole crowd was thrown by this unexpected boldness. Ex-
planations were offered to Wesselenyi to soften down the harshness of the
royal reproof, in hopes of bringing him to beg pardon; but he could not
apologize for having defended the honour of his family, even when attacked
by his sovereign.
.,«,-,
OPPOSITION. 127
among them so much the air of an attempt to overpower and con-
trol the freedom of their discussions, that it only increased the
bitterness of feeling and party spirit by which the country was
divided.
Under such auspices the Diet opened.
The length of time that had elapsed since the last Diet had,
among other consequences, rendered doubtful many of the rights
and privileges of the chamber. At the very outset, the Govern-
ment disputed the right of the chamber to elect its own president,
while the chamber refused to admit the nominee of the Govern-
ment.
This was but the beginning of a series of angry disputes, in
which almost every constitutional question, in season or out of
season, was dragged into the discussions; for it was another evil
of the long recess, that it had disaccustomed the leading members
to those habits of parliamentary debate, and those forms of par-
liamentary business, on which the practical utility of a parlia-
ment so much depends. One of the most interesting of these
questions was, the publication of the debates, which the Arch-
duke positively forbade, but which Wesselenyi, by means of a
lithographic press, still found means of carrying on. Another,
perhaps, still more important question, was, the manner in which
the election of officers should take place, — whether each of the
twelve candidates should be chosen by an absolute majority or
not — the Liberals contending for the absolute majority, by which
alone they could exert some influence over the nomination of the
Crown. At this period of the affair, the Diet sent a deputation
of its members to wait upon the Emperor, to disabuse him of the
falsehoods with which they believed his ministers and their spies
had poisoned his ear against his faithful Transylvanians, and to
prove to him that their objects, so far from revolutionary, all
tended to the preservation only of their ancient rights and im-
munities.
In the mean time, evil passions had been called into play,
which rendered greater every day the separation between the
two parties. Personal animosity and private pique, ambitious
vanity and wounded dignity, all conspired in turns, to imbitter
the debates. The conduct of Wesselenyi himself was any thing
but conciliatory. With principles and views too far advanced,
probably, both for the Government he wished to control, and the
party he wished to lead, he grew only more uncompromising in
their support, the more sharply they were attacked. It was in
123 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
vain that Professor Szasz, that Count Bethlen Janos, and others
of the Liberal party, endeavoured to moderate the demands of
the ultras, or the mistrust and fears of the Absolutists. It was
in vain, the more cautious inveighed against the danger of play-
ing the lion's part with only the fox's strength ; Wesselenyi was
not a man to yield, where he believed himself right, and he steadi-
ly refused to sacrifice a single principle on the plea of expe-
diency.
The political fever was now spreading far and wide, and the
Arch-duke and the administration became so unpopular, that the
waverers, the men of no opinion, threw themselves into the ranks
of the opposition. The colleges, with all the enthusiasm of youth,
added their voices to Wesselenyi's demand for liberty and jus-
tice. From the mountains of the hardy Szeklers to the quiet vil-
lages of the cautious Saxons, the cry for reform of abuses grew
louder and louder. At such a moment, a bold hand, a compre-
hensive mind, and an honest heart would at once have grappled
with the difficulties, offered a frank reform of abuses, and gone
in advance even of the expectations of the people in correcting
acknowledged evils. In an instant the whole country would
have been at the foot of the throne. No one would have ven-
tured to oppose so fair a promise of good, and Transylvania would
have overlooked a thousand past faults in the anticipation of a
happy future.
Such, unfortunately, was not the course pursued. On the
24th of May, Wesselenyi had presented to the chamber his litho-
graphic press, had claimed for it the protection of the country,
and had seen it accepted with acclamations. A few hours later,
and a proclamation from the Emperor had dissolved the Diet,
suspended the constitution, and nominated the Arch-duke absolute
governor of the country !
A denouement so sudden and so unexpected, produced the most
extraordinary sensation. Angry words were exchanged between
the parties, and in the excitement of the moment, a sabre is said
to have started from its scabbard; but, fortunately, the leaders
restrained these ebullitions of feeling, and the chamber sepa-
rated in perfect quiet. What was their surprise on leaving the
hall, to find the streets lined with troops, and every thing bearing
the aspect of a military demonstration!
Intimidation was probably the object aimed at, for I will not
for a moment suspect the Government of having wished to pro-
voke a movement that they might thus dispose the more easily
OFFICERS RESIGN. 129
of their antagonists; the loyal and honourable character of the
Arch-duke forbids such a suspicion, even should that of some of
his counsellors provoke it. Intimidation was probably the sole
object, but never was a purpose more signally defeated.
It was immediately determined, that without any appeal to
arms, the strongest moral opposition should be offered to this act
of constitutional violence. With one or two exceptions only, every
man of character holding office under the Crown — Lords-Lieu-
tenant of counties, Privy Councillors, Secretaries of State — at
once threw up their appointments, declaring that they could no
longer act with a Government that seemed to set all law and
justice at defiance.* This was an unexpected blow; the Court
party had reckoned on the love of place being stronger than the
love of principle — a few years previously it would have been so
— and its disappointed rage seemed uncontrollable. Actions at
law were commenced against the leaders of the Liberals before
judges certain to condemn them; injury and insult were heaped
upon every member of the party, and their security and repose
were placed entirely at the disposal of inveterate, and often un-
principled, enemies.
These events took place in the spring of 1834 ; and, in the
autumn of 1835, every thing remained as it was placed in the
first moments of distrust and violence.
An extraordinary number of troops were still collected in and
about Klausenburg, and were even quartered in the houses of
the nobles. The Archduke Ferdinand remained apparently in
military occupation of the country, for he had no position of
authority recognised by the constitution. All the vacant places
were filled up illegally, for no Diet had been summoned to give
its list of candidates. With a few exceptions, the officers ap-
pointed were chosen from among the least respected persons in
the country. The few men of honour among them declared
publicly that they were ashamed of their associates; and, worst
of all, even the municipal constitution had been suspended, and
consequently, all the magistrates, though fairly elected, had held
their offices beyond the proper period, and all their acts were
therefore illegal.
* Among these, the principal were, Privy Councillors, Baron Kemeny
Ferenz, and Szek Daniel; Lords-Lieutenant, Count Degenfeld, Baron
Banffy Laszlo, Baron Banffy Adam, and Ugronlstvan; Secretaries. Count
Hethlen Imre, Ugron — and some others, besides a great, number of inferior
officers.
130 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
During the whole of this time the greatest tranquillity prevailed,
— a tranquillity which confounded the advocates of absolutism
ten times more than would the most violent revolt. Incapable
of understanding the confidence which freemen feel in the justice
and righteousness of their cause, they cannot estimate, and there-
fore cannot oppose the moral courage which suffers in the full
conviction that its suffering will eventually work out a remedy
for the evil.
In such a state was the political horizon of Transylvania when
we reached -Klausenburg,
SOLITARY INN. 131
CHAPTER VIII.
NORTH OF TRANSYLVANIA.
Transylvania Roads. — A Solitary Inn. — Drag. — Zsibo. — Horse-breeding-.
• — Old Transylvanian Breed. — Count BanfTy's Stud. — English Breed. —
Baron Wesselenyi's Stud. — A Cross. — Babolna Arabs. — Interesting-
Experiment. — Rakotzy. — Robot. — Ride to Hadad. — The Vintage. —
Transylvanian Wines. — Oak Woods. — Scotch Farmer. — A Reformer's
Trials. — State of the Peasantry. — Urbarium. — Stewards. — Establish-
ments of the Nobles. — Social Anomalies. — Old Fashions. — The Dinner.
— Drive to Nagy Banya — Gipsies. — Gold Mines. — Private Specula-
tions.— Return.
BEFORE the winter set in, there was yet a promise of a week
or two of fine weather; and we were recommended to avail our-
selves of it, to visit some interesting objects in the north of the
country.
I believe my duty, as an honest chronicler of my travels, would
be to give the reader at least two pages of tirade against the bad
roads of Transylvania ; for if I do not how can I convey to him
an impression of the misery we suffered while we were dragged
over or rather through them? But lest he should grow as tired
of hearing of them as we did of travelling on them, I will spare
him the infliction, and content myself with saying that we now
occupied three days in accomplishing what one day suffices for
in summer.
Our first halt was at a lone country inn — a sort of caravansary
in the desert — for I do not recollect that we had seen a house
for two hours before we reached it. About an acre of ground,
forming the yard, was enclosed with a strong fence, and held the
dwelling-house, the wagon-shed, some stables, and a well. A
more solitary spot I have rarely seen ; the hills all round were
covered with a scanty pasture, the road was only a muddy track,
and there were no signs of cultivation or habitation within a cir-
cuit of many miles.
At Drag, which we did not reach till some time after nightfall,
we were hospitably entertained by the Seigneur of the place; for
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
we were now obliged to have recourse to our letters of introduction
here, the inns being really too bad. We were shown at Drag a
large Roman statue of Jupiter, without the head, which had been
discovered some miles off in the bed of a brook. It was of a
rather coarse white marble, probably obtained in the country,
and of indifferent workmanship.
One object of the route we had chosen in this excursion, was
to enable us to visit Zsibo, the seat of Baron Wesselenyi Miklos;
and we arrived there on the second evening.
We did not expect to see the Baron himself at Zsibo, for we
knew that he was an unwilling absentee. Immediately after the
stormy conclusion of the Diet, which we have related in the
last chapter, Baron Wesselenyi had hastened into Hungary,
where, as we have already seen, he was actively employed in
serving his country, while, in the mean time his enemies com-
menced an action against him in Transylvania, for printing the
Journal, and other less important charges. Attacked by a se-
vere illness at Presburg, Wesselenyi was unable to answer the
summons of the Court to appear, and, in spite of the certificates
of his physicians, he was condemned for contumacy and a warrant
of arrest issued against him, should he return to Transylvania.
Though he still remains free, the chief object was gained, that
of driving him from the scene of his greatest influence ; for, from
that day, he has never been able to return to the country. His
establishment, however, was still kept up as before, and his stew-
ard was there to show us over it.
Besides other branches of industry, Baron Wesselenyi has par-
ticularly devoted his attention to the breed of horses. If horse-
breeding is a matter of interest to the Hungarian gentry, it is al-
most a passion among those of Transylvania. I think Bethlen,
in his " Ansichten von Siebenburgen," published at the beginning
of this century, gives the names of no less than sixty celebrated
studs in this small territory. The original, or rather the oldest
breed of Transylvania, is probably that still found in the moun-
tains of the Szekler Land, a small wiry horse, capable of endu-
ring great fatigue, and easily fed, but deficient in size, power and
speed. These horses bear, in many respects, a great resemblance
to our Welsh ponies. During the long occupation of the country
by the Turks, a considerable intermixture of Arab blood took
place, which, though it may have added something to the Tran-
sylvanian horse's speed and beauty, seems to have detracted from
his strength and hardihood.
133
Among a host of other evils, which the connexion between
Spain and Austria brought on Hungary and Transylvania, one
of the most permanent, if not the most serious, was the deteriora-
tion of the breed of horses. The Spanish horse, with conside-
rable beauty, — at least to the unskilled eye, — with extraordinary
docility and a most pompous bearing, is, nevertheless, the very
worst horse in Europe. The fashion of the court, however, of
course decided the fashion of the country, and till the present
century the Spanish was the most esteemed blood. In fact, it
was not ill-adapted to the wants of those times. When to be
slow was to be dignified, when all grace centred in a minuet,
and beauty took refuge in powder and hoops, it was but right
that pomp should have its prancing steeds, which could curvet
a whole hour without advancing a mile; but in these waltzing,
steaming, matter-of-fact days, nothing Jess than our full bloods
can keep pace with modern restlessness, and they have accord-
ingly been introduced into Transylvania, as well as into most
other parts of Europe.
There are still, however, some old-fashioned people who are
content to move on as their forefathers did, — the Court and its
party, more especially the bishops, are said to monopolize this
privilege in Hungary. To supply this taste some of the old studs
are still maintained. The most perfect is that of Count Banffy,
at Bonczida, where every thing corresponds so well with the
historical character of its horses, that I cannot forbear a descrip-
tion of it. The whole of one side of the court-yard of the castle
is occupied by a superb stable, ornamented with sculpture, and
entered by folding-doors. The stable is composed of one vaulted
hall, with stalls on either side, and a wide walk down the centre,
the floor being boarded with oak. As we entered, the Stall-
meister, in long jack-boots, and armed with a coach-whip, re-
ceived us in due form, and ushered us into the presence of nearly
a hundred horses, all with their heads turned towards us, orna-
mented with ribbons, and attended by grooms in full livery, with
bouquets in their hats. After walking up and down this mag-
nificent avenue, listening to pedigrees, and admiring the beauty
of the gallant steeds, we retired again to the court-yard to see
them brought out. Two horses at a time were led to the door
in long braided reins, and, on a given signal from the Stall-meis-
ter's whip, off they started, curvetting, neighing, and galloping,
till they had made the tour of the court, when, at another signal,
they came to a dead stand, at a certain spot where they remained
VOL. II. 12
134 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
as quiet as lambs, to be handled and examined from head to foot.
It was impossible to. see these horses, as they proudly stretched
themselves out as if to show their points to the greatest advan-
tage, and deny that they had much beauty about them : as for
their capability to endure fatigue, I cannot speak, but I fancy
they are rarely exposed to such a trial. What is not least im-
portant, these horses are said to find a ready sale. A hundred
pounds for a pair, as carriage horses, is considered a high price,
even for the best of them.
Baron Wesselenyi was the first who undertook to reform these
matters, and though he began it with only a very few English
mares and one horse, — Cato, — his ordinary stock stud now amounts
to about two hundred. We went first of all into the paddock,
where we found a promising herd of young things of different
ages, from two to five, in excellent condition, and carefully tend-
ed by keepers, like sheep by their shepherds. Those which
most interested us, were a cross between the English full blood
and the small Szekler mare, and an excellent hackney it seems
to have produced. The mares were mostly powerful animals,
admirably chosen for breeding speed and strength.
On returning to the stables, we found thirty or forty horses
up, and in condition for sale or work. There were some of them
which left nothing to desire. I remember particularly one, a
four years' colt, already nearly sixteen hands high, which looked
as much like a hunter, as ever I saw a horse. Baron Wesselenyi
is considered to sell his horses dear. The prices vary from
about 40/. for the half-bred Szeklers, to 2501. for thorough-bred
entire horses. The four years' old gelding, just alluded to, was
estimated at 80/. As soon as English horses become a little
more common in this part of the world, I have no doubt that the
best of them will be re-exported to England, the price of breed-
ing and rearing being so much less here, and the demand for
first-rate horses so far beyond the supply with us. The expense
of keeping a horse in condition in this country, for twelve
months, I have heard estimated at 10/.
There are now probably not less than twenty studs in Tran-
sylvania, with a greater or less infusion of English blood. It
is amusing enough to find, that there is a strong connexion be-
tween breeds of horses and opinions in politics here. A young
Liberal, the first thing on coming to his fortune, clears his fa-
ther's stables of the old stock, and recruits anew from Zsibo ;
while the Absolutists adhere religiously to the pompous useless
ARAB BREED. 135
steeds of their predecessors. So far does it go, that a man's po-
litics are known by the cut, of his horse's tail. As Baron H-
overtook a party of Liberals, returning one dark night from a
county-meeting, he was hailed as a friend; for though they said
they could not see his face, they knew by his horse's dock that
lie was of the right sort.
Before I take leave of the horses, I must say a few words
here of the Government studs in Hungary, of which Marshal
Marmont has given so particular an account. Babolna, though
not so large as Mezo Hegyes, was particularly interesting at the
time I visited it, from a new importation of Arabs which had
just taken place. Babolna is a complete military establishment,
under the direction of a major of dragoons, aided by a certain
number of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates. They
farm a large estate of more than seven thousand acres, from which
they draw their supplies of corn, straw, and hay. The most in-
teresting object to us was the Arab stud, which the major had
himself just brought from the interior of Arabia. There were
fourteen mares, and nearly as many horses. It is impossible for
language to convey an idea of the beauty of some of these crea-
tures. They are small, rarely exceeding fourteen hands; but
their strength and symmetry are perfect. There was one little
mare, a bright bay, which caught my eye, and so completely
fascinated me, that I could scarcely look at any of the others
after. Such depth of shoulder, such bony fore-legs, such loins,
and such quarters and hocks, it was nevej* my fortune to see in
so small a compass, or in such perfect proportion, before. The
major was evidently pleased at my choice, for the bay mare was
his favourite also : the more so, perhaps, from the difficulty he
had found in getting possession of her. He had heard of her re-
putation long before he reached the tribe to which she belonged;
for, after a defeat, she had borne her master across the sandy
wastes without a halt, an incredible distance, and actually arrived
at the encampment of the tribe, six hours before any of the
others who had commenced their flight at the same time. To
induce an Arab to part with such a treasure was no easy matter;
and long were the negotiations and high the bribes which ena-
bled the major to secure this gem of the desert for his imperial
master.
In one part of the establishment, we were shown the summer
day-rooms for the breeding stud, immense places, where some
hundreds of mares and foals are turned in together, the floors
136 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
being covered with straw above the horses' knees to protect
their feet, and the walls lined with marble troughs, in which
they receive their food. Notwithstanding the number let loose
together, it is very rarely any accident happens; indeed, from
the constant presence of man with them, nothing can exceed the
quietness of these creatures. We went among whole herds of
them, and touched them without the least danger. The tenders
always carry bread with them, and give a bit to the horse as a
reward for good behaviour; and they consequently follow one
about, poking their noses into one's hands and pockets with the
docility of dogs. I was surprised to hear, that in these large
buildings every horse knows his place, though it is quite undi-
vided, and is as tenacious of it as an old bachelor of his chimney
corner.
A most interesting experiment is at present under trial at Ba-
bolna. Major Herbert is of opinion, that the size and strength
of a horse does not depend on the race, but on the nourishment
of the individual animal. In consequence of this opinion, and
taking the Arab as the most perfect model of a horse for form
and symmetry, he is desirous to confine his stud stock to the
Arab blood, and trusts to his system of feeding for supplying the
deficiency of size. When, I saw Babolna, he had specimens of
four and five. years' old horses raised on this system; and there
was certainly a considerable change in their size, compared with
that of their sires. When this experiment commenced, however,
he had no Arab dams .in the stud, and the proof was therefore
incomplete, for the mixed German and Spanish race, to which
the old mares belonged, though faulty enough in other particu-
lars, is not very small. Some of the double crosses — where the
sire, for two generations, was a small Arab — were nearly fifteen
hands, and, in other respects, good in form, and leaning much to
the Arab in appearance. The system of feeding is nearly the
same as that pursued with our racing stock, — to let them nibble
pats as soon as they can; and for the first three or four years,
instead of starving them on a bad pasture, to give them the best
of every thing.
That the experiment will succeed to a certain extent, is, I think,
evident, both from what I saw, and from the history of improve-
ments introduced into the breeds of other animals, which have been
generally produced by judicious selection and high feeding; but
whether the expanded Arab will retain the same symmetry of
form, the same relative proportion of bone and body, and, above
ZSIBO. 137
all, the same hardihood and endurance which distinguish the de-
sert stock, appears very doubtful. The question is — can the
qualities of the English hunter be fed into the Arab form? No-
where can the experiment be so perfectly and satisfactorily set-
tled as in one of these institutions, for the amount of food is
fixed and weighed, the number on which the experiment is tried
renders it independent of exceptions, and, above all, the charac-
ter and interests of the gentlemen by whom it is conducted, place
them above all suspicion of false play. For the present, how-
ever, it must be considered under trial. No English sportsman
should pass through Hungary without visiting Babolna. The
politeness with which Major Herbert showed us the whole esta-
blishment, though we presented ourselves entirely as strangers,
and without introduction, requires our special thanks. The des-
tination of the horses raised in the royal stud, is, to improve the
breed in the districts of the Austrian empire, among which they
are distributed. If any remain above the number required for
this purpose, they are sold to officers for chargers, or even sent
to the remount of the regiments.
But to return to Zsibo. Zsibo is one of the very few houses
I have yet seen in this part of the world which is really well si-
tuated. It occupies a large platform, at a considerable height
above the village, and is backed by still higher hills, and sur-
rounded by woods which shelter it from the north. Below it
extends on either side, the valley of the Szamos, and opposite
a conical mountain rears its head, the scene of one of the most
interesting events in Transylvanian history. It was on this
mountain that Franz Rakotzy II. the last native prince of Tran-
sylvania, took his stand, and witnessed the final defeat of his
forces by the troops of Austria.
Weak and vacillating as Rakotzy was, it is impossible to read
his adventurous history without interest, or to reflect on his fall,
when deserted by his former friends and adherents, without pity.
" Pro patria et libertate" was a noble inscription to place upon
his coinage — but it was sad to think that the coin itself was
base: religious freedom was an object well worth contending for,
— but it was difficult for one brought up a Jesuit to maintain it
consistently ; mildness and justice were good qualities in a ruler,
— but weakness and indecision were destructive to the general.
After years of civil war, in which Rakotzy sometimes seemed
on the point of ascending the throne of Hungary, sometimes was
-r-'T
138 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
threatened with annihilation by the quarrels amongst his own
friends, he at last ended his troubled life a fugitive in Turkey.
As we were passing from one part of the establishment of
Zsibo to another, we crossed a beautiful wood on the banks of
the river, which is fenced in on all sides to protect the pheasants,
with which it literally swarms, from the wolves and foxes. The
proud birds were crowing from their perches on every side of us.
The pheasant is yet a stranger in Hungary, and can only be
kept in woods appropriated to the purpose of rearing them,
where they are carefully fed, and in winter driven under cover,
and shut up till the next spring.
On our return by the farm-yard, we observed a very merry
group of children and women occupied — if such lazy wTork can
be called occupation — in pulling off the outer skins of the maize.
A man stood over them to direct them and to enforce their
attention — but what can one man do against the mischief and
fun of fifty women and children ? I was very much surprised
to hear that these merry workers were sent as substitutes for
husbands and fathers in the performances of a day's Robot. If
a landlord gets but one hundred days' work such as this, for a
year's rent for a farm of thirty acres, it is not very highly paid.
I am sure ten of ours would be of more worth. The steward
seemed to think this, however, but a very slight misfortune
compared with others his master had to suffer : " Probably," he
observed, " before the winter is over, these people will have
eaten all this corn which they are now so lazily dressing. The
harvest has been a scarce one here, and when that is the case,
the peasants come on their landlords for support, as if they had
a right to it. It has frequently happened that the Baron has
not been able to sell one grain of corn for a whole season, every
particle of it having been required to keep his own tenantry
alive, and sometimes he has been obliged to buy more in addi-
tion." This is a pretty good answer to the stupid accusation of
ill-treating his peasantry, which had been raised against Baron
Wesselcnyi; an answer unneeded, however, for their prosperous
and happy state, superior to almost any in the country, and their
devoted affection to their master, rendered the accusation itself
perfectly ridiculous. One of these very peasants walked all the
way from Zsibo to Vienna, to present a petition to the emperor
from some hundred of his fellows, that their lord and benefactor
might be restored to them,
We had spent so much time, that the day was well nigh past
HADAD. 139
ere we had finished our drive round Zsibo, and we had still a
considerable journey before us. The steward, however, had sent
the carriage forward early in the morning, and now offered us
some of the half-bred Szeklers, that we might try if their deeds
deserved the praises we had bestowed on their appearance. We
got over to Hadad, our next station, in little more than two
hours, through a woody and hilly country, often presenting
views of the most perfect park-like scenery it is possible to
fancy. What is the exact distance I know not, but we cer-
tainly put our little horses on their mettle, and arrived conside-
rably before the carriage which had started in the morning.
One of them, a small mare, with two crosses of English blood,
was the most extraordinary trotter, of her height, I ever saw.
She was sold soon after for about 60/. There never was a
country more beautifully laid out for riding over than Transyl-
vania; without high mountains or hard roads, it is just suffi-
ciently hilly to vary the surface, and twenty or thirty miles of
uninterrupted springy turf, glorious for galloping, is no great
rarity. The advantage, too, is as great as the pleasure. From
Hadad to Klausenburg, which takes always three days in win-
ter for a carriage, has been ridden, by means of relays of horses,
in less than six hours !
We arrived at Hadad at a fortunate moment; they had just
begun the vintage, and our host, the young Baron W F ,
who was a considerable wine-grower, invited us the next day
to see his vineyards. The vintage is always a merry scene in
every country, apparently rather from the associations connected
with its produce, than from any thing peculiar in the labour
itself; unless, indeed, we allow that the beauties of nature, in
which the season of the vintage is so rich, has its effect even on
the coarse nature of the peasant. I believe that such is the case,
and moreover, that many an uncultivated soul which lacks
words in which to clothe its feelings, is far more capable of ap-
preciating the glories of God's works than the whole race of
maudlin town-bred poets, who prate so loudly of them.
After about an hour's gallop across some rich green meadows,
in which the beautiful Baroness W accompanied us, — for
the ladies of Transylvania almost rival our own as horse-women,
— we arrived at the vineyard, situated on the slope of a small
hill. There were about one hundred peasants employed in pick-
ing and carrying large baskets of the bright grapes to a small
pressing-house near by. Beautiful groups they formed as we
140 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
caught sight of them every now and then, half hid among the
tall vines: there were young and old, men and women — the vil-
lage seemed to have sent out all its forces for the joyous occa-
sion, and in dresses so picturesque, too, that the artist's fancy
could have desired no happier union of colour, form or expression.
Leaving the Baroness in conversation with some of the old
peasant women, the Baron beckoned us away, and led us alone
to see the pressing process. I could not understand this mystery,
but, like a wise man, held my tongue, and submitted, — and it
was well I did. In a number of large tubs we found a set of
almost naked men dancing barefooted, with all their force, to
the music of the bagpipes, on the heaps of fruit which the car-
riers were throwing into them. I did not wonder we were
led to this place alone, for except in some of the Silenic proces-
sions of Poussin, I never saw so extraordinary a scene. And it
is in this manner the whole wine of this country is prepared !
The Transylvanians, who are singularly delicate as to the clean-
liness of their food, declare that every possible impurity is driven
off in the fermentation the wine goes through after, and I was
not sufficiently cruel to undeceive them. The great object of
all this dancing seems to be to break the grapes, for they are
afterwards subjected to the press. I need not say that a thou-
sand simple mechanical contrivances might be substituted for this
nasty process. It is reckoned that one man can dance about
two hours, when his feet become so cold that he is forced to
yield his place to another. In cold weather, hot wine is often
poured over their legs to enable them to hold out longer, and
spirits are allowed almost ad libitum. But the greatest support
of the wine-presser is the bagpipe or fiddle, without which he
could not continue his dancing half an hour. During the whole
time, he dances the regular national step, and accompanies it
with a song, which ^improvises as he goes on. The usual
termination of the vintage is a supper and a dance for the whole
village.
Transylvania is a country which will probably one day assume
a high rank as a wine-growing district. It is almost entirely
laid out in small hills, it is well watered, a great many of its
strata are of volcanic origin, and the land itself is rather poor;
all circumstances which, united to its geographical position, fit
it for the purposes of the wine-grower. Although, even at the
present time, no less than one-ninth of the whole population is
said to live by the cultivation of the vine, nothing can be more
TRANSYLVANIAN WINES. 141
careless than the actual method of wine-making. All kinds of
grapes are mixed indiscriminately; no care is taken to separate
the over-ripe and those yet green from the others; and the pro-
cess of pressing is, as I have described it, dirty and careless.
The cultivation of the vine is equally neglected or ill-understood.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, however, there are already
some score different kinds of wine which enjoy a well deserved
reputation. Their reputation, however, is only provincial, for
so little is this country known, that its wines are scarcely heard
of, even among the Hungarians. They are mostly white wines,
and are remarkable for their bouquet and flavour, as well as for
considerable body. They are perhaps less strong than the gene-
rality of the Hungarian, but they are also less acid and thin than
some of the finer white wines of that country. It is very cha-
racteristic of the state of commerce here, that there is not a sin-
gle wine-merchant in the country, and when at Klausenburg,
we found it difficult to get even a tolerable wine to drink.
Every gentleman, nay, every respectable tradesman, grows his
own wine, and he would rather send a hundred miles off for it,
than give hard cash to buy it of another on the spot.
Some of the most celebrated wines of Transylvania, and those
which it would be most worth the foreigner's while to inquire
after, are those of the Szil£gys%, the Kokel, and Maros. The
wines of the Szilagysag are celebrated for their strength and
durability. They are chiefly white wines, of a pleasant flavour,
full-bodied, and when new, are very heady. The highest price,
in an ordinary year, of the better sorts, is about two shillings
per eimer, (sixteen bottles.) The best are those of Tasnad and
Szordemeter. In the valley of the Maros, the wines of Rozsa-
mal, Malom-Falva, Czelna, Gureszada, Macsa, Oklos, and
Babolna, are most sought after; and again, in the valley of the
Kokel, or Kukiillo, those of Dombo and Bocacs. The Kokel
wines are less strong than those of the Szilagysdg and Maros,
but perhaps more wholesome, and equally well flavoured.
Baron W , when in France, had engaged a French
vigneron to come and stay with him some years, in order to
try if he could make champagne from the grapes of Transylvania.
We had frequent opportunities of tasting the wine he produced,
and though it was much too strong and heavy for champagne,
it was sparkling and pleasant, far better than the stuff' we had
often drunk under that name in other countries.
On our return, we visited a small farm of about three him-
142 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
dred acres, which our host had laid out a year or two before, on
the system of rotation crops, and which was under the manage-
ment of a clever Scotch bailiff. We found the Scotchman, a
giant specimen of his countrymen, hard at plough, grumbling, of
course, as we all do, when abroad, at every thing foreign, from
the very soil to the people it nourishes. He was very proud,
however, to show us his barns, his stacks, his fat oxen, and his
huge potatoes, one of which filled a large dish of itself; but he
inveighed most bitterly against the laziness of the poor peasants.
He already spoke a jumble of various languages, by means of
which, and his heavy fists, he managed to make himself under-
stood by Magyars, Wallacks, and Germans, with all of whom
he had to do. A short time previously, he had made rather too
free a use of this latter organ ; for, on some of the peasants
attacking one of the Baron's officers, to get at the wine he was
distributing to them, the Scotchman rushed in and made such
good use of his strength, that some of them were laid up for
months after. I could easily believe, when I saw him, that a
blow from his arm was quite sufficient to annihilate a poor, half-
starved Wallack peasant.
Though the quantity of labour required by the Scotchman,
and the expensive processes by which he cultivated, rendered it
doubtful how far his farming would be profitable in the end, the
Baron confessed that the amount of produce was enormous, and
that he received as much hay and corn from these three hundred
acres, as he had formerly received from the fourteen thousand,
of which his estate consists. Many of the oak woods through
which we passed, were, he said, almost useless. They furnished
firewood, gall-nuts, acorns for the pigs, and as many casks as he
required for his wine, but of net revenue he derived scarcely any
thing from them.
About two thousand Merino sheep, which he had just pur-
chased, as a commencement of a flock, promised something better.
Beyond the first cost, the expense of shepherds, and the gather-
ing of winter keep, he might reckon what they brought in as
clear profit, for the land they grazed on was of no other value to
him. Should a corn trade ever open with England the case will
alter, but at present the low price of wheat, and frequently the
impossibility of disposing of it, renders .its cultivation a hazard
and often a loss. With but little increase of expense, the Baron
reckoned he could graze ten thousand sheep, to which number
he hoped shortly to increase his flock.
A REFORMER'S MISERIES. 143
As we approached the village, the Baron led the way over
some pretty good fences, to show us a field of clover, of which
the second crop was just cut. This had been one of his earliest
agricultural improvements, for in spite of the quantity of land he
possesses, he was formerly often in absolute want of hay and
straw for his own horses in winter. On many Transylvanian
gentlemen's farms, it is no uncommon thing to hear of horses and
cattle dying of starvation, if the winter is severe or a few weeks
longer than usual. This crop of clover had been looked upon,
therefore, as a treasure, and conceive his disappointment to hear
one morning, just as the first cutting was ready for the scythe,
that the peasants had broken down the fences, turned all the
cattle of the village into the field, and completely destroyed the
whole crop. The starved cows devoured this novel luxury so
greedily that they almost all died in consequence. Vexed as our
friend was at this piece of malice, he was even more astonished
the next day to hear that no less than thirty of these same
peasants had commenced suits against him for having planted
poisonous herbs to kill their cattle ! Ignorance is a sad enemy
to improvement.
Baron W assured us this was only one of a series of ma-
licious injuries which he had brought on himself by his attempts
to improve the state of his own property, and the condition of
his peasantry. "I have diminished the time of their labour," he
observed; "I have lessened the amount of their payments; I
have forbidden my steward and others to have any peasant pu-
nished without a trial before the magistrates of the district, and
instead of gratitude, I meet with nothing but injury from them ;
they look at all these attempts as so many signs of folly and
weakness on my part."
On further inquiry we found the peasants of Transylvania in
a far worse condition, and much more ignorant than those of
Hungary. When Maria Theresa forced the Urbarium on the
nobles of Hungary, she published certain Regulations Punkte,
founded on nearly the same principles, for the government of the
peasants of Transylvania. Whether it was that these Punkte
were not adapted to the state of the country, or whether its
greater distance from the central power allowed the nobles to
evade their* adoption, it is certain they never obtained the same
force as the Urbarium, nor have any succeeding attempts to im-
prove their condition met with a better result. The Transyl-
vanians say they are ready and anxious to do every thing that is
144 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
right and just, provided only it is done in a constitutional form,
through the intervention of the Diet.* In the mean time the state
of the peasantry is a crying evil, and one which, if not speedily
remedied by the nobles, will be remedied without their consent,
either by the Government or by the people themselves ; and I
fear the sympathy of Europe will scarcely be in favour of those
who oppose such a measure of justice.
The frightful scenes which took place under the leadership of
Hora and Kloska, two Wallacks, who in 1784, raised the pea-
sants of Transylvania in revolt, are still fresh in the memory of
the Transylvanians, and may serve as a warning of what an in-
jured people are capable, when expectations of redress are held
out to them, and then disappointed. It is said that Joseph ac-
tually promoted the insurrection of Hora and Kloska, and it is
certain that military aid was not sent to repress it so quickly as
it might have been; but I do not believe the accusation of inten-
tional excitement. Independently of the improbability that one,
whose chief fault was too much openness and honesty, should
resort to such base means, I think the mere belief that the
Government was favourable to their claims, and the nobles op-
posed to them, when aided by the false representations of de-
signing leaders, would be quite sufficient to cause such events
among such a population at any time. During the late popular
movement it has been the policy of the opposition to attach the
peasantry to their party by any means in their power, and I feel
certain that as hopes of amendment have been raised,! it is now
the interest and the duty of the opposition to see that these
hopes are not deceived, be the sacrifice on their part what it
may.
Among the greatest evils of which the Transylvanian peasant
* The Diet of 1837 nominated a commission to prepare an Urbarium
for Transylvania, but I cannot yet (1839) hear that any thing has been
done.
f I have since heard that on the publication of the Hungarian Urbarium,
the peasants, in every village of Transylvania, sent deputies to purchase
copies of it for themselves, and paid the priests to translate and explain
it, and that there is not a village in Transylvania now without a copy of
this act. 1 have been surprised to hear a member of the Liberal party talk
of this as a conspiracy, and declare that the peasants ought to be punished
for it! Such, I am sure, are not the opinions of the leaders of that party ;
if they were, 1 should be one of the first to say it was high time that the
Government interfered to check a liberty which manifested itself only in
enslaving others.
DIVISION OF PROPERTY. 145
has to complain, is the absence of any strict and well-defined
code of laws to which he can refer, and, in consequence of that
deficiency, his almost entire subjection to the arbitrary will of
his master, against which he has nothing but custom to urge in
defence. The peasant-land too, has never been classed here as
in Hungary, according to its powers of production, nor has the
size of the peasant's portion, or fief, been ever accurately deter-
mined. The amount of labour, therefore, cannot be fairly and
legally proportioned to the quantity and value of the land. Nor
is the* amount of labour itself better regulated. In some parts of
the country it is common to require two days a week ; in others,
and more generally, three are demanded ; and in some the land-
lord takes as much as he can possibly extract out of the half-
starved creatures who live under him. Here, too, the flogging-
block is in full vigour; every landlord can order any of his tenants
or servants, who may displease him, twenty-five lashes on the
spot, and it is generally the first resource which occurs to him in
any dispute about labour or dues. But it is in the hands of the
underlings, the stewards, bailiffs, inspectors, — a flock of hawks
which infest every Hungarian estate, — that this power becomes
a real scourge to the poor peasant. It is the custom to pay
these officers an exceedingly small sum in ready money, as a
salary, so small indeed that it would be impossible for them to
live decently upon it; it is consequently obliged to be made up
by the addition of some land, or by the permission to feed a cer-
tain number of cattle, or horses, or to sell a certain quantity of
corn on their own account. Now, to cultivate this land, or to
carry this corn to market, labour is required, and this they gene-
rally manage to get out of the peasantry without payment, either
by threats or punishment for slight or imaginary offences, or by
applying for themselves what ought to be given to their masters.
Generally both these means are used,— the master is robbed, and
the peasant ill-treated.
From the manner in which estates are commonly divided in
Transylvania, it is nearly impossible for the landlords to escape
from the clutches of these bailiffs. Every son has an equal
share in the male estates, and every child in the female estates
of a family. This equality of right in each individual estate, is
often the cause of great inconvenience, for the same person might
have a few acres only in twenty different villages, when the ex-
pense and difficulty of management would exceed the revenue.
Of course, the most natural remedy is an equitable division
VOL. II. 13
146 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
among the members of the family themselves; and, where this
can be effected, it is well; but, where it cannot, their only re-
medy is cultivating in common and dividing the profits. In such
cases almost the entire management rests in the hands of the
stewards, and this complication, together with the endless law-
suits to which it gives rise, is one of the greatest evils to which
both the landlord and peasant of Transylvania are subject.
The ignorance of the Transylvanian peasant is of the deepest
dye. He is generally superstitious and deceitful, the two great-
est signs of ignorance. These qualities are most conspicuous in
the Wallack peasantry, but the Magyars are by no means free
from them. Schools are extremely rare. It is only here and
there that they have been established by the good sense and libe-
rality of the Seigneur, and even then they have often failed for
want of a little caution and perseverance in those who have
conducted them. The peasants belonging to the Greek church
are undoubtedly the most ignorant, those of the Unitarian and
Lutheran churches, the best educated.
We entered some of the Magyars' cottages at Hadad, and
though they were superior to the Wallack huts of Varhely, they
were still very inferior to those we had visited in Hungary. It
is rare that the Transylvanian peasant's cottage has more than
two rooms, sometimes only one; his furniture is scanty and rude,
his crockery coarse, and those little luxuries, which in the Hun-
garian denoted a something beyond the needful, are rarely seen
in Transylvania. There is an air of negligence, too, about his
house; his fence is broken, his stable out of repair, and every
where there is a want of that thrifty look which declares that a
man thinks he has something worth taking care of, and hopes to
make it better.
The peasants of the Szilagysag have not the best of charac-
ters. Though allowed to be fine, brave, independent fellows,
they are reckoned among the most desperate rogues in the coun-
try. No Szilagysag man thinks it a disgrace to have been
flogged, but, to have shrunk under a flogging.
The life of a country gentleman in Transylvania, though
somewhat isolated by his distance from any large capital, and by
the badness of the roads, is by no means without its pleasures.
For the sportsman, a large stud of horses— few men have less
than from ten to twenty, — every variety of game, from the boar
and wolf, to the snipe and partridge, and a boundless range for
hunting over, are valuable aids for passing time. If a man likes
THE GOOD OLD TIMES. 147
public business, the county will readily choose him Vice Isp-in,
or magistrate, and the quarterly county-meetings are a constant
source of interest, and afford ample opportunity of exercising in-
fluence. If agriculture has any charms, some thousands of un-
tilled acres offer abundant scope for farming, and promise a rich
return for capital. If philanthropy has claims on his heart, the
peasantry, who look up to him for almost every thing, afford a
fine scope for its effusions, and a certain reward if judiciously
and continuously exercised.
The houses of the richer nobles are large and roomy, and
their establishments are conducted on a scale of some splendour.
It is true, that they are deficient in many things which \ve should
consider absolute necessaries, but on the other hand they exhibit
many luxaries which we should consider extravagant with twice
their incomes. It is no uncommon thing, for instance, in a one-
storied house, with a thatched roof and an uncarpeted floor, to
be shown into a bed-room, where all the washing apparatus and
toilet is of solid silver. It is an every-day occurrence in a house,
where tea and sugar are considered expensive luxuries, to sit
down to a dinner of six or eight courses. Bare whitewashed
walls and rich Vienna furniture; a lady decked in jewels which
might dazzle a Court, and a handmaid without shoes and stock-
ings; a carriage and four splendid horses, with a coachman
whose skin peeps out between his waistcoat and inexpressibles,
are some of the anomalies which, thanks to restrictions on com-
merce, absence of communication, and a highly artificial civiliza-
tion in one part of the community, and great barbarism in the
other, are still to be found in Transylvania. It is not, however,
in such houses as the one in which we were visiting, that such
anomalies are to be sought, but rather in those who boast them-
selves followers of the " good old customs of the good old times."
But laugh as we young ones may at those " old times," it is not
altogether without reason that the epithet of " good " so perti-
naciously clings to them. There is something so sincere and so
simple in the manners of those times, — when an Englishman
wishes to express his idea of them he calls them homely, and in
that word he understands all that his heart feels to be dearest
and best, — that, see them where we may, they have always some-
thing to attach and interest us.
In some of the old-fashioned houses in Transylvania, there is
still almost a patriarchal simplicity in the habits of the family.
An early hour sees all the children, from the eldest to the young-
J48 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
est, — ay, the married ones too — proceed in clue order of proge-
niture to the presence of their parents, whose hands they re-
spectfully kiss, and from whom they receive the morning bless-
ing. After a simple breakfast of one small cup of coffee and
cream, and a slice of dry bread, the family disperses for the busi-
ness of the day. The children are left to their masters and go-
vernesses— and, oh, what a nuisance those same masters and go-
vernesses are; I have heard of no less than six living in one fa-
mily in the country at the same time. The master of the house
takes his meerschaum, ready filled and lighted from the hands of
his servant, and sallies out, accompanied by his steward, bailiffs,
and overseer, to give directions for the cultivation of his estate,
or to settle the lawsuits of his peasantry ; or, perhaps, the county-
meeting calls him into town, and then he wraps himself up in his
bunda, gets into his carriage, and four fat horses convey him to
his destination. Or it may be, the doctor has come over to see
after the health of the family, and the seigneur takes that op-
portunity to lead him round the village, that he may bleed and
physic all those who have wanted it for the last three months,
or who are likely to want it for the next three months to come.*
Or, perhaps, some quarrels among the peasantry, or some dis-
obedience to his orders, have provoked the terrible anger of the
master, and he at once assumes the authority of the judge, and
condemns and punishes, where he himself is a party in the cause.
Or, perhaps, the Jew merchant humbly waits an audience, and
with shining gold tempts him to dispose of the coming vintage.
And then the stables have to be visited, and the cooper to be
hurried for the vintage, and the gipsies in the brickyard to be
corrected.
But, if the occupations of the lord are many, who shall tell
the busy cares and troubles of the lady of the " good old times? "
With not less than one hundred mouths to provide food for daily,
with no resources of a market-town near at hand, with stores,
consequently, of provisions for six months to be taken care of,
and these provisions, too, of a variety! and quantity such as
* A worthy old Baron, now dead, used to have the doctor over every
spring and autumn with a wagon-load of herbs. These herbs, duly de-
cocted and distilled, were administered to the whole family and village,
which were then considered sound for six months to come.
f Among other objects strange to us, might be mentioned the collection
of snails. The large wood snail is a favourite dish here, and a very good
one it is. The snails are drawn out of the shell, cut small with a kind of
MANNER OF LIVING. 149
English housekeepers can form no idea of, and which I, unfortu-
nately, am very inadequate to describe; with a crowd of ser-
vants, including artificers* of various kinds, to superintend and
direct, the multiplicity of her duties may be instinctively guessed.
If somewhat less elegant, and less accomplished than the more
fashionable ladies of the capital, these worthy housewives are
never deficient in that respectable dignity which a strict perform-
ance of the duties of their station confers.
At one, the old-fashioned family, even of the present day,
assemble in the drawing-room, and proceed to dinner. It is
rarely that they sit down without some guest; for, whoever of
their acquaintance happens to be travelling near, always ma-
nages to drop in about dinner-time, as he knows he will be well
received ; indeed, his passing by, without stopping, would be con-
sidered an insult. And a goodly sight is that hospitable board,
for it is crowded by those who might otherwise be ill-provided
for. Besides the family and guests, all the governesses and mas-
ters dine at table; and then there are three or four stewards and
secretaries, and the clergyman of the village, or perhaps both
clergyman and priest, and the poor schoolmaster, all of whom
never dine at home when the seigneur is in the country.
The dinner, instead of being placed on the table, is carried
round, that every one may help himself, each dish being first
presented to the lady of the house, who never fails to take a
small portion by way of recommending it to her guests. As for
telling the reader of what the dinner is composed, it is impossi-
ble; but I can assure him, that both in quality and quantity, he
must be very difficult to please who is not satisfied. The elite of
the company retire to the drawing-room, after dinner, to partake
of coffee and liqueur, while the inferior guests, who have not the
entrke, make their bows and depart. When speaking of the oc-
cupations of the ladies of Transylvania, it would be very un-
grateful were I to omit their talent in making liqueurs: some of
the home-made liqueurs of Transylvania equal the best maras-
savonry stuffing, and served up replaced in the shell. As for their being
disgusting, it is all fancy. 1 have seen delicate ladies relish snails ex-
ceedingly, who would have shuddered at the sight of a raw oyster. In
some parts of Transylvania, instead of eggs and fowls, the peasants pay
their tribute in snails and game. One lady's ordinary winter supply was
upwards of five thousand snails.
* In some houses, the weaver and tailor are hired servants; and in
most, the cooper, baker, and smith.
13*
150 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
quinos and cura^oas in flavour. A drive out in the cool of the
evening in summer, and embroidery, cards, books, and conversa-
tion, with the interlude of a goute composed of fruits, preserves,
savoury cold meats, and, now-a-days> tea, and, at nine, a supper
nearly as large as the dinner, complete the occupations of a day
in the country in Transylvania.
But it is high time I returned to our travels. Baron W
kindly offered to accompany us to Nagy Banya, just beyond the
north frontier of Transylvania, to visit the gold mines there. It
is a good day's journey, even in summer, and the only chance of
accomplishing it at this season, was by sending on beforehand,
half way, a light carriage, so that the horses might be rested,
and ready to go forward directly we arrived.
We started on horseback ; and, after a delightful ride, sometimes
winding through fine forests of oak, now crossing a rich green
meadow, now losing ourselves and making straight across the
country for the nearest village, to inquire our way, and now toil-
ing along a muddy lane where the horses sunk almost up to the
middle in the mire, we at last arrived where the carriage was
waiting for us. The greatest drawback to the pleasure of such
a ride is the danger of injuring one's horse in crossing the rude
wooden bridges which are thrown over the brooks in this coun-
try. They are composed of unhewn stems of trees, laid side by
side, with a coating of soil over them. From accident or care-
lessness, nothing is more common than to find a considerable in-
terstice between these stems, which is concealed by the soil, and
so becomes a veritable pitfall. My horse put his foot into one
of these, and sank up to the shoulder; but, fortunately, he
escaped without injury.
In the course of our ride, in a small valley a little off the road,
the Baron showed me a colony of gipsies, — permanent, as he
said, in contradistinction to others who are always erratic, — who
occupy a little land, and do him some work for it. The reader
may have remarked that I do not hesitate here, as well as in
other parts of this work, to speak of the Czigany of the Hun-
garians by the English name of gipsies, for it is impossible to
doubt their identity. There is the same dark eye and curling
black hair, the same olive complexion and small active form.
Then their occupations and manner of life, different as are the
countries and climates they inhabit, still remain the same; fid-
dling, fortune-telling, horse-dealing and tinkering, are their fa-
vourite employments,— a vagabond life their greatest joy.
THE GIPSIES. 151
Though speaking several tongues, they have all a peculiar lan-
guage of their own, quite distinct from any other known in
Europe. Here, as with us, they have generally a king, too,
whom they honour and respect, but I have not been able to
make out what establishes a right to the gipsy crown. I believe
superior wealth, personal cunning, as well as hereditary right,
have some influence on their choice.
They first made their appearance in this country from the
East, about the year 1423, when King Sigmund granted them
permission to settle.* Josephine Second tried to turn them to
some account, and passed laws which he hoped would force them,
to give up their wandering life and betake themselves to agricul-
ture. The landlords were obliged to make them small grants of
land, and to allow them to build houses at the end of their vil-
lages. I have often passed through these Czigcmy varos, gipsy
towns, and it is impossible to imagine a more savage scene.
Children of both sexes to the age of fourteen, are seen rolling
about with a mere shred of covering, and their elders with much
less than the most unfastidious decency requires. Filth obstructs
the passage into every hut. As the stranger approaches, crowds
of black urchins flock round him, and rather demand than beg
for charity. The screams of men and women, and the barking
of dogs — for the whole tribe seems to be in a state of constant
warfare — never cease from morning to night. It is rare, how-
ever, that when thus settled, they can remain the whole year
stationary; they generally disappear during a part of the sum-
mer, and only return when winter obliges them to seek a shel-
ter. Others wander about as they do with us, gaining a liveli-
hood, as accident throws it in their way. They are said to
amount to sixty-two thousand three hundred and fifteen in Tran-
sylvania.f The Austrian Government, I believe, is the only
one in Europe which has been known to derive any advantage
from its gipsies, but by means of the tax for gold washing, to
which we shall allude hereafter, it must derive a considerable
revenue from this people. They are often taken for soldiers,
* In Hungarian law they are called " new peasants." The name of
Pharaoh nepek, Pharaoh's people, I imagine has been given either from con-
tempt, or error. The name Czigany, by which the Hungarians call them,
is so like the Zingari, Zigeuner, Gitani, Gipsy, of other nations; that I
have no doubt it is the one they originally gave themselves.
•[ This enumeration is taken from a very imperfect statistical work on
Transylvania, by Lebrecht, and is, I suspect, exaggerated.
152 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
and are said to make pretty good ones. Most of them are
christened and profess some religion, which is always the seig-
neur's—not the peasants' — of the village to which they belong.
In fact the gipsies have a most profound respect for aristocracy,
and they are said to be the best genealogists in the country.
Their skill in horse-shoeing,— they are the only blacksmiths
in the country,— and in brick-making, renders them of considera-
ble value to the landlord. What is the exact state of the law
with respect to them, I know not ; but I believe they are abso-
lute serfs in Transylvania. I know the settled gipsies cannot
legally take permanent service out of the place they were born
in, without permission, or without the payment of a certain sum
of money.*
They are just as great beggars here as elsewhere, and just as
witty in their modes of begging. A large party of them pre-
sented themselves one day at the door of the Countess W ,
whom they used to call the mother of the gipsies, from her fre-
quent charities to them, with a most piteous complaint of cold
and hunger — all the children, as usual, naked ; when the chief,
pulling a sad face, begged hard for relief; "for he was a poor
man," he said, "and it cost him a great deal to clothe so large
a family."
Of the most simple moral laws they seem to be entirely igno-
rant. It is not rare to see them employed as servants in offices
considered below the peasant to perform. They never dream of
eating with the rest of the household, but receive a morsel in
their hands, and devour it where they can. Their dwellings are
the merest huts, often without a single article of furniture.
Having such difficulty in supporting themselves, as is manifested
in their wasted forms, one cannot help wondering how they can
maintain the pack of curs which always infest their settlements,
and often render it dangerous to approach them. By the rest of
the peasantry they are held in most sovereign contempt. As I
was travelling along the road one day, after my return from
Turkey, rny servant turned around as we met a camp of gipsies,
and exclaimed, " After all, sir, our negroes are not so ugly as
those in Turkey."
On arriving at a village about half-way to Nagy Banya, we
found the servants had laid the table at a miserable cottage,
though the best in the place, when quickly despatching the good
* Tn Wallachia, when I was there, they were sold as slaves in the open
market. I believe this law has been since abolished.
NAGY BANYA. 153
dinner which was waiting for us, we got into the wagon and
hastened on as fast as we could. It was night, however, before
we reached our destination ; and we had an opportunity of proving
the inconveniences of travelling in the dark, in such a country ;
for, in passing a small overflow, the wagon sunk on one side into
a deep hole, and quietly overturned us all into the water. We
escaped with no other injury than a good wetting, which we
managed to rectify by means of the liqueur-bottle, which S
had instinctively grasped in the fall, and so secured from injury.
Nagy Banya, is rather a pretty little town, with a large
square and some buildings, so good, that one wonders how they
could ever have got there. The country round it is mountain-
ous, and some of the valleys in the neighbourhood are exceed-
ingly pretty. The mining district, of which Nagy Banya forms
the chief place, extends for a considerable space around it; but,
though still rich in ores, it is much less important than some
others we have visited. The most interesting of the mines is
that of the Kreutzberg, close by the town, which, having been
worked by the Romans, and afterwards deserted, has been re-
opened within the last eighty years, and now yields a conside-
rable return. We entered it by a fine adit, which will soon be
fit for horse wagons. Traces of the beautiful Roman work were
visible on every side. We found them working a new vein, or
rather an offset from the old one, which was tolerably rich, and
seemed to offer good prospects of continuance. The centner of
ore contains about eight ounces of silver, and every ounce of sil-
ver forty denarii of gold. The Kreutzberg produces about four
marks of gold per month. The matrix is generally porphyry.
To free the mine from water, an eight-horse wheel working a
pump is kept in constant motion. Not many years since, a
skeleton, supposed to be the remains of an ancient miner, together
with some tools, and a Roman lamp, was found in this mine.
The most interesting object connected with the Kreutzberg,
is a vast cleft which penetrates from the surface to a depth of
three hundred and eighty yards, and which extends twelve hun-
dred yards in length, and is six feet wide. When this cleft was
produced is not known ; but, if I remember rightly, there is rea-
son to believe it was since the time of the Romans.
We visited the smelting-works, which are situated somewhat
higher up the valley, and found them in a better condition than
almost any others we had seen.
The chief products of these mines are gold and silver, the
154 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
amount of which I have seen stated, the former, at four hundred
marks per an., the latter, at eighteen thousand marks. Besides
these some copper, lead, and iron are produced. The officers on
the spot could not give us the net amount of these products per
an., for the gold and silver are sent off from Nagy Banya to
Kremnitz every month, in a single mass, and are only separated
when they arrive there. Of the mixed metal, they say about
twelve hundred marks are produced every month, which would
reduce the amount considerably lower than that given above.
Mining is one of those tempting speculations which it is very
hard for persons living in a mining country to resist ; yet it is just
one of the most dangerous, for those ignorant of its mysteries, to
meddle with. To the scientific miner, I have no doubt, Tran-
sylvania offers certain wealth ; but to a country gentleman, who
puts his money into a mine much as he would into a lottery, it
is a pretty certain loss. A member of our friend's family had
fallen into this snare, and we had intended to visit the mine ; but
we heard such a poor report of it, that it was not thought worth
the time. In fact a steward, who had been dismissed for dis-
honesty, had begged to be employed to conduct a mine, which
he declared, after a very small outlay for the first year, would
not only pay itself, but soon produce a very handsome return.
From a mistaken feeling of kindness the request was granted;
and now, after three years' working, no return could be heard of.
On our way back to Hadad the next clay, we began to feel
extremely hungry, and our horses seemed quite ready for a rest
about one o'clock, at which hour we found ourselves near a vil-
lage where there was no inn. " Never mind," said the Baron,
" we have got plenty of cold fowls and ham, and wine ; and the
coachman has not forgotten some corn for his horses, so that we
shall not starve. But as it would not be pleasant to sit and eat
our dinner here, — (the snow was beginning to fall,) — we will go
to that house," pointing to a gentleman's house at the other end
of the village; "for though the master is not at home, and I
know him very slightly, I am sure the servants will be very
glad to let us in." When we drove up to the door, the servants
no sooner heard our wishes, than they opened the dining-room
and offered us any thing they had, as if it had been a matter of
course. The horses were put up in the stable, and the coach-
man bought some more corn of the bailiff and gave them a
double feed. The absence of inns renders this kind of hospitality
RETURN TO KLAUSENBURG. 155
an absolute duty, and no one hesitates to avail himself of it when
in need.
Though it was yet scarcely the middle of November, the snow
fell so heavily that every one declared it was setting in for win-
ter, and we were glad, therefore, to get back to Klausenburg as
quickly as we could. It was melancholy to see the peasants up
to the knees in snow, searching for the grapes which were not
half gathered. It is reckoned that a great part of this year's
vintage will be entirely lost. By following a longer but better
road, we were enabled to reach Klausenburg in two days, with
no other accident than the breaking of some iron-work of the
carriage, which we were able to supply by means of ropes.
156 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER IX.
THE SALT MINES AND GOLD MINES.
Horse Fair at Klausenburg. — Moldavian Horses. — Cholera in Klausen-
burg.— Thorda. — Valley of the Aranyos. — Miklos and his Peccadilloes.
A Transylvanian Invitation. — The Wallack Judge. — Thoroczko. — The
Unitarian Clergyman. — St. Gyorgy. — A Transylvanian Widow. — Pea-
sants' Cottages. — The Cholera. — A Lady's Road. — ThordaiHasadek. —
The Salt Mines of Szamos Ujvaj.— The Salt Tax.— Karlsburg.— The
Cathedral and krumme Peter. — Wallack Charity. — Zalatna. — Abrud
Banya. — The Gold Mines of Voros Patak. — Csetatie. — Detonata. — Re-
turn.— College of Nagy Enyed. — English Fund. — System of Education.
THE reader must now allow me to pass over three quarters of
a year, of which period I shall give him no further account than
to say it was passed in travelling through some parts of Greece
and Turkey, and he must fancy me returned to Transylvania,
determined to see the part of the country which the approach of
winter had prevented me from visiting the year before. My
brother had taken Mr. S 's place as my companion ; but,
alas! Mr. H had left for England, and I was forced to
content myself with such poor sketches as I could make myself
of what most struck me in this tour.
When I came back to Klausenburg, it was just at the time of
the horse-fair; and a number of gay carriages were rolling about,
making the whole place seem quite alive. This fair has only
been established a few years, and it is as yet considered a matter
of honour for the chief horse-breeders to send a number of their
horses, if only to show them. A large circus has been enclosed
on the outside of the town, in which the horses are trotted and
galloped round, while the company, including a crowd of ladies,
occupy a" kind of stand erected at one end. As the most beauti-
ful horses of the country are produced here, and as they are
often ridden by their owners, it is a very animated scene. On
the outside of the circus, the carriage horses are exhibited ; and
many were the smart teams of four long-tailed little horses,
which whirled the light carnages round the circle.
HORSE FAIR.
In one corner we found a group of some hundred perfectly
wild horses from Moldavia, not one of which had ever had a
halter round his neck. They were guarded by a set of men, if
possible, even wilder-looking than themselves. Some of these
horses were by no means deficient in good points; and though
they do not bear a high character here, the low price at which
they were sold, — eight or ten pounds the pair, — tempted pur-
chasers. To see the newly purchased horses separated from the
herd was a great treat; it was one of the most clever feats of ad-
dress and courage I almost ever witnessed. No sooner was the
horse fixed on and pointed out, than one of the savage-looking
tenders rushed into the herd, seized him by the ears and mane,
and hung to him with all his strength. Alarmed at this treat-
ment, the poor beast became furious, dashed about, kicked, reared,
and put every artifice of horse ingenuity in force to get rid of
his enemy. It was all in vain, there the fellow hung, — now in
the air, now on the ground, — he still held to the head. No
bull-dog could pin his adversary more securely. Fatigued at
last with his own exertions, the horse was quiet for a moment,
•when a rope with a slip-noose was thrown over his neck, on
which three or four men pulled with all their might, till they
dragged him out of the herd. Half dead from strangulation,
fear, and fatigue, the poor creature was now bound tightly to
his fellow, and the pair were led off. When they first felt them-
selves yoked as it were, there was generally one more struggle
for liberty ; but it was useless, they only exhausted each other's
strength, and probably became sufficiently tame in a few hours,
to be harnessed to a wagon and driven home.
The gay aspect of Klausenburg, however, soon disappeared.
It was the season of the harvest, and all good landlords had
plenty to do at home. There was another reason also which
called the better-intentioned into the country. The cholera was
raging frightfully through almost every part of the land, and the
peasantry, the chief sufferers, had no one from whom they could
ask or expect aid and advice but their lords and ladies, and nobly,
in many instances, did they perform their duties. Personal at-
tendance even in some cases, and medicine and food in almost all,
were liberally supplied. Of the numbers who perished during
this attack it is impossible to give any account; I doubt even if
it is known. In Klausenburg, for some time, the number of
deaths amounted to from twenty to thirty a day ; and before it
ceased, probably not less than one-twentieth of its population was
VOL. II. 14
158 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
carried off. I have heard of some villages in which even a tenth
perished. We were lodged just opposite one of the gates of the
town which led to the great cemetery, and through which every
corpse was carried out. From two o'clock, as long as daylight
lasted, the funerals proceeded in one melancholy procession. It
is the custom that every member of a trade should be followed
by the whole of the corporation to which he belonged, 'and it is
therefore scarcely a figure of speech to say that all Klausenburg
was engaged in this mournful task. A gipsy band is a necessary
attendant on a Transylvanian funeral; and it is usually accom-
panied by the voices of a hundred followers chanting a mass or
singing a psalm as they marched along. The soldiers, too, suf-
fered severely, and the fine military bands were generally heard
three or four times every afternoon. These melancholy scenes,
and the continual tolling of the great bell, rendered Klausenburg
really more like a city of the dead than the living ; and we were
heartily glad when our preparations were made, and we could
dissipate our gloomy thoughts by new scenes and new objects of
interest.
In the little excursion which we made, and which did not oc-
cupy us more than a week, I think it will be best to follow my
journal.
August 18th. — Left Klausenburg and got to Thorda for din-
ner. Finding nothing very interesting, though there are said to
be some remains of a Roman road in the neighbourhood, and the
post-house is ornamented with some Roman bas-reliefs, we en-
gaged horses to take us on to Thoroczko, where we hear there
are some iron-mines well worth seeing. We agreed to pay eight
shillings a day for five horses, the coachman being bound to
maintain himself and steeds.
The road to Thoroczko was hilly, and in many places so bad
that we could only advance at a foot pace. A little before sun-
set, we arrived at the summit of a very high hill, from which
we had a splendid view over a fine mountainous country, with
crags and precipices on every side, and just below us the little
village of Bare, and the Aranyos winding along the valley.
Across the river was one of those curious covered wooden bridges,
so common in Switzerland ; indeed, there was nothing but a snow
mountain wanting to have made us fancy ourselves in the Can-
tons. As we were slowly descending the hill at the imminent
hazard of our necks, with both wheels locked, and the servant
hanging to the step to balance it, I began to make some inquiries
MIKLOS. 159
as to the distance we had still to go before we arrived at Tho-
roczko, where we had been told there was a comfortable inn. I
may add, in a parenthesis, that a comfortable inn in Transylvania
means a dry room, clean straw, and a couple of roast chickens
for supper. " Oh, I quite forgot," exclaimed Miklos, " to tell
your grace that I have learnt at Thorda, that there is no inn at
Thoroczko; but it is of no consequence, for the Countess T
lives there, and she would certainly be very glad to entertain
you." It was of no use scolding — though, like most angry men,
I believe I forgot that in my anger — for although this fellow had
been in my service nearly a year, I had never been able to make
him feel why I often preferred a poor dirty inn to a handsome
mansion, and starved chickens to good fare. That any motives
of delicacy could make me hesitate to intrude on the hospitality
of those with whom I was unacquainted, was an idea altogether
so foreign to the habits and customs of Transylvania, where in
fact such visits are not considered intrusions, that it was no won-
der the poor fellow could not comprehend it.
But it is time I introduced this same Miklos to the better ac-
quaintance of the reader, for a traveller who is ignorant of the
vulgar tongue of a country in which he travels, is so dependent
on his servant, that the character of the latter has often more
influence on his adventures than even his own. After dismissing
old Stephan, I had taken a man who turned out so great a rogue
that I was obliged to get rid of him as soon as I arrived in Klau-
senburg the first time; and here some friend found Mikl6s for me
to supply his place. Miklos was a stout good-looking little fel-
low of about twenty, who spoke Hungarian and Wallack per-
fectly, and knew as much German as enabled him to get through
a message, which had been twice repeated to him, with only two
or three blunders. His greatest merits were his desire to travel,
and his constant good-humour in all the difficulties attendant on
it. If any thing was to be drawn out of an ill-tempered land-
lady, or a rigid-looking custom-house officer was to be softened,
Miklos was pretty sure to manage the affair. Then he could
make a bed, cook a dinner, cut hair, mend clothes, sleep on the
ground, fast for a week, and bargain with a Jew. If the car-
riage stuck in the mud and we required additional assistance to
get it out again, he was the first to mount a horse and gallop off
without bridle or saddle to the next village, and it was hard if
he came back without having obtained his object. If the coach-
man could not drive his team or had an unruly leader, Mikl6s
160 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA
mounted as postillion or took the reins, and drove as if he had
been bred a Jehu. These were all valuable qualities; but then
the fellow was careless, made endless mistakes, which no scolding
could teach him to avoid for more than twenty-four hours; and
had, moreover, a shocking habit of making love to every woman
he carne near. He got deep into the affections of a lady's maid
at Pest, attracted the attentions of a Greek widow in Constanti-
nople, promised marriage to a Wallachian girl at Bucharest, and
was besieged by a host of inamoratas in Klausenburg. Some
may fancy that all these were no matters of mine, but I assure
them they are mistaken, for independently of the annoyance of
complaints from masters and mammas, love-making occupies much
time which might be better employed ; besides that, leaving every
place one enters with a Dido desolata delaying the start is by no
means agreeable. Notwithstanding his peccadilloes, however,
Miklos was a good servant, and I must say I was sorry when I
left the country and was obliged to part with him — especially
when I saw him neglect to take up his money, and blubber like
a great child at leaving me.
The valley of the Aranyos and the little village of Bare which
we had now reached, looked so inviting, that I was much tempted
to make a better acquaintance with it, and accordingly desired
Miklos to see if it was not possible to get a room in some pea-
sant's cottage for the night. The judge immediately offered us
beds in his house, and promised us some supper too if we would
stay; an offer I was glad to accept in spite of Miklos's contemp-
tuous expression when he found it was a Wallack under whose
roof we were to rest.
While they were making all possible preparations in the cot-
tage, we scrambled along the craggy banks of the river for a
considerable distance up the valley. Some mines in the neigh-
bouring mountains gave food to an iron hammer which was ply-
ing its noisy restless task, disturbing the whole vale with its
melancholy song.
However Miklos may have sneered, the Wallack judge's cot-
tage was by no means so bad. Besides the room in which the
whole family lived, and the entrance where they cooked,— both
of which were certainly very filthy,— there was another room,
which, if it had no other floor than the hardened clay, and no
other wall than the baked mud, was yet dry and tolerably clean.
It contained two beds, very short and very hard, and all around
were hung rude earthen jugs and pots, and in one favoured cor-
AN INVITATION. 161
ner was a cluster of pictures of hideous saints, after the most
orthodox models of the Greek church. But the pride of the
family consisted in a long row of not less than twenty aprons,
besides a number of shirts, ostentatiously displayed along one
side of the room. The aprons were such as are commonly worn
by the Wallack women ; but of a finer wool, and of beautiful
colours. The shirts were of a coarse linen, but prettily embroi-
dered with blue at the wrists and neck. The whole of this trea-
sure was the produce of the housewife's own hands,
As we were examining these arrangements, while Miklos was
disposing some new pieces of home-spun linen in the guise he
thought most likely to make us fancy them a table-cloth and nap-
kins, a clattering of horses' hoofs was heard to cease at the door,
and he was presently called out to speak to some stranger.
When he returned, it was to announce that a servant of the
Countess T was just come to say that his mistress had heard
of our visit to Thoroczko, and would expect us to take beds at
her house. Here was a pretty affair! The carriage unpacked,
the horses in the stable, and we expected some miles off! How-
ever, it was now too late to think of going further, and besides,
1 had taken a fancy to the Wallack's cottage. The beds too
were made, a wax-light robbed from the carriage — these people
were too poor to have candles of any kind — threw a cheerful
light over the room, every thing was put in order, and I fancied
it looked very comfortable ; in addition to which, the cloth, such
as it was, and the smell of roasting was far from disagreeable to
men who had not eaten since mid-day, so that there was nothing
to be done but send a very polite message with an excuse for not
coming, on account of the lateness of the hour, and a promise to
do ourselves the honour of paying a visit the next day.
I know not whether it was the difficult mastication of the
fibrous old cock which now smoked upon the table, or some other
cause, which called up certain doubts in my mind as to the cor-
rectness of the message which had just been delivered; but cer-
tain it is they did arise, and I forthwith questioned Miklos as to
whether he had learnt how the Countess could have heard of
our coming, as we knew she herself had but just returned to Tho-
roczko from another part of the country. "Why," said Miklos,
making more than his usual number of blunders in German, as
he answered, *'the fact is, the Countess does not know of it yet,
but she soon will; the servant who had been to Klausenburg on
business, had heard there of your Grace's arrival in this part of
14*
162 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the country, and so he thought of course you would visit his lady,
and he hastened home to tell them of your coming; but as he
found we were stopping here, he told your Grace that they al-
ready were expecting you, that he might not have to come back
again to say so." And thus, on the servant's invitation, I had
coolly sent to say I should visit a lady to whom I had no intro-
duction, and whom, though I knew by name, I had never seen
in my life. Oh ! I could have broken the rascal's head for his
blunder! but he was evidently unconscious of any fault, and
thought, I have no doubt, that both he and the other servant
were a couple of very clever fellows.
19th. — Rose early, got a sketch of the bridge and river, and
started for Thoroczko, where we arrived before ten. It is a
pretty little town, cleaner and with better houses than one gene-
rally sees. Its inhabitants are all Magyars and Unitarians. A
friend in Klausenburg had given us a letter to the Unitarian
clergyman, as the person best able to give us information of any
thing wrorth seeing in the neighbourhood, and we drove straight
to his house. He was out attending a sick parishioner ; but his
wife received us, and insisted on sending to inform him of our
coming.
In the mean time we entered his modest dwelling, which, ex-
cept in being rather larger, and having the kitchen and servant's
room separated from the dwelling-rooms, differed little from those
of his peasant neighbours. Its interior however bespoke his supe-
riority. The two little rooms of which it consisted were crowded
with book-shelves. Here they groaned under quartos of Latin
theology ; there they displayed probably all the best works in Hun-
garian literature, — and no great number either, — while, in another
part, belles lettres and natural history flourished in mis-shapen
tomes from the German press. Some fine minerals from the neigh-
bourhood which were scattered about, and a number of little
drawers, which I am sure contained specimens, declared our priest
a natural philosopher. While we were making these observa-
tions, a stout, middle-aged man, with a mild expression of coun-
tenance, long black hair hanging down his back, and dressed in
an Hungarian coat and knee-boots, made his appearance ; and
by a long complimentary speech in Latin, proclaimed himself our
host. Before he was half through his address, I interrupted him,
and petitioned for German; but he declared off on the score of
inability, and we were accordingly forced to carry on a medley
discourse of Latin and German as we best could. "
ST. GYORGY. 163
We found the immediate object of our visit, the iron mines,
were in a very bad state, and scarcely worth the trouble of see-
ing. The clergyman told us of several natural curiosities in the
mountains near; but they demanded a day or two at least to vi-
sit them, and we determined therefore, after paying our self-
proffered visit to the Countess, who, our friend assured us, was
a " nobilissima et generosissima dama" to return to Thorda.
We were not allowed to leave, however, without visiting the
Unitarian church; a large, and rather handsome building for the
size of the town. The object to which our attention was more
immediately drawn, however, was the organ ; it was a recent
acquisition, and was exhibited, I thought, with no small feeling,
of clerical pride.
After all, the Countess T did not live at Thoroczko, and
we were therefore obliged to penetrate some miles farther into
this beautiful valley before we reached St. Gyorgy, the place of
her residence. Nothing can be more secluded than this valley,
nothing more lovely. On one side it is bounded by precipitous
cliffs, on the very summit of which we could perceive some
ruins of an old castle, on the other are wooded hills, and in
the middle a pretty stream and rich meadows and corn-fields.
We drove at once to the chateau, where we were received
as expected guests, our horses taken out, and ourselves set
down to lunch, as a matter of course. The Countess T
was a lady of the old school, possessing all that easy dignity
of manner which, when united to a warm heart, forms the per-
fection of the social character; and, though now in the decline
of life, exhibiting a regularity and delicacy of features, which
told she must have been a beauty in her younger days — nor
was their tale belied by the image of those days which, for
us, was reproduced in the person of her daughter. The ser-
vant had not been mistaken; for it was certain that his mis-
tress expected not only that we, but that all other gentlemen
who travelled through her secluded valley should visit her on
their way. Any idea of leaving before dinner was scarcely
allowed utterance. "As a widow," said the Countess, "my
forenoons are pretty well occupied, for in Transylvania, we must
be farmers, miners, doctors, and I know not what else beside.
I leave you free, therefore, till the hour of dinner, when I shall
expect the pleasure of seeing you again. See," she added, " the
bouquet my steward has brought me this morning; it is com-
posed of the heaviest ears of corn he has been able to find this
164 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
season, and I assure you no hot-house flowers could be half so
agreeable to me."
The Countess Julia observed, that perhaps as strangers, we
might feel interested in visiting the cottages of some of the pea-
sants; and added that if we did not fear the cholera, which had
unfortunately made its appearance in the village, she should be
happy to show us some. Of course we were delighted to ac-
cept the offer. " St. Gyorgy," she added, " is, I believe, one
of the richest villages in Transylvania ; and, for the credit of rny
country, I am therefore the more anxious you should see it.
The peasants are Magyars, and mostly of the Unitarian belief."
The cottages were of one story, and built on the same gene-
ral plan as all the others we had seen; but in many cases they
were larger, and the farmyards seemed more plentifully stocked.
One house into which we were taken, might have been held up
as a pattern of cleanliness and order in any country. Round the
best room hung a prodigious quantity of fine bed-linen, beauti-
fully embroidered on the edges, in different colours. " This is
the handiwork of the unmarried girls, and is intended as their
dower: and hard enough they work at it," smilingly added our
fair informant, " for they cannot get husbands, till, by such
works as these, they have given good proofs of their industry
and talent." The daughter of the house was easily persuaded
to put on her Sunday costume, which was as rich as embroidery
and ribbons could make it. The St. Gyorgy girls are said to
have the handsomest dresses of any village in the district. What
a pity it is, that all these beautiful costumes, and the honest pride
and self-esteem they give rise to, must disappear, as soon as the
cheap wares of Manchester, or some other cotton capital, gain
entrance to these valleys, and drive household manufactures
from the field! If real civilization, founded on improved insti-
tutions and an enlightened system of education, do not accom-
pany the introduction of luxuries produced by machinery, they
may become a curse instead of a blessing to a people. It is dif-
ficult to find for the uneducated peasant woman an occupation
more befitting her powers of mind and body, more consistent
with her duties of mother and housekeeper, than is afforded by
the simple processes of spinning and weaving. If this is taken
away, and the means of applying herself to higher and more
difficult objects are not afforded, she has little left but idleness,
or the coarse degrading labours of the field.
The owner of this house, though a simple peasant, was said
THE CHOLERA. 165
to be possessed of more than a thousand pounds. The only ad-
vantage he had enjoyed above His fellows, was in being freed
from the seigneurial labour-dues for some service rendered to the
late Count, — industry and sobriety had done the rest. The
only book I could see in the house, was a large Hungarian Bi-
ble, richly bound and fastened with a pair of heavy brass clasps.
We had time enough before dinner to wander about the vil-
lage, and climb a conical hill, at a little distance from it, on
which stand the picturesque ruins of the Castle of St. Gyorgy.
We had a fine view from this point, over the whole valley.
Farther than we had yet traversed, we could observe an exit
from it by means of a vast cleft in the limestone rocks, which
otherwise bounded it on every side. On looking back over the
road we had come, we saw more clearly the few walls on the
sftmmit of those stupendous cliffs, which mark where the old cas-
tle of Thoroczko formerly stood. It would require at least
two hours' good climbing to reach it from the valley. It was
formerly always the lot — I cannot call it privilege — of the eldest
sons of the family of Thoroczko to inhabit this mountain nest ;
while the younger were allowed to choose some less ambitious
dwelling in the valley.
" You have visited St. Gyorgy at a very unfortunate mo-
ment," said the Countess, when we returned ; " the cholera,
which set in only two days ago, has assumed a very serious as-
pect to-day. Since yesterday, no less than four deaths have
been reported to me, and I fear we must expect many more."
For these persons we found the Countess was the sole physician,
her house their dispensary, and sometimes even their hospital,
for she had had several of them brought there, that they might
be better attended to. Several times, during dinner, her daugh-
ter was obliged to leave the table to send off medicines for some
new patient who claimed her aid. In this she was assisted by
the steward and clergyman, who seemed both to take an active
interest in the fate of the poor sufferers. During the short time
we remained, five more deaths were reported.
In returning to Thorda, the Countess proposed that we should
take a nearer road than that by which we had come. " It is
rather a rough one," she added ; " but it is the one I always
take myself, and I do not suppose that, for young men like you,
its little dangers will be any objection." After many adieus
and kind invitations to renew our visit at a more favourable
moment, we at last started. Our new route led us almost im-
mediately from the village, up the sides of a high and steep
166 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
mountain, after having mastered which, we were promised a
continual descent. As we turned round to take a last look at
the scene we were leaving, we witnessed one of those beauti-
ful effects which none but the dwellers in mountain lands can
ever behold. A storm came roaring up the valley below us,
throwing every thing into deep shade, except the castle on the
hill, which caught a gleam of sunshine, and stood out in bright
relief against the black mountains behind it. We paid, however,
dearly for the treat: by a sudden veer of the wind, the storm
seemed to quit the valley; and clinging to the side of the moun-
tain, followed our footsteps, overtook us, and beat with such
force on the horses that they turned round and refused to move
any farther. Flogging made no impression on them, they only
kicked and backed, — and they had chosen for that operation a
ridge of the mountain, from whence one might have slipped ink)
immortality, almost before one was aware of it.
Our only remedy was to sit still while Miklos mounted one of
the horses, and went back to beg the Countess would lend us
some oxen to drag us up the rest of the mountain. A peasant,
however, who was at work at some distance, and saw our diffi-
culty, took his horses out of the plough; and harnessing them
before ours, got us at last to the top. So much time had been
lost, that it very soon became dark, and we found ourselves in a
bad and dangerous road, which it was impossible to traverse
faster than at a foot pace. Miklos was obliged to take the
lamps and walk on before, while we held the carriage from fall-
ing over. We were not only every moment in danger of over-
turning, but of losing the carriage at the bottom of a ravine
whence it would have been impossible to recover it. Instead of
four hours, we occupied eight in this short cut, but we were too
well contented to have escaped with whole skins, to grumble at
the loss of time. Such roads may suit Transylvanian ladies, but
Heaven preserve all English gentlemen from them ! — A steeple-
chase is safe in comparison.
20th. — Projected a visit this morning to the Thordai Hasa-
dek, a mountain cleft, of the same kind as that we saw at a dis-
tance yesterday, from St. Gyorgy, but said to be much larger.
In traversing the few miles which separate the Hasadek from
Thorda, we passed over a part of the Prat de Trajan, where the
great victory was gained by Trajan over Decebalus. Though
Transylvanian antiquaries place the scene of the action more to
the east, and nearer the banks of the Maros, than our route led
THORDAI HASADEK. 167
us, I am inclined to think they must be in error; for we observed
a great number of tumuli in this direction, of a size and form
•which render it exceeding probable that they were intended to
commemorate the death of the heroes who fell on that occasion.
I am not aware that any of them have been opened, or that any
tradition exists as to their origin.
After about an hour's drive we arrived at the entrance to the
Hasadek. We descended into a little valley in the form of a
semicircle, which surrounds the opening of the cleft, and is in-
habited by a few poor Wallacks and their cows; and scrambling
over some broken rocks, entered this extraordinary place.
Let the reader imagine a chain of low mountains, twenty
miles long, cut transversely through to a level with the valleys
they divide, and he will have some idea of the Thordai Hasadek.
In no place (I should think) is the cleft more than twenty yards
wide at the bottom, though it increases somewhat towards the
top. As might be supposed, the sides of it are as precipitous as
any thing can be imagined. A small stream which rises from
some springs in the semicircular valley, makes its way among
the broken rocks through the cleft, and passes out at the other
side. It so nearly occupies the whole of the space left between
the rocks, that we had to cross it at least twenty times in order
to find dry footing; sometimes we had to pick our way for a
considerable distance along the stepping-stones placed by the
peasants in its bed, and once to climb the rocks at the imminent
hazard of slipping into the pool below.
Some of the cliffs in this valley are truly magnificent. In one
place they rise from the very base, in a perpendicular line to the
summit, a height I will not venture to guess. About midway
through the Hasadek, and at some height up the side of the
cliff, there is a remarkable cavern called the Bayluka. A steep
pathway leads up to the entrance, which is defended by a dou-
ble wall, with ramparts and holes for musketry. The cave it-
self is large, and arched like a vast Gothic hall, and is capable
of containing a hundred persons. Beyond the first chamber it
divides into several smaller ones, which we could not penetrate far
into, for want of lights. It is extraordinary that opposite the Bay-
luka, on the other side the cleft, there is a second cavern, of
which the natural entrance is exactly like the first. This is in-
teresting; because it proves that they were once joined toge-
ther, and that it was only by some violent convulsion that they
were torn asunder. The stratum is a compact limestone, as far
as I observed, without fossils.
168 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The first of these caverns was formerly the favourite strong-
hold of a celebrated Transylvanian robber, Bay, from whom it
takes its name. A number of popular stories exist about this
Bay, though I was not able to collect any of much interest; but
if he was half the hero he is represented, it must have required
a brave man to attack him in his mountain fortress.
We traversed the cleft completely to the other end, and I
should say, the distance is from two to three miles. At one
point, where the brook filled up the whole valley, and the rocks
came down close to the water's edge, we met a gay party of
peasant lads and lasses in their holiday clothes, apparently going
to some merry-making in the next valley. The lads tripped
lightly over the rocks, where we could hardly find footing, and
many were the jokes and jeers they cast at the girls, when they
sat down to take off their sandals preparatory to wading the
brook, which they preferred to the exposure their modesty feared
from climbing the rock. A curious phenomenon we observed at
the far end of the valley, — a natural arch formed in the rock,
with an arched roof and window, so much like the work of the
Gothic architect, that it is no wonder the peasantry should have
christened it the chapel. I must not forget that the superstitious
attribute the whole cleft to a prayer of St.Ladislaus, who en-
treated that the mountain might open, and save him from the
heathens. If it is so, I can only say we are indebted to the
saint for one of the most beautiful scenes of rocky grandeur I
know.
On our return to Thorda we started for Maros Ujvar, a small
village about twelve miles off, where are the chief salt-mines of
Transylvania, which we reached late in the evening.
21st. — We sent to request permission to enter the mines, and
received a polite answer, that we had only to present ourselves,
and one of the officers would feel great pleasure in conducting us
over them.
The chief part of the salt-mines of Maros Ujvar is formed by
three vast subterranean chambers. As they were not using the
buckets, we were obliged to descend by the staircase. Before
we had reached six feet from the surface, the salt was already
perceptible. After passing some new workings which we shall
understand better when we have described the principal ones,
we descended to the lower workings.
We entered at one end of a vast hall — two hundred and se-
venty feet long by one hundred and eighty wide, and two hun-
THE SALT MINES. 169
drecl and ten high, — with a Gothic arched roof, dimly lighted hy
the candles of the miners. At the opposite end to that by which
we entered, was a huge portal, reaching nearly to the top of the
chamber, and affording entrance to a second, and that again to
a third hall of equal extent with the first. On a signal being
given, a sudden blaze burst forth in each of these chambers, and
lighted up the whole space with a brilliant illumination. It was
the grandest sight I had ever beheld. The walls were of solid
rock-salt, which, if not so dazzling as writers are generally
pleased to describe it, was extremely beautiful from the variety
of its colours. It resembled highly polished white marble veined
with brown, the colours running in broad wavy lines.
The size of these halls, the effect of the light, the grandeur
and extreme simplicity of the form, with the exquisite purity of
the material, impressed me with a feeling of their architectural
beauty, beyond that of almost any object of art I know. No
words can express the intense enjoyment with which I regarded
them.
As soon as we could sober down sufficiently to listen to the
details of our conductor, he pointed out the whole floor of the
chamber, covered with workmen employed in detaching and
shaping vast masses of the salt preparatory to its ascent. It is
cut by means of sharp hammers into long blocks of about one
foot in diameter, which are afterwards broken up into masses,
weighing from fifty-eight to fifty-nine pounds each, and in this
form it is brought to market. The accuracy with which they can
measure the weight is extraordinary. After shaping hfs block
above and on the sides, the miner calls to two or three of his
neighbours to aid him in detaching its base from the rock. This
is effected by repeated blows of very heavy hammers on the
tipper surface, the most exact time and equality of force being
maintained. This is the severest part of their labour, but it
lasts only a few minutes at a time.
The number of workmen employed here is about three hun-
dred. Among these are Magyars, Wallacks and Germans. The
Magyars are said to work the hardest, but also to drink the
hardest. I believe the tales one so often hears of men being
born and dying in mines without ever having seen the light is
pure fiction ; it certainly is not the case any where in Hungary,
and least of all here. The miners begin their work at three
o'clock in the morning and leave it at eleven, and the average
rate of wages for eight hours' labour is about ten pence. In
VOL. II. 15
170 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
such large spaces the air could scarcely be otherwise than good,
and the temperature is always the same — 13° of Reaumur — sum-
mer and winter. The employment is far from unhealthy, and
even children often apply themselves to it very young.
Some of the new workings, which are higher than those we
have described, are laid out for the same kind of chambers. In
one part a hole has been cut through the roof of the first great
hall, and as we looked into the vast abyss, innumerable lights
seemed dancing below, and figures flitting round them, while the
clear ring of many hammers faintly reached the ear. The poet
who would describe a descent to Erebus, might envy me that
sight.
The quantity of salt annually produced from these mines is six
hundred thousand centners, all of which, with the exception of
about thirty thousand used in the neighbourhood is sent to Hun-
gary.* In this calculation I believe the dust salt, or broken
particles produced by the hammering, is not included. Many
thousand centners of this salt are thrown into the river every
year. For each of the masses of fifty-eight pounds which we
have mentioned above, the miner receives two and a half kreut-
zers (two pence.) With all the expenses, however, the centner
is delivered at the pit's mouth, for about twenty-four kreutzers
c. m., or ten pence. It is sold in Transylvania at three florins
and a half, or seven shillings, the centner. The greater part,
however, is sent by the Maros to Szegedin, at an expense of about
ten peijce more each centner. It is sold there at seven guldens
and a half, or fifteen shillings, the centner !
There has been so much complaint against this price of salt in
the Diet, that we must say a few words more about it.
A monopoly of the sale of salt is one of the Royal privileges,
acknowledged as such by the nation, and enjoyed by the Crown
for a long succession of years. It can hardly be supposed, how-
ever, that the right of the Crown can extend to raising the price
of one of the first necessaries of life to any amount it may think
fit ; for this would be the admission of an indefinite and irrespon-
* The east of Transylvania is supplied from mines in the Szelder land,
which we shall visit later, and the North of Hungary chiefly from Velic;-
ska and the Marmaros. In a small work on Transylvania, published by
M. Lebrecht, m 1804, the amount of salt furnished by Transylvania, is
tated at above a million centners. The price was then one fifteenth of
what it is at present. The population has increased, and the consumption
Mien off. Is not the elevation of price the cause 1
THE SALT TAX. 171
sible right of taxation on all classes. To go no farther back than
1800, the price of salt was at half a florin (one shilling) per cent-
ner. The long and exhausting wars, which brought on two na-
tional bankruptcies within a few years of each qther, were an
excuse for raising this price to three florins and a half in Tran-
sylvania, and seven and a half in Hungary. Even during the
continuance of the war, complaints enough were heard against
this augmentation, and since that time they have become every
year more angry and more just. Now there are several reasons
which render the continuance of this exorbitant burden pecu-
liarly injudicious. First of all, it has a bad reputation. The
gabelle has been so often the cry by which a revolutionary leader
has excited the passions of a mob, — it is so closely associated
with recollections which all prudent statesmen would avoid
awakening, that one cannot help wondering it should be con-
tinued. And then, hitherto, the Hungarians have entertained a
notion that their cattle could not live without a large admixture
of salt with their food ; but they are beginning to find out that
this is an error, and to see that although the cattle like salt and
will eat coarser food with it than they would without, it is neither
necessary to keep them in health nor to feed them ; and if such a
discovery spreads very far, it will cause a greater loss to the re-
venue than the diminution of two-thirds of the price of the salt,
for the quantity used by men is small in proportion to that given
to the cattle.
But the most extraordinary part of the affair is, that the Go-
vernment incurs this obloquy, and runs the chance of this loss,
all to no purpose. The whole line of frontier, from the Adriatic
to the boundaries of Russia, is beautifully adapted for smuggling ;
and bulky as salt is, I can assure the reader it is smuggled in
along the whole of this frontier. If I am asked from whom I
have obtained this information, I can only answer from some of
the Government salt officers in Hungary, who told me that they
themselves bought their salt from the smugglers ! If any Aus-
trian official doubts the extent to which this traffic is carried on,
let him compare the returns from the frontier counties with those
from the interior, in proportion to their population, and he will
hardly doubt the fact.
I have been shown the salt smuggler's paths on the frontiers
of Wallachia, where they often come over with whole troops of
laden horses. I have heard from the county magistrates, that
it was ridiculous to attempt to oppose them ; that they had the
172 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
sympathy of the peasantry with them, and were not only able to
bribe the border guard, but that they came in such numbers, and
so well armed, that they did not dare to make a show of resist-
ing them. I doubt if there is one great proprietor in the south
of Hungary, who uses Government salt, except in such quantity
as decency requires to blind officers who do not wish to see. In
that part of Hungary, bordering on Transylvania, the more ten-
der-conscienced declare they would not use Turkish salt on any
account; but I found that that was because it was cheaper to
smuggle it from Transylvania, where it is only half the price it
is in Hungary. "Oh!" they exclaimed, when charged with this
peccadillo, "we buy the emperor's salt, at any rate; we don't
go to those rascally Turks for it:" — absolutely priding them-
selves on their loyalty, when compared with the sinnings of their
neighbours.
And, then, what has become of the paternal anxiety to keep
out the plague, which led to the establishment of such a vast and
perpetual cordon as that of the borderers? It is certain, that
not a day terminates in which men with bags of salt do not pass
from one country to the other, without any intervention of qua-
rantine, or process of purification. For the maintenance of a
paltry tax, the health of all Europe is constantly exposed to an
invasion of the plague !
The foreign trade, of course, is entirely lost by the increase
of price; and Wallachia, Moldavia, and Servia, which formerly
drew their salt from Hungary, now, as we have seen, return the
compliment.
22nd.— Karlsburg. We arrived here last night, after a plea-
sant drive along the rich and beautiful valley of the Maros.
Every day these valleys of Transylvania gain on one's affections.
They are so green, so smiling, so varied in their beauties, that it
is impossible not to love them.
Our host, we find, is a character. Krumme (lame) Peter, as
he is called, is a noble ; and, besides the privileges of his order,
he is one of those happy mortals who have achieved the right to
say and do whatsoever seemeth them good to whomsoever they
please. Though his inn is by no means the best, and although
he allows no one to find fault, every body goes to it for the sake
of Krumme Peter. It is amusing to see how quietly he assumes
an equality with the proudest Count or Baron of the state; how
he discusses their families, their fortunes, their opinions, and what
sharp home truths he sometimes tells under that air of half-dignity,
KARLSBURG. J 7o
half-buffoonery, he commonly puts on. And then Krumme Peter
keeps a table which might content a bishop, arid he does the ho-
nours of it, too, with a feeling of the importance of the duty;
and, after all, he charges you so little, that you begin yourself
to doubt whether you have not been his guest rather than his
customer.
Karlsburg is formed by two distinct towns, the one, a long,
ill-built, straggling village, occupying the plain; the other, a
handsome fortress, containing many good buildings and neatly
laid out, situated on the hill above. We reached the fortress
by a winding road, defended by walls, into which were built a
number of Roman statues, and tablets bearing inscriptions.
These are remains of the Roman Colonia Apulensis, which oc-
cupied the site of Karlsburg. Within the fortress is a museum,
in which still more interesting antiquities of the same period are
preserved. Colonia seems to have been the mining capital of
the Romans in Dacia, the seat of the Collegium Aurariarum, and
the residence of the Procurator or chief officer of the gold mines.
The present fortress is of no greater age than the time of
Charles the VI. (1715,) whose name it bears. As a fortress,
nothing can be worse placed ; it is ill-supplied with water, and
commanded by the neighbouring hills. It is said to have been
built after a plan of Prince Eugene's; and, if I mistake not, it is
not the only bad fortification I have heard attributed to him.
In the centre of the fortress is a fine cathedral, built in fulfil-
ment of a vow to St. Michael, made by Hunyadi Janos, in the
battle of St. Imre. I think it was in this battle that the order
had been given to the Turkish army to seek out and destroy
Hunyadi, who was distinguished by his white plume and brilliant
armour. This news having been reported to the Hungarians,
Kemeny, one of the officers of Hunyadi, assumed the armour of
his chief, and nobly devoted himself to a certain death, to save
his country the loss of her greatest general. The cathedral,
which is small, is in a style half Gothic, half Byzantine, charac-
teristic enough of the age and history of its erection. The ex-
terior is heavy, and the ornaments, which are in the barbarous
taste of the Byzantine school, are far from relieving it. The
interior, however, is in a more bold and pure Gothic style; and
the tracery on the capitals of some of the long slender pillars, is
as graceful and light as any thing in York.
For a long time, this cathedral was the favourite burying-
place of the princes of Transylvania. The tombs of Hunyadi,
15*
174 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
and his beheaded son Ladislaus, and another of his family, though
much injured, are still interesting. The figures of the knights,
which resemble those we so often see in our own churches, deco-
rate the top of each sarcophagus. That of Hunyadi is represent-
ed as clothed in a flowing mantle, beneath which is a tight sur-
coat, fastened round the waist by a cord, and which, falling back
from the legs, displays the tight pantaloons, resembling those
worn at the present day. The two other figures are of a later
date, and are of much ruder workmanship. They are both in
armour, but with waists more ridiculously pinched in, than even
a Paris milliner would venture on. Still further, we found the
tomb of Isabella, and her son, John Sigmund Zapolya. It was
this princess who introduced from Poland, her native country, the
doctrines of Unitarianism into Transylvania, and who likewise
granted equal rights and privileges to the four churches, which
still constitute the established religions of the country. This
monument is in white marble, of a considerable size, and orna-
mented with bas-reliefs, interesting as illustrating the costume
and mode of warfare of that age. We find cannon and heavy
arquebuses already in use, although the horsemen are completely
encased in armour. The chivalry. of Transylvania is seen ad-
vancing in battle array, each knight bearing on his spear not only
his banner, but a kind of tuft, something like the horse tails of
a Turkish Pasha. Under the great porch, we observed, on one
side a slab, to the memory of George Rakotzy I., and on the
opposite side was the pedestal of another, of which the slab had
been removed. It is said, that in 1716, when the Catholics
again obtained possession of the cathedral— for it had served in
turn Catholic, Unitarian, and Calvinist— they had the pitiful
bigotry to destroy the monument of Bethlen Gabor, which for-
merly stood there. The verger denied all cognizance of the
matter, but confessed he knew nothing of any such monument ;
and I must say, this vacant place looks very much as if the alle-
gation were true. I could not help smiling at the pious horror
the verger seemed to have of Protestant persecution, when he
said, that during the time the Protestants possessed the church,
they only allowed the Catholics the use of the porch, which was
htted up as an oratory; but he forgot to say that the Catholics
did not leave the Protestants even that poor privilege, but turned
them out altogether.
The Transylvanian mint, where all the gold found in Transyl-
vania is coined, stands near the cathedral. We were allowed
THE MINT. 175
to walk in and examine it without difficulty. We found them
at work with some new presses made by an Englishman in Vi-
enna ; they spoke of them in high terms, and they were certainly
very superior to those we had seen at Kremnitz. The average
monthly coinage I have seen stated at 100,000 florins (10,000/.
sterling.) This is probably about correct, for I find the whole
amount of gold said to be produced in Transylvania, estimated
at 2500 marks (the mark, 3t3/. 12s.) or 91,500J.; of silver, 500
marks, (mark, 21. 10*.) or 12,500/.; together 104,000/. Great
complaints are made by private speculators in mines, against the
facilities afforded by the mint to gold robbers. In an article of
so much value, it is almost impossible to prevent the common
miners from stealing when occasions offer; but good police regu-
lations, which would prevent jewellers from purchasing raw
metal, and strict observance on the part of the mint, to receive
it only from persons who can have obtained it honestly, — and
that is easily known, for every mining adventurer must possess
a permission from the Crown — would do much to check the
practice. Here, on the contrary, every grain is eagerly grasped
at by the mint under the absurd and mischievous notion which
we have often had to notice, that it might otherwise be sold out
of the country, and so impoverish the land. Thus we see a
government establishment from pure ignorance of the simplest
principles of political economy, labouring to demoralize those
whom it ought, and whom I believe it wishes only to benefit.
On quitting Karlsburg, for the mines of Zalathna, we left the
valley of the Maros, and with it, to all appearance, the habita-
ble world itself. A secluded valley cut out of the hard rock by
the little river Ompoly, whose banks we followed, brought us
at last however to our journey's end. It was a sultry day, and
five long hours did it take us to accomplish the task. Not that
w?e had any thing to complain of; the valley was often pretty,
and every now and then a curious rock, which seemed, as it
were, to have started from the side of the mountain, gave occu-
pation to our thoughts in attempting to account for the manner
of its formation. And a still more pleasant theme for musing, —
for it was on the kindliness of the heart of man, — did we discover
in a custom of this secluded valley. Under the cool shade of a
large spreading tree by the road-side, and just high enough to
place it out of the reach of cattle, we noticed a small wooden
frame, something like that often seen in Catholic countries, con-
taining the image of a favourite saint. Instead of a saint, how-
176 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
ever, in this one there was a large pitcher, such as the peasants
commonly use for carrying water. Opposite this tree our pea-
sant driver deliberately pulled up his horses, and getting off the
hox, took down the pitcher from its niche, and, after first offer-
ing it to us, indulged in a long and hearty draught of the pure
fresh water it contained. To the Transylvanian peasant, under
a Transylvanian sun, a great quantity of water is an absolute
necessary. Of that we had been often made aware, for our
coachmen constantly stopped the carriage without thinking it
at all necessary to ask permission whenever they saw a well, or
a clear stream, to quench their thirst; we had often, too, seen
the peasant woman, as she carried home her full pitcher from
the well, offer it to the passing traveller without a moment's
hesitation, though it cost her the trouble of returning some dis-
tance to refill it. But here, where no friendly spring was nigh,
some neighbouring peasant family had undertaken to supply the
deficiency by erecting this little structure, and providing it with
a constant supply of fresh water. How many a weary travel-
ler had gained fresh strength from the bounty of this unknown
hand! "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink;" — never were
the words of our Saviour more beautifully illustrated ; never was
charity performed in a more Christian spirit.
23rd. — At Zalathna itself, there was little to be seen beyond
the smelting houses, which differed in no essential points from
those we had seen before. At some distance further up into the
mountains, in the neighbourhood of Voros Patak, we had heard
that there were some extraordinary mines, and, somewhere in
the same direction a basaltic mountain of very wonderful propor-
tions. So having spent a good part of the morning in providing
a guide and saddle horses, — for we were told it was impossible
to make the excursion in a carriage, — we ate an early dinner
and started. Besides ourselves and the Wallack guide, we set
Miklps between a couple of carpet bags, on a fourth horse, that
he might serve as interpreter and general provider. Our imme-
diate destination was Abrud Banya, where we were promised
beds and supper.
For the first two hours the road led us along a thickly wooded
valley, where our horses had some difficulty to find a footing
among the loose stones with which it was filled. No solitude
could be more complete; during the whole time not a soul crossed
our path. Just at the point where we were to leave this valley,
and cross the mountain, about half the distance to Abrud Banya,
A CONFESSION. 177
we came suddenly on a comfortable-looking little inn, with half
a cloven carnages and a number of servants standing before the
door. A more unexpected apparition could scarcely have pre-
sented kself in the back woods of America.
We had hardly passed the door before some of the servants
came running after us with their masters' salutations, requesting
to know who we were, and where we were going, and offering
us, at the same time, their company on the road. The first part
of the matter I had no hesitation in satisfying, but the latter was
more than I could undertake. I know that I was wrong, — I
am perfectly aware that a traveller who undertakes to amuse or
instruct others by his travels, is in duty bound to suffer all man-
ner of annoyances; to go "pokin his nose" — as a certain minis-
ter for foreign affairs expresses it when his protection is asked for
an enterprise of difficulty and danger — into all manner of disagree-
ables, where he has any hope of extracting amusement or infor-
mation ; and from these gentlemen I have no doubt I might have
obtained much, for'they were the great mining notabilities from
the whole country round — the Berg Raths and Berg Inspectors,
and I know not who else beside, — who had been solemnly ad-
mitting a new member into their body, of course over a good
dinner, that forming a part of all solemn ceremonies all over the
world. I know, therefore, how much I have failed, and I im-
pose this confession on myself as a punishment for my back-
sliding ; but really I had not the courage to go through the ordeal
of answering all their questions about ourselves, our objects, and
our travels ; of listening to all their remarks thereon, and, above
all, of suffering their hospitality — for there are moments when
well-meant but rude hospitality inflicts much suffering. In fact
I must have been out of temper, for all I could bring my polite-
ness to do, was to answer their queries, that they might not take
us for spies, or what not, and apologize, on the plea of a coming
storm, for not delaying longer on the way.
As we passed the mountain, we had occasion again to wonder
at the strange passion the middle classes here seem to have for
travelling in carriages in preference to horseback or on foot.
The road was frightful; in many places it was positively dange-
rous, and every where rough enough to dislocate the best-set
bones; yet we met a young man of not more than twenty, sitting
out all this in a wagon without springs, and smoking his meer-
schaum just as composedly as if he had been enjoying himself
exceedingly.
178 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
When we had reached the other side of the mountain, and
had again descended into a valley, we found ourselves in the
midst of mining operations on every side. Not a little stream
but was employed in moving crushing-mills and washing ore.
Most of those we remarked were working gold ores, which pre-
vail over the whole of this district; but some also those of mer-
cury, which occurs in the form of cinnabar. I was sorry not to
have an opportunity of seeing the process by which the mercury
is extracted from the cinnabar ; but I could not make out even
where it is carried on.
Abrud Banya, which we reached before sunset, is a little
metropolis in its way, and like many of the mining towns, as-
tonishes the stranger by an exhibition of wealth and luxury which
he little expects to find in the midst of the wildest natural scenery
Many of the houses are large, and really handsomely built.
Some have owed their origin to persons whom a lucky mining
adventure has made suddenly rich, others to the officers of Govern-
ment who, somehow or other, manage to live well, and acquire
wealth in spite of their paltry salaries: — I leave the explanation
of this interesting mystery to the penetration of their employers.
24th. — We got off this morning at an early hour, in hopes of
reaching Zalathna before night, but the accounts of the distance
as well as of what we have to see, are so various and contradic-
tory, that it seems highly probable we may have to bivouac
somewhere in the mountains. Our first point was the mines of
Voros Patak, the Csetatie or fortress, as it is called. For the
first hour we kept along a good road, constructed for the con-
veyance of the ores from Voros Patak to Abrud Banya, where
they are smelted. The country was a succession of mountains
as far as the eye could reach, for the most part covered with
wood, or pasture. We noticed several, however, the lower por-
tions of which were conical, while their summits offered a singu-
lar appearance of a small table-land supported by bare cliffs.
At a distance they looked like rocky islands, standing out from
a stormy ocean. From their white appearance, I suspect them
to be limestone.
On leaving the road, which would have conducted us to the
bottom of the valley in which lies Voros Patak, we turned along
the back of the mountain,* and in about half an hour arrived at
the Csetatie Mike, or little fortress. This hill is so called from
the appearance of a ruined fortress, — or rather of a honeycomb,
bored through and through on every side, — which it presents.
CSETATIE MARE. 179
The most unlearned of my readers are probably aware that in
the generality of mines, the metalliferous ores are found in veins
which traverse the mountains in various directions, and that it
is the duty of the miner to pursue these wherever they may go,
removing only so much of the surrounding matter as is necessary
to enable him to carry on his operations ; here, on the contrary,
the whole mountain mass contains gold, and it is, in consequence,
cut away somewhat as we often see stone in a common quarry,
and in this form it is conveyed to the crushing-mills, and broken
up. Sometimes it is found too in a nest, or bunch, that is a small
extent containing much more ore than the surrounding mass.
Formerly, however, it possessed veins, too, of wonderful rich-
ness, and these the early miners have pursued and exhausted, and
it is to the open mouths of these old levels, and to the peculiar
operations carried on at the present time, that it owes its remark-
able appearance.*
The Csetatie Mare (the great fortress,) on the other side of
the mountain, is still more curious. The whole top of the moun-
tain has fallen in, and produced a kind of vast hall, open above,
in the very heart of the mountain itself. From the side of the
mountain we entered an old level, large enough for laden horses
to pass through — something like a covered way into a fortress
— and nn a short time arrived at a large circular space completely
walled in by solid rock. Above us was a wide opening, — some-
thing like what the crater of a volcano may seem to Vulcan's
friends as they amuse themselves below — and round about a
number of open passages of every size and shape. These open-
ings were the remains of former workings, and they were highly
illustrative of the history of mining in Transylvania. There
were small passages scarcely large enough for the body of a man,
which I am inclined to refer to the efforts of the barbarians both
before and after the conquest of Dacia ; then there were the stately
chiselled levels of the Roman workmen, and here and there marks
of where the fire had done its work; and again the more careless
traces of the modern Wallack's labours. It is probable that the
greater part of this space had been exhausted before the top fell
in; and from the appearance of the masses which still encumber
it, I should imagine it to have been a mere shell. Some of the
old Roman levels, which we followed deeper into the mountain
* I strongly recommend the careful study of this mountain and district,
to those interested in the inquiry, as to the origin and causes of metallife-
rous veins.
180 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
to see the present workings, are really splendid. I think it is no
exaggeration to say that a carriage and pair might drive along
them.
It is a curious fact in the history of labour that there are no
large capitals employed in working these mines; they are entirely
in the hands of poor peasants, who work them either singly or in
small associations of two or three persons. When the mountain
was richer, Government found it worth while to work on its own
account; but since it has become poorer, none but the peasants,
it is said, can get a good profit out of it. Accordingly, when a
peasant makes an application for a grant of so many square yards
of mountain it is never refused him, unless it interferes with the
workings of some of his neighbours. The working we visited
was carried on by a father, two sons, and their mother. The
father bored, blasted, and filled the panniers, while one son some-
times aided him, sometimes drove the horse from the mine to the
crushing-mill. Here the other son and the mother were engaged,
or sometimes the mother alone. In other cases the same hands
dig the ore, transport it to the river, dress it, wash it, arid finally
convey it to Abrud Banya. It is scarcely necessary to say,
with such a system, that all these processes are carried on in the
rudest possible manner. As we looked from the top of this moun-
tain into the valley below, I think we must have seen not less
than five hundred crushing-mills and washing-floors within the
space of a couple of English miles. They consisted of a single
small wheel, generally deficient in half its buckets, which moves
three crushing-poles, none of which go equally, and one of which
is generally wanting, or broken. As the crushed stuff falls down,
it is carried by the water over a single board, and the small re-
sidue it leaves is collected, and without further dressing, trans-
ported to the smelting-house. In spite of the excessive rudeness
of these mechanical processes, and the loss they occasion, the
peasants manage to get rich by them. Voros Patak is said to
abound with houses loaded with every luxury the ignorant Wai-
lack peasant can think of. It is impossible to attribute this to
any other cause than the stimulus which interest excites and the
discoveries which the number of minds directed to one object,
and so stimulated, are constantly producing. Of course, in these
circumstances a vast amount of inquisitive research and specula-
tive energy is necessarily called into action; and although those
who employ it are very ignorant and very poor, and not very
industrious, they can make a profit where scientific knowledge,
181
unlimited capital, and well-directed division of labour, confess
themselves unable to compete with advantage. This is, perhaps,
one of the strongest facts in favour of individual energy against
associated capital and its concomitant advantages, of any I
know.
I must not forget that in passing between the two Csetaties,
we observed a peasant carefully scraping up the soil from the
little path we followed,* and depositing it in a basket beside him,
much in the same way as we see the children collect manure on
our high roads, — but with this difference, that the Transylvanian
obtained gold ready made to his hand, while our own countrymen
only acquire a means of aiding industry in its acquisition. I dare
say every body has heard of streets paved with gold ; but I must
confess I had always believed it a romance ; here, however, it
was a serious reality. In fact, the road was formed of stones
from the nearest rock, which we already know contains gold,
and as it had been raining during the night, it was no wonder
that the water shc-uld have washed away the lighter particles
which had been crushed to dust under the feet of the passers,
and left the heavier ore glittering in the sun behind.
After we had satisfied ourselves with admiration at the extra-
ordinary phenomena of the Csetatie, and listened to the clatter-
ing of the five hundred mills of Voros Patak, we again took to
our horses and pursued a hilly road, which was to lead us to the
basaltic mountain. Our route lay over the same kind of green
mountains we had seen the whole of the day, and was only varied
by our stumbling every now and then on some strange little mining
settlement which had buried itself in a hidden nook, or perched
itself on a mountain top, as the object of its search might have
dictated. We met a fat and jolly-looking Wallack peasant in
the course of the morning, whom our guide pointed out to us as
possessing more gold than any count or baron in the country.
He was riding beside a wagon drawn by bullocks, in which sat
his servant dressed just like himself. The guide could give us
no idea of the amount of his wealth, which he said was so much
that the man could not count it himself. The only approxima-
tion to a fixed sum we could obtain, was, that he received a
whole wagon-load of ducats from the Karlsburg mint every two
months, in return for the gold he sent there. Whatever may
* Pliny describes nearly the same scene in his day.
VOL. II.— 16
182 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
be the troubles riches bring in their train, they certainly had not
as yet affected our Wallack, for he was one of the merriest-look-
ing peasants I ever saw.
After about a two hours' ride we emerged from a wood of
dark pines, and found ourselves in presence of the Detonata
(thunderbolt,) a basaltic rock of about two hundred feet in height,
crowning the top of a mountain; and though exceedingly curious,
far less wonderful than we had teen led to expect, or than those
who had never seen any thing of the kind before believed it to be.
It is composed of columns, some of which are nearly perpendicu-
lar and others horizontal. I observed no less than five different
inclinations in these pillars. They are most irregularly formed
and much smaller than those of Fingal's Cave; indeed, they can
bear no comparison with the latter. Some of these columns have
a slanting direction, and have been fancied by the peasants to
have some resemblance to a fiddle, whence it is also called the
Black Stone Fiddle (Piatra Csityera Nyagra.) The name Deto-
nata, by which it is commonly known, is not uninteresting, as it is
accompanied by the belief that this rock has been produced by some -
sudden convulsion attended with the noise of thunder. It must
be remembered that this tradition is found among the Dacians,
the oldest inhabitants of the country ; and if it can be supposed
to have its foundation in fact, I believe it would be the only in-
stance in which we have any evidence of the production of a
columnar basaltic rock, since this globe has been inhabited by
man.
While we were climbing the back of these rocks, and Miklos
was spreading out the contents of our prog basket under the
shade of the pines, the guide had disappeared in search of a frozen
spring near the base of the mountain, in hopes of procuring some
ice to cool our wine. He returned, however, empty-handed, for
it had formed so compact a mass that he could not detach any
of it without a hatchet. Our ride, however, had furnished us
with a good apology for such luxuries, and stretched out on a
soft bed of moss, we managed to do credit to our meal even with-
out iced wine. It was already four o'clock before we could
leave the Detonata, and we had still another mine to visit and a
long journey before us ere we could reach Zalathna. Our horses
were refreshed, however, by their food and rest, and we again
mounted and pushed on.
There was nothing very remarkable in the mine we visited.
It belonged to a private company, who were just erecting one of
183
those curious water engines which are peculiar I believe to Hun-
gary. It consisted of a cylinder and piston, much like that of a
steam-engine, but instead of the piston being moved by the ex-
pansive power of steam, it is pressed down by the weight of a
vertical column of water which passes out at the bottom, where
another stream is admitted which forces the piston up again. Its
great advantage is in the vast power obtained by it from a very
small quantity of water. Of course it can only be used where
the fall is great. There were three hundred men employed in
this mine. I have been told by the chief proprietor that the
pay of the Hauer (cutter,) — the lowest order of workmen, an-
swering to our tut workers, — who is paid by the piece, amounts
to about six or eight florins, c. m. (twelve or sixteen shillings)
per month. They rarely work more than four or five days per
week, and never more than eight hours per day. The Spreri-
ger (blaster,) and Hutleute (smelters,) have fixed wages, varying
from ten to twenty florins, c. m. (twenty to forty shillings] per
month. My informant adds, "the double of this amount would
not be too much if the stealing could be prevented ; but as things
exist at present, that is impossible."
After a six hours' ride through woods and over mountains, at
first illuminated by all the brilliancy of an autumn sunset, and
then varied by the cold tints of the pale moon, we at last arrived
at Zalathna ; and having given orders for an early start to-mor-
row, lay down to dream of gold mines and gold'en pavements,
and wagon-loads of ducats, and I know not what beside.
Before I leave this curious district, however, and with it all
further reference to mining matters, let me say a few words on
the gold-washing, and gold-washers of Transylvania.
In some parts of Hungary, and in almost every part of Tran-
sylvania, but especially in that through which our wanderings
have lately conducted us, a large quantity of gold is annually
procured from the sand deposited by the rivers and brooks.
There is scarcely a single river in Transylvania of which the
sands do not contain more or less gold, but the most celebrated
are the Aranyos (golden,) the Maros, the Strigy, the Koros, and
the Szamos. The gold is commonly found in the upper part of
these streams, before the sand becomes mixed with mud from the
richer lands of the valleys. There can be no doubt that the
gold is derived from the decomposition of metalliferous rocks,
from, the attrition of detached masses, and sometimes, though
more rarely, from the breaking up of a vein of ore itself, by
134 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
means of running water. As it is mixed in very small quantities
with other debris, it becomes only worth the search where it has
been collected by the operation of natural causes in a greater
proportionate quantity than that in which it originally existed —in
short, only when nature has dressed and washed it. This occurs
after a flood, at the elbows, or bends of rivers, where the water,
surcharged with broken matter, which its unusual force has ena-
bled it to bring down, flows slower and deposits the heavier par-
ticles, carrying the lighter further on. In such spots the gold-
washers collect when the flood has abated; and taking up the
sand in wooden shovels or scoops, they move it about in a small
quantity of water till all but the metalliferous particles are
washed away.
The gold occurs in various forms, from the most complete dust
to pieces of the size of a pigeon's egg, though I need scarcely
say the former is by far the most common. I believe the greater
part of the gold obtained by the gold-washers is nearly pure, in-
deed, I am not aware that they attempt to gather it when mixed
with other matter. I have no means of ascertaining the amount
of gold washed in Transylvania. In the Banat I have seen it
stated, that from 1813 to 1818, the proceeds amounted to two
thousand one hundred and thirty-eight ducats.
This branch of industry is almost entirely in the hands of the
gipsies. The Government grants a gipsy band the privilege of
washing the sands of a certain brook, on condition of their paying
a yearly rent, which is never less than three ducats in pure gold
per head for every washer. A gipsy judge, or captain, settles
this matter with the Government, and is answerable for the rest
of the tribe from whom he collects the whole of their earnings,
and, after paying the tribute, redivides it.
In returning to Klausenburg, we remained some time at Nagy
Enyed, where there is a large Protestant college, to visit Pro-
fessor Szasz, one of the most distinguished men in Transylvania,
both in a literary and political point of view. Elected by the
citizens of Enyed, to represent them at the Diet, Professor Szasz,
in spite of the prejudice felt by the aristocracy at this intrusion
of a literary parvenu within their circle, gained so great a power
by the accuracy and extent of his knowledge, so great an influ-
ence by the simplicity and uprightness of his character, and so
willing an auditory from the brilliancy of his eloquence and the
logical correctness of his arguments, that he soon became one of
the most important leaders of the moderate opposition. Mode-
COLLEGE OF ENYED.
185
rate as he was, however, Professor Szasz has not escaped the
anger of the Government ; and he, too, is under trial, on some
trumpery charges, evidently got up purely to annoy and intimi-
date him. We found the Professor at his books in a braided
military-looking coat, and sporting a pair of very imposing mus-
taches. His dress, however, was only the academical costume
of Enyed, where both students and professors wear the national
uniform. As for the mustaches, of late years all but the clergy
have worn them ; and I should not be surprised if they did so too
before long. After some conversation, in which the Professor
explained to us the history and present state of the college of
Enyed, he kindly offered to show us over it.
It appears to have been originally founded at Karlsburg, by
Bethlen Gabor, for the education of the members of the Reformed
Church, and to have been endowed by him with very conside-
rable estates. It was afterwards removed to Enyed, on the de-
struction of Karlsburg, by Apafy. During a period of tempo-
rary distress — I forget the exact time — when the college was in
danger of perishing from the want of funds, a deputation was
sent over by the Protestants of Transylvania, to request pecu-
niary aid from their brethren in England. The call was gene-
rously answered, and a fund was formed, which is still deposited
in the Bank of England, and from which the college of Enyed
receives an annual revenue of 1,000/. It is wonderful what a
feeling of friendship, what a sentiment of brotherhood with Eng-
land, this gift, though now completely forgotten among us, still
maintains among the Transylvanian Protestants. The revenue
derived from this source has been expended for some years past
on the erection of a range of new buildings for the residence of
the students, which, when finished, will make a very respectable
appearance.
There are in all about one thousand students, of whom three
hundred are Togati, or Deak; the rest, mere children. The
course of study is divided into three periods. The first is so ar-
ranged, that at the end of it. those who are intended for the
smaller trades shall have acquired a sufficient education to fit
them for their avocations, while it has served also as a founr'a-
tion for a more extended course of education to the others. It
includes religion, writing, arithmetic, book-keeping, geography,
a little history, particularly that of their own country, with
some notices of natural history, drawing, and singing.
16*
186 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The next division includes three more years, and is dedicated,
in addition to a further development of the preceding subjects,
to Latin, Greek, and German; mathematics, belles lettres, rhe-
toric, and logic.
After these six years' preliminary study, the scholar becomes
a Deak, and enters on what may be called a regular academical
course, which lasts six years more. He has now, too, the privi-
lege of becoming a tutor to the younger scholars. The first
four years he must study mathematics, physics, chemistry, natu-
ral history, metaphysics, logic, aesthetics, natural law, ethics,
physiology, history, Jaws and constitution of Transylvania, with
its statistics, politics, &c. &c. The last two years, the student
is allowed to choose his own course of study, — I presume, to
enable him to perfect himself in any speciality to which he may
choose to dedicate himself. It is during this period, that the
divinity students take their Hebrew and theology courses. To
teach all this knowledge, there are only eight professors, none of
whom have more than 50/. a year. I need scarcely say, that
there must be much that is very superficial, and, therefore, nearly
useless, in a course of so much pretension, when the means are
so slight for rendering it efficient.
Several students commonly live in the same room. In the
junior classes, they pay some very small sum, I think a fee of
four shillings, on entering a new class; in the higher, the instruc-
tion is not only gratis, but they even receive assistance from the
funds of the college.*
Professor Szasz introduced us to one of his colleagues, Profes-
sor Herepei, who enjoys the highest reputation for pulpit elo-
quence of any clergyman of the Reformed Church in Transylva-
nia. We had proposed to visit the library and museum, but the
curator was out of the way, and the key nowhere to be found.
Neither the one nor the other is said to be in a very flourishing
condition. The students and professors come together here
much more than with us. They have a club, or casino, in the
town, where they meet, and smoke, and read the journals together,
without stiffness or restraint.
For general education, I believe Enyed stands higher than any
* Besides Enyed, the Reformed Church in Transylvania has colleges
in Klausenburg, Maros Vasarhely and Udvarhely, and Gymnasia in Zilah,
Szaszvaros, Decs, Kezdi Vasarhely, Thorda, and Salzburg.
COLLEGE OF ENYED.
187
other college in Transylvania. Its pupils are commonly supposed
to receive a strong bias towards liberalism during their academi-
cal residence. It is on this account, that Government has been
making some attempts to interfere with the system of education
among the Protestants; but it has been resisted as illegal by the
Consistory, and, I believe, with success.
88 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER X.
THE SZEKLERS AND THE SZEKLER-LAND.
The Szeklers — their ancient Rights and modern Position. — The Mezoseg.
— Maros Vasarhely. — Chancellor Teleki and his Library. — A Szekler
Inn — The Szekler Character.— Salt Rocks at Szovata. — The Cholera
and the spare Bed. — Miseria cum aceto. — Glories of Grock. — Salt-Mines
of Parayd. — Udvarhely. — St. Pal. — Excursion to Almas. — Superstition.
— The Cavern. — Sepsi St. Gyorgy. — Kezdi Vasarhely. — The French
Brewer. — The Szekler Schools. — Szekler Hospitality. — The Budos. —
The Harom-Szek.
WHEN next we left Klausenburg, it was to visit the east and
south of Transylvania, two districts inhabited by different nations
and governed by different laws from those in which we had
hitherto sojourned.
I have already said that the Szeklers were found by the Mag-
yars in the country which they now occupy on their first entrance,
and on account of similarity of language and origin, were granted
favours refused to the original inhabitants of the country. They
were allowed the full enjoyment of their freedom on condition of
defending the eastern frontier.
Even from this early period the Szeklers claim to have been
all equal, all free, all noble ; a privileged class and a servile class
were alike unknown — the only difference among the richer of them
being derived from the number of men each could bring into the
field, — among the poorer, from the circumstance of their serving
on horseback or on foot. Changes, however, have crept in
amongst them in the lapse of so many centuries. The richer
and more powerful have gradually introduced on their own estates
the system in operation in the rest of Transylvania, and the pea-
sant and the seigneur are now found in the Szekler-land as else-
where. Titles too, and letters of nobility have been freely scat-
tered through the country, and have gradually cast a slur on those
who possess them not. Taxation also, and the forcible introduc-
tion of the border system, instead of the desultory service of for-
mer times, have made great changes in the position of the Szek-
THE SZEKLERS. 189
lers. As almost all these changes, however, have been intro-
duced without the consent of the people, and often by the employ-
ment of open force, they are still regarded as illegal by the Szek-
lers, who are consequently among the most discontented of any
portion of the Transylvanians. It would be absurd in me to
enter further into the question of their laws and institutions, for
even the most learned among themselves, confess that there is so
much confusion in them, that even they cannot make them out.
This I know, that every Szekler claims to be a noble born, and
declares that if he had his rights he should neither pay taxes nor
serve but when an insurrection of the whole nobility of the coun-
try took place. I know also that, in fact, there are among them
Counts and Barons who call themselves magnates, nobles by
letters patent, and free Szeklers without letters, besides borderers
and peasants, and that the free Szeklers and nobles, who have
not mpre than two peasants, pay taxes, just like the peasants,
though in other respects they have rights like the nobles.
All these circumstances were not known to us when we set
out on this expedition. Every Hungarian you speak to is sure
to tell you that the Szeklers are all noble, and you consequently
expect to find a whole nation with equal rights and privileges,
among which freedom from seigneurial oppression, and from go-
vernment taxation, are both alike included. This was the opi-
nion we were led to form, and of course our curiosity was propor-
tionately raised to observe their influence on the state of the peo-
ple. It was only when we saw how much matters seemed to
be managed here as in other parts of the country, that we got
to the real state of the case, and discovered that though the Szek-
lers may have been once all equal and noble, and though they
still lay claim to all manner of rights and privileges, they have
not in reality enjoyed them, for I know not how many centuries.
Our route lay through one of the most curious parts of Tran-
sylvania, the Mezoseg. This is a district of considerable extent,
characterized by the fertility of its soil, and the extreme misery
of its inhabitants. The people are mostly Wallacks, and appear
worse clothed, worse lodged, and more uncivilized than the in-
habitants of any other part of the country. The aspect of the
Mezoseg is not less curious than the state of its population. It
is the only hilly country that I ever saw without a single point
of picturesque beauty. As we ascended one hill, and descended
another, during a long day's drive, the self-same prospect of
brown sun-burnt pasture, unbroken by trees or water, was ever
190 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
before us. In so untempting a land, country-houses are extreme-
ly rare ; indeed, the Mezoseg seems to have been altogether a
forgotten district, both by nature and man. It is very likely,
however, to make itself better known before long. Its extensive
pastures begin to acquire a value, now that the growth of Merino
wool has been introduced, and the coal, of which traces have been
found in several places, will probably produce a rich reward to
whomsoever shall work it with skill and prudence.
We reached Maros Vasarhely, the capital of the Szekler-land,
about twelve o'clock on the second morning, and proceeded at
once to call on Professor Dosa, a friend of Baron W 's, our
companion in this journey, who politely offered to show us the
town. Although there is nothing very imposing in the wide
streets and small houses, of which Maros Vasarhely is mostly
composed, it is rather an important place, and in winter, many
of the gentry in the neighbourhood take up their residence with-
in it. Moreover, both Protestants and Catholics have colleges
here ; the Protestant contains eight hundred, the Catholic three
hundred scholars, and these institutions give something of a lite-
rary air to its society. Maros Vasarhely is also the seat of
the highest legal tribunal in Transylvania, the Royal table, and
it is in consequence the great law school of the country. Almost
all the young nobles who desire to take any part in public busi-
ness, as well as all the lawyers, after having finished the regular
course of study, think it necessary, under the name of Juraten,
to pass a year or two here in reading law and attending the court.
The great pride of the town is the fine library of the Telekis,
founded by the Chancellor Teleki, and left to his family on the
condition of its being always open to the public. It contains
about eighty thousand volumes, which are placed in a very hand-
some building, and kept in excellent order. A reading-room is
attached, which is always open, where books are supplied to any
one who demands them. There are funds for its support, and
the family still continue to add to it as far as they are able. It
is most rich in choice editions of the Latin and Greek classics.
These works were the favourite studies of the Chancellor himself,
who was a man of very extensive learning*. What renders this
the more remarkable is, the fact of his having entirely acquired
it after the age of twenty, and that, too, during the little leisure
afforded him from public business. Among the bibliographical
curiosities pointed out to us, was an illuminated Latin Bible,
which was said to be written on a vegetable leaf. The substance
MAROS VASARHELY.
191
employed was certainly not papyrus ; I should have taken it for
very fine vellum. There was also a MS. copy of a work by Serve-
tus, which we were told was unpublished, though, on turning over
the fly-leaf, we found a quotation from an edition of the same
work printed in London. There was a beautiful MS. of Tacitus
from the library of Mathias Corvinus, and splendidly bound, as
indeed the whole of that library was.
We were shown the Casino, which seems a flourishing and
well-conducted establishment. It numbers two hundred mem-
bers. As many of the students are too poor to become sub-
scribers to it, and as it is the wish of the professors to give as
many as possible an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the
utility and conduct of such institutions, free admissions are
granted to six of them every month, arid such as choose to avail
themselves of it, take it in rotation.
In showing us the old Gothic church, which occupies the cen-
tre of the former fortress, Professor Dosa observed that it was
very nearly being destroyed during the reign of Maria Theresa,
because the Protestants were not then allowed to repair their
churches; and it was not till Joseph II. broke down the force
of the bigots that the Vasarhely Protestants were permitted to
new roof their church.
The next day we passed through a hilly and rather pretty coun-
try, with many villages, differing in no respect from hundreds we
had seen elsewhere, till we arrived at St. Gyorgy, a village on the
Kis Kukullo — the small Kokel, — a river we have before men-
tioned, as celebrated for its wines. We had been told we should
find an inn here, and be able to bait our horses, and get a dinner
for ourselves. It was true enough, an inn was found, but the
poor landlady declared she had nothing to give us but dry bread,
and what was still worse, she had not any corn for our horses.
The servants, nevertheless, proceeded to take the horses out of
the carriages, in spite of this bad prospect, and on my inquiring
what was the use of stopping at a place where neither man nor
horse could find his profit, they only smiled, and said they would
try if something could not be done. At one end of the village
there was a large manor-house, and the coachman at once made
for that, sure there would be corn there, and hoping that the
steward would sell them what they wanted. In coming along
too Miklos had fixed his eyes on some hens which were amusing
themselves on the high road, and he soon returned from his forage,
bringing with him both the hens and their eggs. Our servants
192 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
were fortunately good cooks, and while one set to work to com-
pose an omelette, the other produced an egg soup and a couple
of roast fowls. There is certainly nothing like having a servant
who knows the work he may have to turn his hand to: I wonder
how a well-behaved English valet would have got us out of our
difficulty.
The plan we had laid down for ourselves in traversing the
Szekler-land, was to visit some salt mines at Szovata, pass through
Udvarhely, to an estate of our friend's; from thence, make an
excursion to visit a celebrated cave in the neighbourhood, and so
pass on into the Saxon-land, visiting its two chief towns, Kron-
stadt and Hermanstadt, and then return to Klausenburg.
In pursuit of this plan, we followed the little Kiikullo nearly
to its source, along a very beautiful valley, highly cultivated,
and, though naturally far from rich, bearing good crops. The
Szeklers inhabit a mountainous country, and are consequently poor;
but it was easy to see they are far more industrious than any of
the Transylvanians we had before visited. From all I heard of
their character, they seem a good deal to resemble the Scotch.
The same pride and poverty, the same industry and enterprise,
and if they are not belied, the same sharp regard to their own
interests. They speak a dialect of the Magyar, which differs but
slightly from that used in other parts of the country, except in
the peculiar sing-song intonation in which it is uttered. Like
most mountaineers, they are but little distinguished for polished
and refined manners; even the wealthier are commonly remark-
able for a greater rudeness in their bearing than is seen in other
parts of the country. This is more than made up, however, by
a greater degree of information, and by a firm adherence to their
political principles. Like the Scotch, they seem to have ad-
vanced in education to an extraordinary degree, so that there
are few villages without their schools, few of the humblest Szek-
lers who cannot read and write. They are of various religions,
and each sect is said to be strongly attached to its own.* The
Unitarians are in greater proportion here than in any other part
of the country; they have about one hundred churches in the
Szekler-land. Excepting the Jews and Greeks, all religions
enjoy equal rights.
We reached Szovata towards evening, and, as there was no
possibility of lodging there for the night, we made the best haste
* Among the Catholics are reckoned the members of the Armenian
Catholic, and Greek Catholic churches.
SALT ROCKS. 193
we could to find a guide, and see what was to be seen before
dark. This was no such easy matter, however; the cholera had
just set in, and its first victim had been one of the chief men of
the village. His funeral had taken place the day we arrived ;
and, as it is a custom of the Szeklers to get especially drunk on
these occasions, to dissipate their grief, we found nearly the
whole village as glorious in liquor as their friend could be in
sanctity. By some chance, one sober man was found at last, and
we followed him beyond the village in the direction of a small
green hill, which we could perceive at some distance. Judge of
our surprise, as we drew nearer, to see before us a real rock of
salt! Yes, our green hill was pure rock salt, when seen near, as
white as snow, but covered at the top and in many places on the
side by a layer of clay, on which grass and trees grew abundantly.
Before arriving at the hill itself, we had to cross a little brook
which presented a most curious appearance, — its banks, and the
numerous stones which stand out from its shallow bed, are all
incrusted with crystals of salt, and that, too, so exactly in the
form of hoar frost, that, in spite of the warm rays of an autumn
sunset, I could scarce persuade myself they were not so till I
had tasted them. At this point, a guard, armed with a musket,
met us, and accompanied us as long as we remained near. In
fact, guards surround the whole of the hill, to prevent the pea-
sants from stealing the salt. This salt-bed, which extends to a
considerable distance, is not worked for salt at all; what is re-
quired for its immediate neighbourhood, is obtained from Parayd,
a few miles off. In spite of all the guards, however, stealing
goes on to a considerable extent; indeed, one of the first neces-
saries of life, so costly if bought, and here in such abundance,
and to be had for the trouble of picking up, must offer too strong
a temptation for the poor man to withstand. Probably, too, the
guards themselves are the greatest robbers. There seems to be
no end to the quantity of salt in this neighbourhood; in many
places, the peasant has only to scrape away the dirt of his cot-
tage floor to obtain salt beneath it. It is said that in Transyl-
vania alone, there is sufficient salt to supply all Europe for some
thousand years!
As we got nearer, we found the herbage and the crops of In-
dian corn looking as well on the salt rock as on any other soil ;
nor could we observe any difference in the plants here and in the
neighbourhood. We examined several of the cliffs, which were
very beautiful. In some, the rain has formed channels and fur-
VOL. n. — 17
194 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
rows, which again have given rise to pinnacles, covered with
bright crystals of salt, something like Gothic minarets in minia-
ture. On the other side, we were told, the cliffs are much higher
and finer; but it was at least three miles round, and it was al-
ready too dark to allow us to undertake the journey. We made
a stout resolution to return the next day, and get a sketch of
these wonderful cliffs, but it turned out so wet, that it was im-
possible.
When we got back to the village, and the tipsy gentry had
learned our friend's name, — one to which all Szekler-land is
deeply attached, — it was with the utmost difficulty we could get
away. The dead man's house, as the best in the village, was
placed at our disposal, and we were almost forced to accept his
spare bed by these hospitable friends.
I really do not know what notion the inhabitants of the Szek-
ler-land mean to express by the words, "a comfortable inn ;"
but 1 am quite sure it is something very different from what all the
rest of the world mean. Twice, to-day, have we found our-
selves wofully mistaken in our calculations in consequence ; — this
morning, we found a comfortable inn meant an empty room, and
nothing to eat; to-night, it seemed to mean no room and nothing
to eat either ! Every body had agreed, that at Parayd we should
be splendidly accommodated, and so we declined the dead man's
bed and pushed on to this same Parayd with the greatest confi-
dence. Alas! we were doomed to be disappointed. There was
only one spare room, and a little closet; and no sooner had we
alighted, than they told us the room was taken, and nothing
but the closet could we have. Seated at a table, in one corner,
we found the happy occupant of the room, just finishing, as we
supposed, his supper, with bread and ewe-milk cheese. After
the first salutations, the stranger, who turned out to be an old
officer of the Szekler Borderers, politely offered us the larger
room, saying, the closet would be sufficient to contain him ; but,
when he heard us ask for supper, the old gentleman shook his
head, and pointing to the cheese and bread, and a bottle of pale,
sour-looking wine, exclaimed, despondingly, miseria cum aceto!
and nothing else to be had ! — So much for a comfortable inn in
the Szekler-land.
I am afraid that, with all their good qualities, the Szeklers are
rather behindhand in the comforts — perhaps they call them su-
perfluous luxuries — of other parts of Europe. Even in their
own houses, the gentry show but little taste for comfort or clean-
SZEKLER COMFORT. 195
liness. In many cases, this may be attributable to poverty — then
I have not a word to say ; but in others, I have seen an admix-
ture of tawdry splendour with squalid neglect, which presented
a contrast highly ridiculous. We avoided private houses as much
as possible, for W had just as great a dislike as we had to
ask for hospitality from those he did not know; and, besides, so
many Szeklers speak only Magyar, that we could have obtained
little, either of amusement or instruction, from the intercourse;
but we were sometimes driven to it in spite of ourselves, and I
will mention the result of one such instance. We were introduced
into a large handsome house, where the drawing-room and bou-
doir were filled with fashionable modern furniture, where the
lady who reigned over them was handsomely, not to say showily,
dressed, and where the whole establishment manifests a pretension
to style, rarely seen in these mountains. When we retired to
our bed-rooms, however, we got a little behind the scenes, and
found the play by no means so imposing. Half-a-dozen panes
in the windows were broken; the furniture was of the shabbiest
description; the floor filthy to the last degree; and, as for the
beds, it was too evident to admit of a question that the linen on
them had not been refreshed for many a good day. W was
so excessively disgusted, and so angry that such a circumstance
should have occurred before strangers, that I had the greatest
possible difficulty to prevent him ordering out the carriages and
leaving the house immediately. After soothing him down, how-
ever, to a reasonable pitch, he contented himself with directing
all the filthy things to be thrown out of the room, and our own
bed linen, to be arranged by our servants in their place ; nor
was it till next morning that we could make him promise to leave
the place without abusing our host for his negligent hospitality.
But to return to Parayd.
We were fortunately persons not very easily dispirited ; and
we accordingly devoured the black bread and turpentine cheese
— for they wrap it in the bark of the pine to give it a turpentine
flavour — with excellent appetite; and, it having entered into
Miklos's prolific brain, that the common spirit of the country, if
mixed with sugar and hot water, might make something like
what the English sailors had taught him to call grock, he came
in grinning at this happy thought, with a large jug of a most
well-smelling liquid compounded on these principles, which, with
the aid of our Turkish pipes, made us almost think our Szekler
inn was comfortable. In the mean time, the servants had trans-
196 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
ported the greater part of a haystack into the room, and the
whole floor was covered over with a thick layer of hay ; our car-
riage cushions and our bed-clothes were disposed in the best
fashion to serve for beds; and before our pipes were finished, we
had not only the consolation of having supped, but had the pros-
pect of a good night's rest before us. Nothing like good tem-
per, good health, and a servant that knows how to make
grock !
The next morning we visited some of the salt-mines, which
contained nothing sufficiently remarkable to detain us. They
work these mines only in winter, and that but to a very small
extent. Those of Maros Ujvar, on the banks of the Maros, are
so much more conveniently situated for transporting the salt,
that these are only used to supply the immediate neighbourhood.
This salt-bed is said to be of even greater extent than that of
Szovata, though it generally lies deeper. Instead of the bright
white colour we had observed yesterday, the salt was here of a
dark green hue. Even here, where the whole soil seems to be
salt, we were assured that it was often smuggled from Moldavia,
and sold in the interior of the country.
. At every step we took, the cholera now met with us. One
of our horses had cast a shoe, and we had to wait some hours
before we could get it replaced, for the blacksmith's wife was
just taken ill, and he could not be prevailed upon to leave her
till she felt better. Nor were these the worst inconveniences;
some of our own party had felt far from well this morning, and
we were naturally rendered exceedingly anxious lest the ailment
should turn out to be cholera. Though no believers in conta-
gion, we were aware that whatever were the causes producing
the disease, we were just as much exposed to them as the inhabi-
tants of the country could be, and besides, the very idea of tra-
velling for pleasure where death seemed hovering round our every
step was so painful that we hastened on more quickly than we
otherwise should have done through this beautiful country.*
At Udvarhely, one of the principal towns of the Szekler-land,
we had intended to remain the next night, but the inn was so very
*To those who believe in the antiseptic powers of certain substances,
and their utility in preventing the spread of epidemic diseases, it may
afford matter for reflection, that here, where every thing, from the corn you
eat to the water you wash in, perhaps the very air yon breathe, is impreg-
nated with salt — one of the strongest antiseptics — the cholera raged with
as much violence as in the poisoned alleys of a great city.
ST. PAL. 197
miserable, and the whole place so far from attractive, that we
determined, after baiting our horses, to try if we could not reach
St. Pal, a village some fifteen miles further, where W had a
house and a small estate. Not that Udvarhely is without inte-
rest. As we descended the long hill at the foot of which it lies,
its three large churches with their double spires, its ruined castle,
its large white college and handsome Town-house, had led us to
expect great things; but then the inn with its dirty room, its un-
glazed windows, and its beds of dingy hue, put us out of conceit
with all the rest. While our horses were baiting W took
us to call on an electioneering friend of his, a merry little radical
grocer, one of those men who love good dinners and long speeches
— the latter his own, and the former his friend's. The little
grocer took us up to the castle, once one of the strongest places
in the land, and which had often been sharply contested between
the Imperial and Transylvanian forces. We reached St. Pal
somewhere about midnight, and though the house was undergo-
ing repairs and was inhabited only by some workmen, we were
soon furnished with quarters better than we had met with since
we had left Klausenburg.
We remained a couple of days at St. Pal, in part that W
might arrange some matters of business with his steward, in part
to rest our horses. The first was spent in snipe-shooting in
a salt marsh just below the village, for here, too, we were still
in the country of salt. Though no salt-bed is seen, the brook,
the springs, the marsh, and even the herbage are all strongly
impregnated with salt. We were obliged to send some miles off
to obtain fresh water, for to us the salt water was intolerable,
though from habit the people of the country drink it without in-
jury.
For the next day we had engaged the little grocer of Udvar-
hely to show us a cave which was at some distance, and he ac-
cordingly arrived by good time in the morning with a supply of
his own torches, and of his neighbours' mountain ponies, to show
us the wonders of Almas. As it was some distance from St.
Pal, two peasants were sent off early in the morning with a
wagon and provisions, and we followed at our leisure, a goodly
cavalcade, consisting of the grocer, the clergyman, the steward,
our three selves and one or two servants — the latter attending
us for no other purpose that I could divine, save to fill and light
the pipes. Our ride led us through a country of mountains and
woods, sometimes, though rarelv, by a well-cultivated valley
17*
198 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
affording subsistence to some neighbouring village. A village,
Homarod Almas, through which we passed, was one of the
largest and most flourishing we had met with in Transylvania.
The situation of this place one would have thought as healthy
as possible ; the country round it was fruitful and lovely as a gar-
den, the inhabitants were evidently well off, and the houses large
and airy, yet here the cholera was raging more fiercely than in
any other place we had yet visited. The grave-yard seemed to
have been fresh ploughed up, so completely was it covered with
new-made graves, and several were standing open for occupants
already prepared to fill them.
As we left the village, we saw a mark of superstition which
we should not have expected where education is said to be ge-
nerally diffused. It was a small piece of coarse linen cloth cut
into the shape of a pair of trowsers, and suspended over the middle
of the road by a string attached to a tree on either side. The
peasants believe that in the cave of Almas which we were about
to visit, two fairies are imprisoned in a state of nudity, and that
they weep and wail their unhappy captivity without being able
to escape. Their cries are said to be often heard, when the
wind is high, proceeding from the dark valley of the Almas, and
it is to the malice of these imprisoned fairies that the peasants
attribute the visitation of the cholera. It appears that the re-
ceived method of propitiating these gentry is to offer them clothing,
and accordingly the trowsers at this end of the village, and
a shirt exhibited in a similar manner at the other, were intended
to appease them, let them come which road they would. This
was all I could learn of the matter from the steward, and I am
still not very sure that it is correct, for he was much more
anxious to assure me that he knew it was all nonsense and that
he did not believe in such ignorant superstitions, than to satisfy
my curiosity on the matter.
On a green hill overlooking a deep valley, — or rather cleft in
the rocks, for it is much deeper than it is wide, — we found the
provision wagon already arrived, a large fire lighted, and pre-
parations for cooking in a state of progress. Here we were to
leave our horses in the care of the peasants. Clinging to the
trees which cover its sides, we reached the bottom of the valley,
which is occupied by a brook ; this brook a little further on is
seen to enter an opening in the base of a cliff, and disappear.
It is said to come out again on the other side, at some miles' dis-
tance. It was a beautiful scene we had now before us; the high
CAVERN OF ALMAS. 199
steep rocks of limestone, the hanging woods, the little stream,
and its stony bed, were all striking, and the addition of the dark
mouths of three or four huge caverns gaping at us on either side,
gave it a character of mysterious beauty to which it would have
been strange had not the fancies of the peasants attached a legend.
The sorrows of the poor imprisoned fairies would easily find
voices here when the winds raged through these narrow passages.
Leaving the smaller caverns, which we were told were of little
depth, we stumbled along the stony path to the further end of
the valley. On our road we put up a csaszar madar (gelinotte,)
a kind of grouse,* very common in the mountains of Transyl-
vania. It was so tame that it did not fly more than a few yards,
and continued running on at a short distance before us, appa-
rently without the slightest fear. Man is still almost a stranger
here.
The mouth of the great cavern is at a considerable height above
the bottom of the valley, and can only be reached by means of
wooden steps, which some former visiters have had made for the
purpose. It is half closed by a thick wall, now partly broken,
but which has evidently been built as a defence from enemies.
It is said to have been used by the Szeklers as a retreat during
the insurrection of the Wallacks under Hora and Kloska, but
Transylvania has known so many periods when a place of refuge
was required for the peaceable citizen, from the cruelty of savage
enemies, both domestic and foreign, that it is more difficult to say
when it may not have been so used, than when it was. This
part of the country, from its frontier position, was peculiarly
subject to foreign incursions, and when they were made by such
nations as the Tartars and Turks, — they first murdered all they
could lay hold on, and the second spared only to drive away into
captivity,! — it is no wonder a retreat of this kind should have
been well defended. Even our friend's house at St. Pal, though
* The black-cock is also found in this country, and I suspect the cock of
the woods too; for they frequently speak of a wild peacock (yadpavd,)
to which they attribute much the same habits and appearance as charac-
terize the cock of the woods.
j- Bethlen Gabor obtained his election to the throne of Transylvania,
with the aid of some Turkish troops; not that they were required to fight,
but their presence gave confidence to the party of Bethlen; and enabled
them to depose the weak Bathori Gabor without a struggle. Notwith-
standing the peaceable character of the expedition, the Turks did not re-
tire with less than eighty thousand Transylvanian prisoners, of whom they
made slaves.
200 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
never intended as a place of defence, bears marks of precaution
attributable to a similar cause. The stables are constructed be-
low the house itself, and can be entered by a secret door and
winding stair-case, from a room above, so that if the house was
attacked by a marauding party in front, fhe family would have
time to mount their horses and escape by a lower room, which
opens into the fields on the other side, ere the oak doors and well-
stanchioned windows in the front were forced by the attacking
party.
The entrance to the cavern, which we had now gained, is a
vast hall covered with a noble arched roof, and opening on every
side to dark passages, which lead into the interior of the moun-
tain. After we had carefully studied a plan of the cavern, lighted
our torches, and arranged the order of the procession, the little
grocer of Udvarhely, — no peasant guide could be found to un-
dertake it, — put himself at our head and led the way. In faith
it was no easy matter to choose the right road, for there were so
many openings, and it was so very easy to lose the direction in
such a position, that it required all the little grocer's memory
and experience to keep us from straying. By the road we took,
the cavern seemed to penetrate the mountain to about the distance
of an English mile, sometimes in the form of large chambers,
sometimes of narrow passages, through which one can scarcely
creep. Some of these chambers are high, and ornamented with
small stalactites. In one a large mass of rock corrugated like a
huge wart, hangs from the roof to within a yard of the floor
without touching it. The only difficulty we experienced, except
that of finding our way, was in passing a wet bog — if a mass of
soft lime, of about the consistence of mortar can be so called —
which extended for some twenty yards' distance.
At the very end of the cavern, we had been told there was a
vein containing precious stones in great abundance, and it was
therefore with no small disappointment we found nothing but a
mud-lined chamber, from which there was no exit save by a small
hole, which it seemed impossible for any of us to pass through !
However, the little grocer was not to be balked ; he declared
the precious stones must be on the other side the hole, and he
accordingly laid himself down, and by dint of working away
something like a worm when it is returning to the earth, he at
last disappeared, and then assuring us that he had come to the
precious stones, he made all of us so eager to share the prize,
that we too squeezed ourselves through. Here we found an ex-
KESZDI VASARHELY. 201
traordinary formation enough. A slit in the rock, of about a
yard in width, had been filled up by a quantity of very fine gravel,
composed, for the most part, of rounded stones of about the size
of peas, generally highly polished, and often of considerable
beauty. I really forget now all the various mineral species to
which these pebbles have been found to belong, but I know there
were upwards of a dozen of the secondary precious stones, among
which were jaspers, cornelians, and agates. Geologically, I
think, the age of this vein might probably be fixed pretty accu-
rately. That its contents have been deposited by running water,
their nature and appearance place beyond a doubt, and as they
are now at least a hundred feet above the surface of the valley,
it must have been before the valley was formed, and when the
water rolled over the upper surface of the mountain a consider-
able height above. The gravel is now so compact, that it re-
quired a hammer to separate any portions of it. We wrere glad
to leave this part of the cavern as quickly as we could, for the
air became so confined, that it was scarcely possible to breathe.
We had still only investigated one part of this cavern. Another
of nearly equal extent lay above this, and was said to open on
the other side of the mountain. The entrance, however, could
only be reached by the aid of a ladder, and as our curiosity was
pretty well satisfied we returned without making any further in-
vestigation.
The peasants had got us a good dinner ready by our return,
and we were all well inclined to do justice to their cookery.
A little before dark, we again mounted our rozinantes, and made
the best of our way back to St. Pal.
Our next point was Keszdi Vasarhely,* but though it lay
nearly direct east of St. Pal, we were obliged to make a con-
siderable detour to the south to avoid a chain of mountains which
lay between the two places. My notes of this day contain little
worthy of remark, save that we could get nothing for dinner ex-
cept a few eggs; and that at night we were obliged to sleep on
tables and chairs, and content ourselves with a supper of six
small trout, which the landlord went out and caught for the oc-
casion. I am really ashamed to refer so constantly to the sub-
ject of the creature comforts; but I believe it is best to do so,
as it perhaps gives the reader almost as good an idea of the cir-
cumstances of the country we were travelling through, as a more
* Vdsdr, market; hely, place; a name common to many places in this
part of Transylvania.
202 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
elaborate description would do. What, for instance, could strike
the stranger more forcibly than an occurrence which took place
the very next day ? Soon after we had started, we passed
through a small village, at which we had no intention of stop-
ping, where Miklos's eye fell on the carcass of a fresh-slaugh-
tered calf, hung up in a peasant's house. Jumping down, he at
once made off to this unaccustomed sight, and did not return till
he had secured a good-looking lump of veal, as a provision
against dinner-time.
Before arriving at Foldvar, — the place of the six fishes, — we
felt a change in the weather, which obliged us to have recourse
to our furs. The cause of it was sufficiently explained in the
morning. Though we were only in the middle of September, a
considerable fall of snow had taken place in the mountains, and
their white peaks now glittering in the sun, contrasted- strongly
with the yellow corn-fields and green meadows in the fore-ground
of the picture.
At Sepsi St.'Gyorgy, where we stopped before mid-day to get
the above mentioned lump of veal converted into an eatable form,
we found, instead of the rude villages we had hitherto seen, a
smart little town with handsome houses, and large public build-
ings, apparently very foreign to the position in which they ex-
isted. Sepsi St. Gyorgy, however, is the head-quarters of the
Szekler border Hussars, and, consequently, the residence of the
staff. One of the large buildings is dedicated to the education
of the children of the Hussars, and is said to be one of the most
flourishing schools in the country.
Before evening, we got on to Keszdi Vasarhely; and though
we were told there was no inn, we found very good quarters in
the house of a French brewer, who had married an Hungarian
wife, and set up his tent here for life. He was a good-tempered
little fellow ; seemed delighted to receive us into his house, and
promised us a supper which should amply compensate for our late
fastings. Of course he took us over his whole premises, of which
he was very proud, as indeed he had good reason to be, for his
brewhouse, and all its apparatus, though on a small scale, were
in excellent order. He complains sadly of his neighbours doing
all they can to injure him, from jealousy of his foreign extrac-
tion ; and I can readily believe him, for it is a theory of all Hun-
garians, that every farthing gained in Hungary by a stranger, is
robbed from her own children. The high price of hops is ano-
ther of the poor Frenchman's grievances. He is obliged to get
SZEKLER SCHOOL. 203
them all the way from Bohemia ; and even then they are not too
good. However, notwithstanding his grumbling, 1 suspect our
little friend manages to prosper.
We had still time to visit the military school for the education
of the children of the Szekler infantry. The institution was
founded by the late Emperor, and is supported partly by a royal
grant, and partly by the Szeklers themselves. The regulation
of it is entirely in the hands of Government. On the foundation,
there are one hundred boys, from six to eighteen years of age,
who are fed, clothed, and taught free of all expense. As these
do not occupy all the room which exists, a few additional scholars
are admitted on the payment of about sixteen shillings per month
for the enjoyment of the same advantages as the others. The
children, when they have finished their education, are drafted into
the infantry, and often rise to the rank of officers. The course
of education includes writing, reading, arithmetic, geography,
mathematics, military drawing, and the German language, be-
sides all the drilling and exercising, which belong to military
training. We saw specimens of their writing and drawing, and
I must say they were very creditable. They have a small li-
brary, mostly composed of amusing books for children, which are
lent out to the scholars, and they seem well selected for the pur-
pose of giving them a taste for reading.
It is unfortunate that here, too, in an institution apparently so
good, cause for complaint and mistrust against Government should
exist. The Szeklers say the whole object of the school is to de-
nationalize their children, and make them forget their native
tongue. In fact, all the lessons are given in German, all the
books are German, and the children are even obliged to speak
German to each other. The national language is never heard
within the walls of the national school. It is certain the poor
Szeklers think themselves very ill-treated by the Government.
Though submitting now pretty quietly to the Border service,
they object very strongly to some of the innovations it has
brought with it. Many of the officers on the Border regiments
are Germans, and of course can have no claim to the rights of
Szekler nobility, yet Government has within these last few
months claimed for them the right to appear and vote at the
county-meetings; and very bitter is the feeling excited among
the Szeklers in consequence.
In the mountains somewhere in this neighbourhood, we heard
there was an extraordinary cave, of which we had been told
204 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
some rather marvellous stories. We made all the inquiries \ve
could at Keszdi Vasdrhely, but nobody could inform us either of
the exact distance, or of the best means of getting there. All
agreed, however, that we must pass through Torja, a village
which we could perceive just at the foot of the mountains some
ten miles off, where, in all probability, we should find some one
who could tell us more about the matter. On this chance we
started ; but fortunately, before we reached the place, W
recollected that Torja was the name of the residence of an old
Szekler friend of his, and it occurred to him that this might be
the Torja in question. The first peasant we met on entering the
village confirmed his suspicions, and led us straight to the house.
Baron A •—, who was at home, was delighted beyond expres-
sion to see our friend. Unfortunately for us, the Baron could
not speak a word of German, and we could only communicate
with him through W 's interpretation ; to say the truth, I
doubt if he would have spoken it even if he could, in so great
horror did he hold every thing German.
After the first greetings were over, and we had all been taken
into the house and presented to his lady, W ventured to ex-
press our wish to get on as quickly as possible to the cave. I
say ventured, for it was not till I had given him several hints, and
even then rather against his will, that he did so, for he knew
how high a notion the Szeklers have of the duty of hospitality,
and he foresaw no little difficulty in our escaping without spend-
ing the whole day where we were. When once the Baron was
made to understand that our engagements rendered it impossible
for us to stay, disappointed as he was, he consented to get us a
conveyance fit for the roads, and promised to accompany us him-
self to the place. While the horses were getting ready, which
I thought occupied rather more time than was absolutely neces-
sary, I had time to look about me, and observe something of the
establishment of a Szekler nobleman. As usual, the house was
only of one story; and, except in its size, differing but little from
those about it. • The large unpaved courtyard, surrounded by sta-
bles and wagon-sheds, separated it from the road ; and, on the
other side, were a kitchen-garden and orchard. The interior of
the house was modestly, perhaps sparingly, furnished, for Baron
A , though boasting a pedigree scarcely to be equalled in the
country, was less favoured than many others on the score of
fortune; but some old portraits gave an air of dignity to the
rooms, and every thing was comfortable and well-ordered.
WESSELENYI AND THE SZEKLERS. 205
Here, as in every other part of the Szekler-Iand we had oc-
casion to notice the extraordinary affection and almost veneration
with which Baron Wesselenyi Miklos was regarded. His por-
trait was seen in every house, his name was on every lip. The
Szeklers look up to him as the great advocate of their rights,
the defender of their liberties. So strong was the feeling of in-
dignation and resentment when they knew of his prosecution,
that I have heard it said, by those who had good opportunity
to know the real state of the case, that had he chosen to have
thrown himself among the Szeklers, they would have risen to a
man in his defence. How serious an affair the rising of forty or
fifty thousand' men accustomed to the use of arms might have
been in so mountainous a country as this, it was easy to fore-
see, but Baron Wesselenyi was too true a patriot to throw his
country into rebellion, and expose her to all the horrors of a civil
war where his own interests would have been the chief cause of
quarrel. It requires a very powerful cause to induce an honest
patriot to call his countrymen to arms, but when once he has done
so, it requires a full assurance for the future ere he consents that
they shall be laid down.
When the horses at last arrived, the reason of their long delay
came out : the Baroness was determined we should not leave
without dining, and though it was only nine when we got there,
and was now scarcely eleven, she assured us that dinner was on
the table, and that we should have still time to take something
before the horses were fed and harnessed. At last we started,
and following the course of a narrow valley, where we were fre-
quently obliged to drive along the brook for want of a better road,
we arrived in three hours at its far end where the road ceased
altogether. As we walked up the hill, the Baron explained to
us that we were about to visit some mineral springs, in the first
instance, which occupy the summit of this hill, and then go on
about a mile further to the Biidos, or stinking cave, of which we
were in search. When we reached the summit we were surprised
to find three or four log-huts tolerably well constructed, and a
quantity of straw and half-burned wood lying about, as if they
had been lately inhabited. In fact, they had been so, for in spite
of the ignorance of the people of Vasarhely upon the subject, the
Biidos springs are a very fashionable bathing-place, — at least
among the peasants. They come here in summer, build a hut ot
branches, line it with straw, and stocking it plentifully with pro-
VOL. II. — 18
206 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
visions, remain here for a month or six weeks at a time. With-
out waiting to look further at the springs, we hastened to the
cave.
In the face of a rock of magnesian limestone, there was an
opening large enough to contain about a dozen persons, the floor
of which slanted inwards and downwards from the mouth. A
few years ago this cave was much larger, but a great portion of
it was destroyed by an earthquake. About the sides of the lower
part there was a thin yellow incrustation, which we found to be
sulphur deposited from the gases which issue from crevices in the
rock. As we got further into the cave we felt a sensation of
tingling warmth, unlike any thing I ever felt before, creeping as
it were up the body, higher and higher in proportion as we de-
scended lower. This extraordinary phenomenon is owing to
the concentrated state of the carbonic acid gas (mixed with a
very small proportion of sulphuretted hydrogen,) which issues
from an air-spring in the lower part of the cave, and fills it to a
level with the mouth, whence it flows out as regularly as water
•would do. The temperature was not higher in one part of the
cave than in another, for in moving the hand from the upper part
to the lower not the slightest difference could be at first perceived ;
but in a few seconds, as soon as the acid had power to penetrate
the skin, the tingling warmth was felt. We descended till the
gas reached the chin, when we could raise it in the hands to the
lips and distinctly perceive its sour taste. It is commonly supposed
that the diluted carbonic acid gas produces death by entering the
lungs and excluding all other air, but here it was impossible to
respire it; the irritation produced on the glottis contracted it con-
vulsively, and death would therefore occur almost immediately
from strangulation. If any of it got into the eyes and nose, it
made them smart severely. The peasants ascertain how far they
can go with safety by striking their flints, and stopping when
they no longer give sparks.
We remained for some time in the cave enjoying the sensation
it produced exceedingly. As might be expected, so excellent an
air-bath has not been neglected by the peasants of the neigh-
bourhood, and hundreds repair hither to profit by it every year.
The common manner of using it is, to repair to the cave early in
the morning, and remain for an hour or more, with the whole
body subjected to the influence of the gas, till a profuse perspi-
ration is produced, when they proceed to one of the cold baths
THE HAKOM-SZEK. 207
we had observed as we came up. These baths are impregnated
with the same gases as the air of the cavern, but contain appa-
rently rather more sulphur. The cases for which the Budds is
most celebrated, are those of chronic rheumatism, and compli-
cated mercurial affections. So great is the carelessness of the
peasants, that rarely a year passes without some of them perish-
ing in this cave. This season two such accidents had happened.
The common name given to the cave is the " Murder-hole,"
(Gyilkoslyuk.)
As we returned, many mineral springs were pointed out to us,
with which indeed the whole mountain seems to be covered.
We had intended, after seeing the Budos, to visit the ruins
of a fine old castle, formerly the residence of Baron A 5s an-
cestors, which crowned the summit of the mountain, and then go
on to the Lake of St. Anna, about four hours further; but it set
in for so wet a night, that the length of the march and the cer-
tainty of being obliged to sleep on the damp ground cooled our
ardour. The lake is said to be small, and occupies the summit
of a hill. It is believed to be the crater of an old volcano. We
now made the best of our way back, and bidding adieu to Baron
A at Torja, we got to our snug quarters at the Frenchman's
in time for supper.
We bade adieu to the Szekler-land the next day, but not till
we had passed through a part of it, the Harom-Szik, forming
one of the most beautiful spots this earth can show. The whole
district is a gently undulating plain, covered with the richest
crops, dotted over with flourishing villages, watered by the me-
andering Aluta, and bounded on two sides by the most beautiful
chains of mountains it is possible to conceive. Time after time
did we stop the carriage and turn back to enjoy another last
look at this beautiful scene. And then what treasures of unex-
plored scenery, what hosts of Nature's miracles, do those moun-
tains contain! We had heard of caverns, cliffs, and ruins, of
boiling springs, and streams of naphtha, and I know not what
else; yet every one said that, except to the shepherds, almost
all these wonders are known only by name.
We had remarked throughout the Szekler-land, generally, a
better state of cultivation and greater signs of industry than in
most other parts of Transylvania, but this was nowhere so ma-
nifest as in the Harom-Szek. The implements were rude, the
system of cultivation exceedingly imperfect, but yet the general
208 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
aspect of the country showed how much application and industry
will do to supply the want of knowledge and capital. Property
is more equally divided here than elsewhere, the people are con-
sequently more industrious, and, I believe, produce more than in
other parts, where, although their forces may be better applied,
large possessions induce idleness and indifference in the mass of
the people.
THE SAXON LAND.
209
CHAPTER XL
THE SAXONS, AND THE SAXON LAND.
The Saxon Land. — Settlement of the Saxons. — Their Charter. — Politi-
cal and Municipal Privileges. — Saxon Character. — School Sickness.—
Kronstadt. — A Hunting Party. — Smuggling from Wallachia. — The
Bear and the General. — Terzburg and the German Knights. — Excursion
to Bucses. — The Kalihaschen. — The Convent. — The Valleys of Bucses.
— Virtue in Self-denial. — The Alpine Horn. — Fortified Churches and
Infidel Invasions. — Fogaras. — Hermanstadt. — Baron Bruchenthal.—
Rothen Thurm Pass. — A Digression on Wallachia and Moldavia.-—
Saxon Language. — Beauty of Transylvania.
THE narrow waters of the Aluta separate two as distinct races
of men, two as opposite systems of government, and for many
years two as bitter national enemies as though mountains or oceans
had for ages opposed a natural barrier of separation betwixt them.
We crossed a simple wooden bridge thrown across a mere brook,
and from the Szeklers we had passed to the lands of the Saxons.
Nor was the outward appearance of things less changed. Al-
though it was the same plain we were traversing, and although
the same green mountains bounded it, and the same brooks wa-
tered it, there was a manifest difference in the part which man
had acted on its surface.
I have already remarked that the Harom-Szek was better
cultivated than the rest of the Szekler-land, but the Burzen-land
land, as this part of the Saxon-land is called, appeared like a
garden in comparison even with that. The whole plain seemed
alive with ploughs and harrows— in the Harom-Sz6k they had
not yet begun to break up the ground, — and on every side teams
were moving about, manure was spreading, and the seed was
scattered abroad, with a busy hand. It was more like a scene
in the best part of Belgium, than what one could expect on the
borders of Turkey. It was striking, too, after the eye had
been so long accustomed to the Hungarian dresses of the Szek-
lers, in all their picturesque rudeness, to have before it nothing
but the stiff old-fashioned costumes which one still sees among
210 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the most primitive inhabitants of Germany. How it has happened
that the Saxons, who have been so far separated from the rest
of the great German family, should have hit upon the self-same
ugly costume — for it certainly did not exist when they emigrated
— would be a puzzle for the most erudite of philosophizing tailors,
and is, I must confess, far beyond me. But the most startling
feature in the picture was the very active part taken by the wo-
men in the operations so busily carried on before us. Some were
sowing corn, others using the fork and spade, others again hold-
ing the plough, and — believe or not, as you will, reader — there,
too, was the stout Saxon Haus Frau seated, en cavalier, on the
near wheeler, and driving four-in-hand, as composedly as possi-
ble. Nor was decency put to the blush by the slightest ex-
posure. The Saxon women have borrowed the long boots from
their Hungarian neighbours, which, with their own thick wool-
len petticoats, covered their whole persons most effectually.
The dress of these women is much the same as that which the
broom girls have made familiar to our streets, — a cloth petticoat
with most ample folds, surmounted by a cloth stomacher buttoned
or laced in front, and a small cap, fitting closely on the head; or
for the unmarried girls, a long braid of flaxen hair hanging down
the back, with a straw hat of small crown and preposterously
broad brim. Such stout maids as some of these hats shaded, and
so unpoetically employed, I never saw ; but I have no doubt their
round, fat, good-tempered faces, and laughing blue eyes, have
not the less charms for the Saxon youth because they are united
to a strong and healthy body, and to habits of industry, albeit
coarse in their kind. The Saxons are a canny folk, and if not
very romantic and chivalrous, they are prudent and laborious.
But before I discuss more of their character, let me say a word
or two of their history.
It was to the Servian Princess Helena, the wife of the Blind
Bela, who ruled in Hungary about the middle of the twelfth cen-
tury, during the minority of her son Geysa the Second, that
Transylvania owed the repeopling her wastes with industrious
German colonists. Taking advantage of the peace which she
had concluded with the emperor of Germany, she invited the
peasants of that country to emigrate, and promised them lands
and liberties within the boundaries of Hungary. 1143 is com-
monly assigned as the date of their first settlement— some of them
in the North of Hungary, and others in Transylvania. Under
Andrew the Second, in 1224, two years after the Bulla Aurea,
HISTORY OF THE SAXONS. 211
those of Transylvania obtained a charter of their liberties, of which
the chief articles seem to have been as follows: —
"They might elect from their own body a chief, or Comes,
who should be their judge in peace, and leader in war.
" No change to be made in the coin within their boundaries,
but they consented to pay for this privilege a yearly tax of five
hundred marks of silver.
" They agreed to furnish five hundred soldiers for a defensive
war, and one hundred for an offensive, if the army was commanded
by the king in person, but only fifty if commanded by an Hun-
garian magnate.
" The free election of their own clergy, and their undisturbed
enjoyment of the tithe.
" Right of pasture and wood-cutting in the forests of the Wai-
lacks and Byssenians.
"Freedom from more than twice entertaining the Woiwode in
the course of the year.
"Removal of market-tolls from their district, and freedom of
their trade-companies from all tolls."
It was not likely that a foreign nation should be allowed to take
up its dwelling among a people so wild and so jealous of foreigners
as the Magyars, without having to fight hard for its possessions;
and frequent were the contests to which the German settlers
were exposed. The king, however, was always ready to lend
his aid to his faithful Saxons, and with his help, and by their
own industry, they throve in spite of all opposition. When Tran-
sylvania was contending for an independent sovereignty, the Sax-
ons joined the Hungarian nobles in opposition to Austria, and a
union of the Magyars, Szeklers, and Saxons was formed, by
which each party was secured in its own rights and privileges,
and to each was given a fair share in the common legislative as-
sembly. They still, however, retained their own laws and mu-
nicipal institutions.
One of the fundamental laws of the Saxons is the equality of
every individual of the Saxon nation. They have no nobles, no
peasants. Not but that many of the Saxons have received letters
of nobility, and deck themselves out in all its plumes ; yet, as,
every true Saxon will tell you, that is only as Hungarian nobles,
not as Saxons.
Their municipal government was entirely in their own hands;
every village chose its ow7n officers, and managed its own affairs,
without the interference of any higher power. A few years ago,
212 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
however, a great and completely arbitrary change was made in
this institution, which, though it almost escaped notice at the
time, has since excited the most bitter complaints. The whole
of this transaction was managed without the consent either of
the Diet or the Saxon nation. Its effects have been to deprive
the Saxon communities of the free exercise of their privileges,
and to deliver them into the power of a corrupt bureaucracy,
over which they have little or no control.
The Saxons, however, are a slow people, suspicious of their
neighbours, and caring more for material than political interests ;
and though they have long complained, they have scarcely ever
ventured to demand a restitution of their rights. Hitherto, the
Saxons have been among the most certain adherents of the Crown ;
and, whether from a recollection of former wrongs, or irritated
by an insolent bearing on the part of the Hungarians,. or afraid
of losing their own privileges by aiding the objects of others, they
have rarely joined the Liberal party. In the last Diet, however,
even the Saxons, — prudentes et circumspecti although they be
entitled, — could not altogether resist the tide of public opinion,
and, egged on a little perhaps by their own wrongs, they too
joined the opposition. Not that they altogether belied their title
even then, for they are said to have done it so cautiously that it
was often difficult to know to which side they really leaned.
When it was determined to send a deputation to the Emperor,
to remonstrate against the proceedings of the Arch-Duke, two
Saxon deputies were included amongst the number of those se-
lected. All manner of excuses were urged to enable them to
escape from the perilous honour ; but the Hungarians mischie-
vously enjoyed their difficulty and would admit of no apology.
When they arrived at Vienna, and the day came for the dreaded
audience, the Saxon deputies were both taken suddenly ill, and
protested they could not leave their beds, but they desired the
rest of the deputation to proceed without them, declaring at the
same time that they would wait on his Majesty alone when suf-
ficiently recovered. As this lame apology for their absence was
offered to the Emperor, he burst into a hearty laugh, and ex-
claimed, " Ah! ah! a school sickness! a school sickness! My
poor Saxons! they don't like to bring me disagreeable news."
For the rest, the Saxons are undoubtedly the most industrious,
steady, and frugal of all the inhabitants of Transylvania, and
they are consequently the best lodged, best clothed, 'and best in-
structed.
KRONSTADT.
213
Kronstadt was the object we were now making for, and we
had almost entered it before we were aware of its proximity, so
completely is it imbedded in the mountains, which bound this
plain to the south. The first glimpse was sufficient to show us
that we were approaching something different from what we had
seen before. The outskirts of the town were occupied by pretty
villas, surrounded by well-kept gardens, strongly indicative of
commerce, and the wealth and tastes it brings with it, and very
different from the straggling houses and neglected court-yards of
the poor Szekler nobles. Before the gates of the town is a large
open esplanade, forming a promenade, ornamented with avenues
of trees and a Turkish kiosk. The gates themselves are still
standing, three deep, and looking as terrible as when Kronstadt
was still a place of strength, and when its brave magistrate,
Michael Weiss, held it with so much glory against the faithless
Bathori Gabor, and all the forces which Transylvania could bring
against it.
If the reader will understand the situation of Kronstadt, let
him imagine an opening in the long line of mountains which sepa-
rate Transylvania from Wallachia in the form of a triangle, be-
tween the legs of which stands an isolated hill. Within this tri-
angle, lies the town of Kronstadt, and on the top of the isolated
hill there is a modern fortress of some strength. The mountains
come so close down on the little valley, that the walls are in
many places built part of the way up their sides. The town
itself is regularly and well built, and its towers and walls and
bristling spires, standing out against the mountain sides, — them-
selves well covered with wood, and fretted with limestone peaks,
— form one of the most picturesque scenes the artist could desire.
A rapid stream rushes in various channels through the streets;
and besides serving to keep the Saxons clean, makes itself useful
to a host of dyers, fellmongers, tanners, and millers, with which
this little Manchester abounds. Kronstadt and its neighbourhood
are in fact the only parts of Transylvania in which any manu-
factured produce is prepared for exportation, and here it is car-
ried on to a considerable exlent. The chief articles produced
are woollen cloths, of a coarse description, such as are used for
the dresses of the peasants, linen and cotton goods, stockings,
skins, leather, wooden bottles of a peculiar form and very much
esteemed, and light wagons on wooden springs. The principal
part of its exports are to Wallachia and Moldavia. A consider-
able transit commerce between Vienna and the Principalities is
'214 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
likewise carried on through Kronstadt, which is chiefly in the
hands of a privileged company of Greek merchants. This trade
is said to have fallen off of late years; it is likely to be still far-
ther diminished as the Danube opens better channels of communi-
cation.
The population of Kronstadt amounts to thirty-six thousand,
by far the greatest of any town in Transylvania, and it is com-
posed of as motley a crew as can well be imagined. The sober
plodding Saxon is jostled by the light and cunning Greek ; the
smooth-faced Armenian, the quaker of the East, in his fur cloak
and high kalpak, meets his match at a bargain in the humble-
looking Jew ; and the dirty Boyar from Jassy, proud of his wealth
and his nobility, meets his equal in pride in the peasant noble of
the Szekler-land. Hungarian magnates and Turkish merchants,
Wallack shepherds and gipsy vagabonds make up the motley
groups which give life and animation to the streets of Kronstadt.
Our first visit was to the old church, a venerable Gothic struc-
ture of elegant proportions. Although the church now belongs
to the Lutherans, the national religion of the Saxons, its buttresses
bear the somewhat time-eaten statues of Catholic saints, each in
its separate niche. The door-ways, rounder than the Gothic arch
of that age (1400) with us, are well carved in bold compartments,
— and rare good taste ; the doors themselves are richly worked
in the same style. The interior is bold and pure though rather
simple.
All the trades in Transylvania are under the rule of companies
and corporations; and I was much amused by their chartered
pride as illustrated in this church. The women occupy rows
of benches up the centre of the aisle; but on the sides are ar-
ranged a number of seats in regular gradation for the men, di-
vided off into different sets, each set being appropriated to a par-
ticular corporation. The heads of the corporation are seated in
front of the rest, and their stalls are ornamented with rich Per-
sian carpets, after the manner of the East. In a gallery above,
the apprentices of these trades are placed in similar order ; first,
the tanners, then the shoemakers, then the masons, and so on,
with their arms and insignia painted in gay colours on the front.
As we left the church, the Lutheran college was pointed out
to us, and, in a few minutes after we saw a number of students
and professors issuing from its doors in the oddest costume academic
fancy ever contrived. The student is clothed in a long, straight-
cut black coat, reaching below his knees, and fastened from the
WALLACK CHURCH. 215
neck to the waist by a row of broad silver hooks, each two
inches long, and so closely set together, that they look like a
facing of solid silver. Above this is a black cloak fastened by a
huge antique-looking silver chain; below a pair of black knee-
boots, and, to crown the whole, a monstrous cocked-hat. Ex-
cept that their cloak was of silk instead of cloth, the professors
wore nearly the same dress. Every one as he passed us raised
his huge cocked-hat to salute the strangers, and it kept us for
full five minutes bare-headed to return this shower of unexpected
civilities.*
Beyond the walls of the old town we were shown the great
Wallack church, the handsomest belonging to that body in the
country, and, what is still more worthy of remark, rebuilt by an
Empress of Russia in 1751. The interior is, as usual in Wal-
lack churches, completely covered with paintings of saints and
devils, the latter playing every sort of trick to cheat the angel,
and to overload the balance on the side of sin at the last judg-
ment, which was possible for the united imaginations of artist
and priest to conceive. There is something very eastern in the
Greek custom of excluding the women from the body of the
church: here they were thrust into an outer part, where they
could scarcely even hear the service. We observed several small
silver crosses richly ornamented with precious stones and each
pretending to enclose a portion of the true cross.
Though the walls and gates of Kronstadt have been for the
most part preserved, — as indeed they well deserve, for many of
the towers are exceedingly picturesque, — the ditch has been
wisely converted to the purposes of a public promenade, and a
very beautiful one it makes.
The proximity to Turkey, and the frequent intercourse of its
inhabitants with this place, have given to Kronstadt something
of Turkish habits and manners. The amber mouth-piece, the
long Chibouque, the odoriferous tobacco, the delicious dolchazza,
and the various other sweetmeats of a Turkish confectioner's —
the coffee-house in the form of a kiosk, the bazaar, and many
other peculiarities, remind the traveller of the customs of the
East.
As we were walking about after dinner, making some few
purchases preparatory to leaving, and more especially of some of
the excellent liqueurs for which Kronstadt is so celebrated,
* Besides this college, the Saxons have Gymnasia, in Hermannstadt,
Schlossburg, Muhlehback, Mediasch, Bistritz, Groszschenk;and Birthalm.
216 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
W found in one of the Kronstadters, an old college-com-
panion, by whom he was heartily welcomed to the town. This
was all very pleasant, but then came the difficulty of getting
away. We had seen nothing at all, he told us; and the country
was full of wonderful sights which it was quite impossible we
should leave without visiting. We remained firm notwithstand-
ing, and returned back to our inn, and ordered the horses to be
ready for the next morning. We were scarcely seated, how-
ever, before our Kronstadter broke in upon us with his friend
Herr v. L , a gentleman of the neighbourhood, who would
not hear of our leaving without a promise of paying him a visit
in our way. Besides a fine country to show us, he had the best
grounds for chamois and bear-hunting of any in Transylvania ,
and was himself a most enthusiastic sportsman. This was not
to be resisted, and he accordingly bade us good night that he
might hasten home and make preparations for the next morning,
we agreeing to be with him at an early hour.
We -were off by six, and on our way to Zernyest, full of
hopes, in which chamois and bears held a conspicuous place.
We passed a rich and flourishing village, Rosenau, where, on the
hill above, were very extensive ruins of an old castle, formerly
one of the strongest in the country. We found Herr v. L
waiting for us with a whole train of Wallack* peasants, armed
and ready for the sport. After a hearty breakfast, we mounted
some small ponies and followed a clear crystal brook — Herr v.
L says, containing the finest-flavoured trout in the country
— along the foot of the mountain, till we came at last to the base
of the Konigsberg, one of the highest of this range on which the
hunt was to take place. From this point the ascent began, but
for another hour we could still ride ; so we threw the reins on the
ponies' necks, and allowed them to scramble on among the rocks
and stones as best they could. These animals seemed so well
accustomed to the work, that I could not help thinking they had
often been employed at it before, though, perhaps, with other
burdens. On inquiring of our host, he confirmed the opinion,
and said they had probably been much further; for this was one
of the favourite roads of the smugglers, and some of our jagers
were among the most notorious of that profession in the coun-
try. " You see that the old man with the white head/' he ob-
* Zernyest is a fief of Kronstadt, and held by peasants (Wallacks.) in
the same manner as in the Hungarian counties. Our host had taken it on
a lease.
WALLACK SMUGGLERS. 217
served; "he frequently crosses into Wallachia and back again on
such errands, and sometimes passes the Danube into Roumelia.
On one occasion, he went even as far as Adrianople. The ordi-
nary station, however, is Kimpolung, about one day's journey
across the border: there the goods are delivered to their agent
by some house in Bucharest, and are retained in safety till the
smuggler arrives, shows the countersign agreed on, receives them,
and transports them to the merchant in Kronstadt. The whole
affair is arranged in a perfectly business-like manner, and a very
few zwanzigers are considered sufficient payment for the risk.
Only a short time since, a gentleman of this neighbourhood sent
our old white-headed friend to bring him some cachmere shawls
from Kimpolung. The old man threw his gun over his shoulder,
filled his wallet with malaj (maize bread,) and went out as if in
pursuit of game only. As he was returning the officers caught
sight of him; and as they knew his character, though they never
were able to convict him, they seized and examined him. He was
too sharp for them; before they came up the shawls were hidden
under some well-marked rock, and a brace of moor fowl was all
his bag contained. Nevertheless, they felt so sure of his guilt,
that they threw him into prison. Of course, I could not allow
my peasant to be confined without a cause, and I accordingly
demanded that he should be released if no proof could be brought
against him. He was set free, and the next day the gentleman
received his shawls.
And is there no danger of these betraying their employers?
I asked. "None; there is no example of it — no flogging can
get their secret from them. For the rest, the punishment is but
slight, and with a good friend and our judges, a little present will
generally settle the matter."
"Do you mean," I asked, "that regular smuggling can be
carried on over these mountains in spite of the Borderers?"
" Either in spite of them, or with their consent ; there is no
difficulty in either; they are so wretchedly poor, that the small-
est bribe will purchase them."
" And can bulky articles be obtained in this way ?"
"Oh, yes! the staple commodity is salt, although articles of
French, English, and Turkish manufacture are common too. If
one horse won't carry them, two will, and it only requires a
little more care."
"So," I added, "if I wanted a Turkey carpet in Klausenburg,
without paying sixty per cent, duty on it, I could have it?"
VOL. II. 19
218 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
"Ho, Juan!" said Herr v. L addressing the smuggler,
"this gentleman wishes to know if you could get him a Turkey
carpet safe over the borders from Bucharest?"
The old man looked up from under his bushy eye-brows with
a cunning smile, and for answer, asked quietly, "By what day
does the Dumnie wish to have it?"
Herr v. L seemed quite proud of the skill and courage of
his old Wallack peasant. "I could do nothing without, him,"
he observed; "he is the best huntsman, and best mountaineer in
the whole country." There is a sort of natural sympathy between
sportsmen and smugglers and poachers, — indeed, the same quali-
ties of rnind and habits of body, tend to form the one as the
other; and I feel sure that all our best sportsmen would have
been poachers or smugglers in other circumstances.
We now dismounted, and leaving our ponies to the care of a
peasant, sent off the jagers to beat the side of the mountain,
while we prepared to take up our position above. We had still
two hours' climbing before us. Our path lay straight up the
mountain in a cleft, formed either by the water, or some crack
in the rocks, and enclosed on either side by huge cliffs, which
towered so straight above our heads, that it made us dizzy to
trace their sharp peaks as they succeeded each other. The path
was not one of the smoothest, and it often brought us on our
hands and knees before we arrived at our position. At last, the
gun was fired by the treibers and jagers to warn us that their
beat was begun, and we concealed ourselves, and waited with
open ears and eyes and with ready gun the wished-for sound of
hoofs on the hard rock. This beat lasted two long hours.
I shall not plague you, reader, with all my reflections on the
pleasure of sitting on a cold stone directly in the way of a cut-
ting wind, which rushed from the snow mountain just above us
to the sunny plains below, we having been heated with two
hours' previous climbing ; I shall only say, as Herr v. L
did, "it requires a little seasoning before one can relish it." For
the third time, we were doomed to a blank day; not a chamois
was to be found. We were repaid, however, for our trouble, by
the beautiful scenery which this mountain offers. It is bold and
grand to the highest degree. From my hiding-place, I had a
view over nearly the half of Transylvania. I saw three separate
elevations of hill and vale, sinking below each other as they re-
ceded from the high lands.
As the reader may believe, we were not very much tempted
BEAR HUNTING.
219
by an offer of our host of a bear hunt the next day, especially as
for that purpose it would have been necessary to remain in the
mountains for three days at least. Although our host assured
us that bears were very plentiful, and that he generally killed
seven or eight in the course of the year, we had heard too much
of the extreme probability of a disappointment to try it. I know
many Transylvanian gentlemen who never miss a year without
going out once or twice on a bear hunt; but, except our host, I
know only one other who has ever shot a bear, though I know
many that never even saw one.*
Herr v. L told us an excellent story of a bear hunt, which
took place in these very mountains, and in his own presence. Gene-
ral V , the Austrian commander of the forces in this district,
had come to Kronstadt to inspect the troops, and had been in-
vited by our friend, in compliment to his rank, to join him in a
bear hunt. Now, the General, though more accustomed to
drilling than hunting, accepted the invitation, and appeared in
due time in a cocked hat and long gray great-coat, the uniform
of an Austrian general. When they had taken up their places,
the General, with half-a-dozen rifles arrayed before him, paid
such devoted attention to a bottle of spirits he had brought with
him, that he quite forgot the object of his coming. At last, how-
ever, a huge bear burst suddenly from the cover of the pine fo-
rest directly in front of him. At that moment, the bottle was
raised so high, that it quite obscured the General's vision, and
he did not perceive the intruder till he was close upon him; —
down went the bottle, up jumped the astonished soldier, and,
forgetful of his guns, off he started, with the bear clutching at
the tails of his great coat as he ran away. What strange confu-
sion of ideas was muddling the General's intellect at the moment,
it is difficult to say ; but I suspect he had some notion that the
attack was an act of insubordination on the part of bruin, for he
called out most lustily as he ran along, "Back, rascal, back ! I
am a general!" Luckily a poor Wallack peasant had more re-
spect for the epaulettes than the bear, and throwing himself in
* I have not been able to satisfy myself if the wild oroat really exists
in these mountains. In Wallachia, 1 was assured that it did; but Herr
von L said he had never met either with the wild goat or stein-bock,
or indeed with any game of that kind, except the chamois, in the course
of his experience. The wild goat; however, is very commonly spoken
of, and I have heard many say they have eaten it. It may exist more to
the north.
220 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the way, with nothing but a spear for his defence, he kept the
enemy at bay, till our friend and the jagers came up and finished
the contest with their rifles.
Although we declined the bear-hunt, we could not resist the
offer of Herr v. L to accompany us in an excursion just
across the borders to a Wallachian hermitage, which he described
as romantic, wild, and picturesque in the highest degree. It
was too far for one day's journey from Zernyest, so we left im-
mediately after dinner for Terzburg, a small village on the very
borders of Transylvania, by which our route would lead us. As
the parents of our host's lady, an Armenian, lived there, he took
us at once to their house and found us accommodations.
Before W could be persuaded to leave his bed next
morning, I had accompanied our friend to visit the old castle of
Terzburg, which is still inhabited and in good preservation. It
occupies the point of an isolated rock, of no great height, indeed,
but very steep on every side. It is in a singular style, half By-
zantine, half Gothic. Its importance in former times was so
great, that the Kronstadters received valuable privileges for
having built it. At this point begins one of the few practicable
passes between Wallachia and Transylvania, and the command
of it must often therefore have decided the result of an incursion.
Even in the very earliest times, Terzburg seems to have been a
chosen point of defence, and it is said to take its German name
of Diedrichstein from Theodoric, the chief of the order of Ger-
man knights, to whom the whole of this district was given by
King Andreas, on condition of their defending the frontiers. The
many castles, often in ruins, with which the Burzen-land— as
this portion of the Saxon-land is called, from the little river
Burze, which flows through it — abounds, are generally referrible
to this period; but that of Terzburg, at least as it now stands,
has a later origin.
We gained the interior of the castle by a small portal, nearly
half way up the tower. A fixed wooden stair now leads to this
opening, though it was formerly only to be reached by a ladder,
which was always drawn up at night. The ancient door, cased
in iron, still exists. It is constructed like a draw-bridge, and
lets down by iron chains, so as to form a landing-place before the
entrance. A little court-yard occupies the centre of the build-
ing, and, as usual, it is surrounded by open galleries, communi-
cating with the different apartments. Every thing remains in
its pristine state, though some of the parts are no longer applied
THE KALIBASCHEN. 221
to their original purposes. One strong bastion has been made
into a hen-roost, a respectable-looking tower is treated even less
respectfully, port-holes serve to trundle mops in, and dish-cloths
hang where spears were wont to rest. The rooms are small
and almost without ornament. On the whole, I was much
pleased with Terzburg; for although there is little to describe,
there are few old castles which give one a better idea of the
times when they were erected, or of the manner of life for which
they were adapted, than Terzburg.
W was up on our return ; and after taking coffee with this
homely Armenian family, we mounted our ponies, and set off for
Bucses. Just on the other side of the castle we found the qua-
rantine establishment for travellers coming from Turkey ; for
though the confines of Transylvania really extend four hours be-
yond this point, yet that part is considered in sporco, and its
inhabitants are not allowed to pass without undergoing quaran-
tine. The inhabitants of this district, extra terminos, are a
strange wild set of creatures, originally settlers from Wallachia,
and as near as possible to a state of barbarism. They are called
Kalibaschen from the Kaliban, or huts in which they live, and
are subject to the jurisdiction of the commander of the castle of
Terzburg. They live chiefly by the pasturage of cattle, for which
these mountains and valleys offer a tolerable supply; and, al-
though we were told they had been much improved of late
years, and had even been collected into villages, yet in appear-
ance they are little less wild than the bears and wolves, their
only neighbours.
We took an officer of the quarantine with us to protect us from
detention on our return ; and pushing on for a short distance
along the regular road which conducts from Kronstadt to Kim-
polung over the pass of Terzburg, we soon deviated to the east,
and, following the course of a shallow brook, made its stony bed
our road for the first hour. We were next obliged to ascend the
mountain by a zig-zag path, worked out by the feet of the sheep
and cattle which browse along its sides. About two-thirds up
we found a narrow pathway, which conducted us along the steep
sides of the mountain, and which was eventually to be our road
across the frontier. For three hours did we traverse these rocks
— of course, only at a foot pace, for the road was rarely
more than two feet wide, and often less — sometimes pro-
ceeding through deep hanging woods, sometimes along the
edges of bare precipices, which it made one dizzy to look
222 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
down. Our ponies were weak ; and though accustomed to the
mountains, by no means equal to the difficulties of such a
road as this. The heat, however, was so oppressive, and ren-
dered us so indisposed for exertion, that we preferred the dangers
of riding to the trouble of a safer means of advancing. I had
nearly paid dearly for my laziness. As my horse was picking
his way over a very difficult place where a gap occurred in the
rocks, and where he had nothing but the smooth surfaces to fix
his feet on, he slipped and fell. Luckily I was cool enough to
give him his head, and remain perfectly still ; the poor beast, too,
kept his balance, and aware of his danger, instead of all the rush
and bustle which a horse commonly makes in recovering himself,
he quietly pushed himself up with his nose, raised one leg, felt
about till he was sure of a safe footing, and then slowly moved
the other. Had either of us swerved but the merest trifle to one
side, our lives must have paid for it. As a mass of stone loosened
by our fall was rolled over the edge of the precipice, and
bounded from rock to rock till it was lost in the mass of black
pines which filled up the bottom of the ravine, I could not help
feeling a little uncomfortable at the prospect I had just had of
making a similar excursion. Nevertheless I continued to ride
on; for, as I said before, the heat was oppressive, and the
chance of a broken neck was at the moment less disagreeable
than the trouble of exertion.
We passed a fine flock of sheep, consisting of several hundreds
of the long-woolled, curly-horned sheep of Transylvania, which
were on their road to pasture in Wallachia for the winter. These
sheep were the property of a rich peasant. It is no uncommon
thing here, to send sheep or cattle not only into Wallachia, but
even across the Danube into Turkey for winter grazing; so great
a difference is there in the severity of the climate on the north
and south sides of this part of the Carpathians.
As we gained the frontier, which is on the very summit of
this mountain ridge, and which is marked by a modest wooden
cross, we had an extensive view over the Burzen-land, and even
over some part of the Szekler-land. The Wallachian sentry,
who had left his solitary post to fetch water from a neighbouring
spring, — and a very odd spring that is, too, — hastened back,
as he observed our approach, not, as we feared, to oppose
our passage, but to pay us the compliment of a military
salute, and beg something for his trouble. A pair of tight
woollen trowsers, a shirt, and sheep-skin cap, formed his uni-
form, a cross-belt, and a well-cleaned musket, his accoutre-
THE FALLEN FOREST. 223
ments. His guard-room was a sorry shed formed of branches
of trees and a few logs; his rations a little Indian corn. The
guard ought to 'consist of six men; but his comrades, he said,
were gone out hunting. A chamois or a roebuck must form an
acceptable addition to their meagre fare. These men belong to
the Wallachian frontier guard, and are intended to protect the
country from border robbers, and to prevent smuggling; though,
indeed, where the duty is only five per cent, as in Wallachia,
that is little to be feared. How far their organization extends,
or what similarity they may present to those on the other side,
I was not able to learn.
The greater part of the pine forests which once covered the
mountain we were now descending, on the Wallachian territory,
presented an extraordinary spectacle. During a tremendous
storm which occurred some twenty years ago among these moun-
tains, the whole forest had been swept down by a gust of wind
— not singly but in one mass — and there lie still the prostrate
trunks, bared of their bark and whitened in the sun, covering the
whole mountain side with their ruins, and looking as if they were
cut down, stripped, and laid out ready for removal. Whether
they had been broken off, or uprooted, we were too far off to
distinguish; probably the latter, as the soil was thin, and the
pine is more apt to spread its roots than strike them deeply into
the soil. It is not impossible that some of those half-fossilized
forests buried in our bogs, as well as the bogs themselves, have
been thus formed. It is no argument to the contrary, that we
never experience storms capable of producing such effects at the
present day ; for in a country cultivated as ours is, its forests
opened, its morasses drained, and its whole climate consequently
modified, we have no idea of what the winds are capable of in
the wild mountains and trackless plains of such a district as this :
— in England civilization has tamed the very elements !
An hour's descent on the Wallachian side brought us to the
bottom of the first valley, where a clear rivulet, the course of
which we followed, led us on to a second, which was terminated
by a narrow cleft of the rocks, something like what we have
already seen in the Thordai Hasadek, and the cavern of Almas.
Here, almost for the first time since we had left Terzburg, did
we meet with a sign of man's domination. At the entrance to
the cleft, a fence of firs and a little gate, showed that there was
something within considered worth protection ; and a small cross,
placed at the risk of life on the very highest pinnacle of the rock,
looked as though gratitude to the Dispenser of that something,
224 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
had been there to hallow the possession. We passed the gate,
and mounting a steep and narrow foot-path, soon came in sight
of the cavern and hermitage of Bucses.
And is it possible that any human beings can have selected so
wild and solitary a spot as this, for their residence ? — was the
inquiry of all when we first caught a glimpse of the gaping cave,
and of the small line of white buildings, which encloses it from
without. Our guide soon furnished an answer to the question ;
for he knocked so loudly at the little door, that an old monk
speedily answered the summons; and, learning the object of our
visit, welcomed us in Wallachian, and invited us to enter the
C'lllugerie or hermitage. In the interior, under the arched vault
of the cavern, we found a small Greek chapel, and two other
low buildings of wood, containing cells for seven or eight
hermits.
At the present time there were only three of them at home —
two old men, whose gray beards we took as testimonies to their
virtue, and one neophyte, a half-cunning, half-foolish-looking lad
of sixteen. One of them was busily employed in superintending
the boiling of a pot, which hung from three sticks, over a wood
fire in the open air, and formed their only kitchen, while another
was cutting mushrooms and some other species of fungus* into
slices, and hanging them up to dry. I at first imagined all this
preparation was for making Schwamm for tinder; but no, it was
a winter stock of provisions they were laying up. Our friend
assured us that, except this dried fungus and Indian corn, and a
little goat's milk, these men probably tasted nothing but water
the whole winter through, and they were happy when they had
a sufficiency of these. In summer, the shepherds sometimes bring
them fresh food, and they themselves collect fruits and roots
among the mountains near; but their chief support is derived
from the proceeds of their begging, in the form of maize, with
which the wanderers return in autumn. All they could offer us
to aid our own supplies, was some of this fungus toasted with a
little grease and salt. The fungus was decidedly good, as far
as it went, though I believe we could have eaten up the whole
store, without feeling satisfied.
The cave of Bucses, though high and fine, is not extensive;
at least, it is not possible to penetrate more than a hundred yards
* On the Continent several species of fung'is are used in cookery, be-
side the mushroom, which, if not so delicate, are still well worth atten-
tion. One of these reaches the size of an ordinary plate, and cannot weigh
less than a pound.
VALLEY OF BUCSES. 225
from its entrance, however much farther it may really go. The
monks pointed out to us the opening in the direction in which the
rest of the cavern extends, and by which a small brook makes
its way out to the day ; but they have blocked it up so high, to
render their cave warmer, that it is no longer possible to reach it.
After looking at every thing within the hermitage — the simple
church, the yet simpler dwellings, and the most simple dwellers
therein — and after partaking of their rude fare, we left guides
and horses to their rest, and wandered out into the valley to ad-
mire the extraordinary and savage beauty of the scene. Imme-
diately about the cavern the rocks assumed the form of bold cliffs;
on the opposite side, a high pinnacle of rock raised its cross-
crowned head to the skies, and further on the black pine covered
the mountain sides, and rendered the valley dark and sombre.
The stream which separates the two sides of the mountain forms
a succession of such beautiful little water-falls, with their glassy
clear green basins above, and white foaming spray below, that I
could have spent hours in watching them. Reclining on a soft
mossy bank by the side of one of these falls, I had delayed as
long as possible, under the plea of getting a sketch of this scene,
when a noise of quarrelling at the opening of the valley, called
me away to see what could possibly have disturbed the repose of
a spot, which I had supposed the residence of silence and con-
tentment. Before I could get up, a change had come over the
spirit of the scene; the sounds of quarrelling had ceased, and
those of boisterous merriment had taken their place, and the first
view I got of the picture showed the whole of our party in a
full chorus of laughter, with the three hermits standing aside,
and though silent, exchanging most angry looks with one ano-
ther. W soon explained the mystery. It is the custom for
visiters to give some trifling sum to the monks in return for such
matters as they can furnish them with, which is joyfully accepted
by them, and put into the common purse. As we had no small
silver, W had given them a ducat, and to render the present
less ostentatious, had slipped it among the salt. One of the elder
hermits had received the salt, and bowed an acknowledgment
for the gift ; the surprise of W , therefore, was very great
on arriving at the bottom of the valley, to find the two others
following with melancholy faces, and soon after to hear their
complaints, that we had given them nothing. " What, do you
consider the gold piece I gave your companion as nothing?"
asked W , angrily. "Gold! companion!" burst from the
226 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
astonished hermits, and in a few seconds they had flown to the
cavern, dragged out the offending monk, and were hauling him
by the collar to be corrected by W , buffeting and abusing
him handsomely by the way, when I first heard them. The
change to a laugh may easily be understood : — the old rogue was
obliged to disgorge his treasure, and we were left to reflect on
the moral ; — the which, probably, every one turned to support
his own pet theory of morals in general. Musing on such mat-
ters we silently retraced our steps through the wild valley, re-
passed the sentinel, and were again on the narrow mountain road
leading to Terzburg.
The sun was just setting as we crossed the frontier, and we
had still a long ride before us, with the prospect of passing a
considerable part of it in the dark. Notwithstanding all the
haste we could make, darkness overtook us; but instead of in-
creased danger, as we had feared, increased safety came with it,
for the horses had become so cautious, that they scarcely made
a false step the whole of our ride back.
As we approached the rude villages of the Kalibaschen, the
notes of a very simple mountain air were borne on the winds,
and fell so soft and sweet on the ear, that we could scarcely be-
lieve ourselves in such a savage neighbourhood. "Ah!" said
Herr von L , as he caught the sounds, "the young Kalibas-
chen lovers are not inclined to lose this fine evening : the music
you hear, is from their Alpine horns, and is an invitation to their
sweethearts to come out to some well-known rendezvous to meet
them. The Alpine horn is the Kalibaschen's substitute for bil-
lets-doux and waiting maids." We little thought, as we passed
these savages in the morning, that they had been capable of so
much poetry; but what cannot love make poetical? Our friend
said the horns were the same as those used by the Swiss peasants ;
and he described them as long wooden pipes made by the people
themselves, and producing very harsh sounds if heard near. It
was late when we arrived at Terzburg ; but the carnages were
waiting for us, and, after thanking Herr von L for his at-
tention and politeness, we pushed on, and were soon deposited at
our inn in Kronstadt.
Our route to Hermanstadt led us along the foot of the Car-
pathians nearly the whole distance. In many parts, the aspect
of the country is curious, for the secondary ridges and valleys,
running at right angles from the centre chain, are most numerous,
and present, on a gigantic scale, the idea of ridge and furrow,
rather than of a succession of mountains.
FORTIFIED CHURCHES. 227
We passed several trains of wagons on the road, heavily laden
with articles of luxury from Vienna, going to Kronstadt and the
neighbourhood. Colonial produce seemed to form the bulk of
their contents. Most of the wagons were drawn by twelve
horses each. We were much struck with the number of fortified
churches we observed in this country. Almost every village
churchyard is surrounded by a strong wall, with battlements and
port-holes, and they are often strengthened by towers and other
means of defence. The history of Transylvania gives but too
clear an explanation of the causes of these precautions, and their
frequent occurrence brought the picture of former times very
forcibly before us. It requires little imagination to conceive the
wild Moslem hordes pouring down the passes of the Carpathians
— perhaps sent to enforce the tribute which some bold, but luck-
less prince had ventured to refuse, or perhaps urged by the love
of plunder only — sweeping over the smiling plains of the Harom-
Szek and Burzen-larid and driving away in one mingled crowd
the simple inhabitants and their flocks and herds. It is easy to
imagine them, as these incursions become more frequent, raising
round the village church the village fortress — the watchman
taking his stand on the little tower, and every peasant listening as
he drives his plough for the sound of the alarm-bell. The first
glimpse of the turban on the mountain-top is sufficient. The
warning has gone out — and now the crowd of frighted women
and children, the panting cattle, and the anxious, but firm pea-
sants, headed probably by their humble pastor — for the Saxons
boasted no lordly chivalry — all bend their hurried steps towards
the consecrated fortress. The forces of the enemy are composed
of cavalry, and resistless as they are in the open field, they find
the Saxon peasantry a formidable enemy behind their churchyard
wall, for they are ready to die to save their wives and daughters
from the feared and hated infidel. Exposed on one side to the
Tartar, and on the other to the Turk, this beautiful but unhappy
country was subject to every misery which the warfare of sa-
vages can inflict — how frightful a list! Many a romance of real
life must these villages have witnessed ! To this day the Tran-
sylvanian mother stills her restless child with threats of the Tar-
tars coming — "Ihon jonnek a Tatdrok!"*
* It is said to have been an amusement of the Tartars, to set the Hun-
garian children before their own little ones, that they might exercise them-
selves in cutting off heads — an important practical branch of Tartar edu-
cation.
223 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
We got no further than Fogaras that evening, and it was with
the greatest difficulty that we could procure any accommodation
there. I think the inns are worse in this part of Transylvania
than any where else, notwithstanding the much greater prospe-
rity of the country in general. Perhaps I remarked this defi-
ciency the more, because I stood the more in need of their accom-
modation; for, in crossing a small river in the dark, the driver
had managed to overturn my carriage, and I had got a sound
ducking in consequence. Although inhabited by Saxons, and
surrounded by the Saxon-land, Fogaras belongs to the Hunga-
rian counties. On this subject the Saxons are very sore, and
they say, and with much appearance of reason, that in depriving
them of this district, Government has violated the conditions of
several grants and charters in their favour.
We reached Hermanstadt early enough to walk round its pret-
ty promenades, and admire the almost Dutch neatness with which
every thing is kept. The town itself — the capital of the Saxon-
land — though tolerably well built, and possessing a handsome
square, has a dull and stagnant appearance. Hermanstadt is the
head-quarters of the coramander-in-chief of the troops in Tran-
sylvania, and of course of the staff. Several departments of the
Government, as the Customs, Post-superintendence, &c., are lo-
cated here, but notwithstanding these helps, Hermanstadt is not
what it was. The overland trade through Wallachia has almost
disappeared, and with it the best days of Hermanstadt.
The first objects we visited on the morning after our arrival
were the museum and gallery of Baron Bruckenthal. It has
always been one of the peculiar privileges of greatness to choose
great instruments for effecting its purposes, and in none was this
more remarkable than in Maria Theresa. This prudent queen,
setting aside all the prejudice which exists in Transylvania
against the Saxons, raised for the first time in the History of
that country, a Saxon — Baron Bruckenthal — to the supreme ad-
ministration. Hermanstadt became the seat of Government.
Bruckenthal built a splendid palace; formed a large collection of
pictures, and a very valuable library of thirteen thousand
volumes, and at his death bequeathed the use of them to the
public. We found the pictures scarcely deserving the high cha-
racter we had heard of them, but they are quite as good as those
found in many second-rate German and French towns, and they
are well worth attention, as they form the only collection in the
country. The library is in excellent order, and most freely open
ROTHEN THURM PASS. 229
to all comers. In the museum we were most struck with the
specimens of washed gold ; indeed, it is probable in this particu-
lar the most complete existing, and contains in itself an expla-
nation of the whole subject of gold washing.
I should recommend all lovers of fine scenery who may visit
Hermanstadt, to extend their rambles as far as the Rothen
Thurm Pass, one of the most romantic of the valleys which con-
nect Transylvania and Wallachia. Not that I did visit it on the
present occasion, for I had seen it before, and the recollection of
ten days' dangerous illness spent in the quarantine there, was
hardly an inducement to make me return. The valley, however,
is most beautiful, the rocks are bold and precipitous, the woods
rich, and hanging over the sides of the mountains, and occasion-
ally the most beautiful green glades intervene, that either poet
or painter could desire. It is by this beautiful valley that the
Aluta makes its escape to the Danube, and it forms one of the
most curious instances I know, of a river passing completely
through the centre of a vast mountain chain. At present, the
Aluta is of little value; for, in spite of the orders for removal
of mills, by the Prince of Wallachia, its course is entirely ob-
structed by them. Whether this river could ever be made navi-
gable as far as Transylvania I much question, — its bed is for
miles and miles nothing but a succession of rocks, — but in Wal-
lachia itself, it will become of the greatest importance.
I scarcely know whether I ought to make a digression here,
and tell my readers something of Wallachia and Moldavia, or
pass on without further notice of them ; I trust, however, I may
be allowed to intrude a short notice of these Principalities ; for,
though I know the subject may be called foreign to the title of
my book, yet the fate of these two countries has been so inti-
mately associated with that of Hungary, and for the future, must,
I believe, be still more so, that a few words on the matter may
not be thrown away.
Wallachia, Moldavia, and Bessarabia, lying between ancient
Poland, Hungary, the Danube, and the Black Sea, have in turns,
for many centuries past, acknowledged the supremacy of one or
other of the great powers on which they border. Hungary, I
believe, still claims a right to the suzerainty, though Austria
yielded up her claim about a century ago to Turkey. Of late
years, these provinces have been governed by princes nominated
by the Porte from among the worthless intriguing Greeks of the
Fanar. By the treaty of Ackermann, however, Bessarabia was
VOL. ii.— 20
230 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
given up to Russia, and with it the command of the mouths of
the Danube ; and still more recently, Russia has extended her
protection — under the plea of similarity of 'religion — to the other
two provinces, and obtained a declaration of their independence
from the Porte, in which, however, Russia and Turkey are named
as protecting powers. By this act, they are allowed to elect
their own princes, vote and levy their own taxes, and in fact
govern themselves entirely according to their own fancies, pro-
vided always, that nothing is done contrary to the interests of
the protecting powers. From the moment this act was signed,
Russia has never ceased her endeavours to extend her own in-
fluence, and destroy that of Turkey in these provinces; they
now seem at every moment in danger of falling completely into
her hands. Gratitude for assistance given to enable them to es-
cape the Moslem yoke, at first rendered the extension of this in-
fluence an easy task, but as the Wallachians and Moldavians be-
gan to feel a new burden galling their shoulders, and saw that
every day bound it only the more tightly to them, they hesitated,
remonstrated, and finally positively refused to support it longer.
A constant series of acts of oppression and injustice had rendered
the morality of the Boyars, — as the nobles of these countries are
called, — both private and political, a subject of -mockery even for
Russians; but the insolence of Baron Ruckmann, the Russian
Consul-general, has found the means of awakening them to a
sense of their duty, and they have at last stanchly refused to
sanction acts which they declare contrary to their rights and
liberties. Of course, all resistance, except that of moral power,
is impossible. Turkey can offer no assistance, and, as they say,
" England and France are a long way off."
The population of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Bessarabia is
almost exclusively of Dacian origin ; that of the two former pro-
vinces amounts to nearly 1,500,000, that of the latter probably
is not more than 20,000. I have travelled over a considerable
part of Wallachia and Moldavia, and I never saw two countries,
of their extent, so rich in productions, so fruitful in resources.
The land is of the very richest quality; the greater part of it an
alluvial plain, like the Banat of Hungary, with a climate the
most favourable for production. Yet with all these advantages,
I never saw a country so thinly populated, nor a population so
excessively poor and miserable. I had pitied the Wallacks of
Transylvania till I saw their brethren of the Principalities, and
found that there were those who might envy them their lot.
WALLACHIA AND MOLDAVIA.
231
Years of monopoly, oppression, and insecurity have worked out
these consequences. With respect to Bessarabia I cannot speak
from personal observation, except of that part which borders the
Sulina branch of the Danube, and it is little better than a vast
morass. The greater part of the country is, I believe, of much
the same nature, and it could be valuable to Russia therefore
only in as far as it gave her a command of the mouths of the
Danube, and tended to make the Black Sea a Russian Lake.
My readers will probably see now why Wallachia, Moldavia,
and Bessarabia concern Hungary. One of them is already in
the hands of Russia, and commands the only exit for the pro-
ductions of Hungary; the other two are ready to fall into the
hands of Russia whenever she chooses to seize them, and they
form the frontiers of Hungary on the east.
While I am writing this, the news of a great treaty concluded
between England and Austria * has just reached me ; and I find
by one of the articles that vessels coming from the ports of Wal-
lachia and Moldavia, are to be received on the same terms as if
coming from Austrian ports.
At last, then, Austria has roused herself and engaged Eng-
land fairly in the cause. The meaning of that article is simply
this: — "Russia shall not extend her possessions on the Danube
further than she has done already." The necessity for the pro-
vision is absolute. Hungary possesses no port on the Danube,
that is, no vessel from the Black Sea can possibly come up to
any Hungarian town on the Danube and discharge her cargo; if,
therefore, Hungary is desirous to establish an outlet for her pro-
ductions by means of the Danube, it can only be done by keeping
the ports below the Iron Gates open to her merchants. This
has been threatened, first by the duties Russia attempted to im-
pose on vessels entering the Danube, and, on the failure of that,
by the gradual filling up of the Sulina mouth, by neglecting the
cleansing which was always carried on by the Turks, and latterly,
it is said, by the sinking, as if by accident, of some flat-bottomed
* Of course I allude to the commercial treaty, negotiated with so much
talent by Mr. Macgregor. It is with great regret and astonishment I have
seen a question raised in the House of Commons about the meaning of
the article referring to Wallachia, and still further confusing the question
by mixing it up with the new Turkish treaty. It has been asked, if Tur-
key will consent to, or if Turkey can, extend her new customs to the
Principalities. Turkey has nothing whatever to do with the Principali-
ties in such matters, they are entirely free to make any regulations or
treaties of commerce they please with any foreign power.
232 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
boats. This scheme was again threatened with counteraction by
the formation of a canal or railroad from the Danube to the
Black Sea, and it was therefore but reasonable to suppose that
Russia would exert her influence with the Princes to throw still
further impediments in the way, much as it would have been to
their injury. There were only two ways of opposing this, either
by engaging England in the maintenance of the security of these
provinces, or in at once seizing on them herself. The first has
been adopted for the present ; let us inquire if the second may
not become necessary hereafter. The interests of Europe, of
humanity, require that the ambition of Russia should receive a
check: I will not waste one line in arguing a proposition which
is not questioned by a single man of sense and feeling in Europe.
She is preparing the way for future conquest in the south of Eu-
rope, and to these conquests Wallachia and Moldavia are the
high road. These countries have np force which would enable
them to resist her invading army a single day, nor is it possible
that for centuries they can have: they have neither the physical
means which a mountainous and wooded country afford, nor
havie they those moral aids — proud historical recollections, legends
of liberty, or the character which long habits of independence
give — and which have enabled small knots of men to retain their
place as nations when threatened by the most powerful with ex-
tinction. For their armies they have a few hundred men each —
" not for fighting," as one of their own officials told me; (e that
others do for us," — but for keeping up a system of quarantine
which, as far as possible, destroys their trade and cuts them off
from all communication with the Turks. Independent, therefore,
these provinces cannot be: the question then is, to whom shall
they belong? Turkey is not only unable to hold them, from the
ancient hatred they bear to the enemies of their faith, but the ex-
tension of her frontiers beyond the Danube rather tends to weaken
than strengthen her. No one who is anxious to save Europe from
the flood of barbarism which threatens to overflow her from the
North, would leave them in the grasp of Russia. Hungary,
then, is the only power which could hold them with safety to
herself and others. Let Hungary offer the Principalities a frank
union, a fair share in the advantages of her constitution, and an
equality of rights and privileges, and I have no doubt the Wal-
lachians would gladly join themselves to a country which could
guaranty them a national existence, civil and religious freedom,
and an identity of material interests. Hungary too would gladly
THE SAXON LANGUAGE.
accept a share in the trade of the Black Sea, and might proba-
bly be induced to give up her claims on Gallicia for such a com-
pensation,— and then, with constitutional Poland reinstated in
her integrity on the one side, and constitutional Hungary in-
tervening on the other, the fears of invasion from absolute Rus-
sia would be an idle bugbear unworthy a moment's fear; but
from no other combination can Europe ever be safe.
But to return to Hermanstadt and the biedere Sachsen. The
Hermanstadters are said to be of Flemish origin, and they have
got a strange notion that the extraordinary dialect they com-
monly converse in has a strong resemblance to English. It
might have been Hebrew for all I could understand of it. I be-
lieve there are not less than seven distinct dialects among these
Saxons, all supposed to have been derived from the different
parts of Germany from which they originally came. They all
spell and write German as it is now spoken. Here, as elsewhere,
Luther's Bible has formed the language after its own image, but
even in reading the Bible they translate it into the common dia-
lect. It is a common joke against the Saxons to ask them how
they spell boffleisch, — their name for bacon, — and they answer
by spelling the classical German word s-p-e-c-k, calling it at the
same time boffleisch. Even in the pulpit the clergyman reads in
the vulgar dialect.
When we left Hermanstadt and passed through more of the
Saxon-land, we had still further reason to admire the habits and
character of this people as exhibited by outward appearances.
Never in my life did I see more flourishing villages than theirs ;
even the Wallacks who have settled among them have caught
something of their spirit, and look almost comfortable and happy.
The houses are well built, and though only of one story, they
are always raised some feet above the ground, and are reached
by a flight of steps. The gable end, which is turned towards
the street, generally bears the date of its erection, the cipher of
the builder, and, according to a good old Puritan custom, a verse
from the Bible, recommending its inhabitants to the care of Pro-
vidence. The people were well dressed, and we passed in the
course of the day a great number of smart lads and lasses, the
former with bunches of flowers in their broad-brimmed hats; the
latter with showy jackets and their hair braided and ornamented
with flowers most tastefully.
And now, reader, we have passed Reismark and Muhlenbach,
said adieu to the land of the Saxons, and are again among the
20*
234 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Magyars at Karlsburg in my favourite valley of the Maros. I
have no need to describe our route any further, as we have
passed over it twice before. I believe we have now visited the
greater part of Transylvania, very imperfectly of course, and I
can safely say of it, in the words of a German writer — " There
is perhaps no country which has not some beauties to exhibit,
but I never saw any which, like Transylvania, is all beauty,"
— welches so wie Siebenburgen ganz Schonheit ware. And
many as were the little discomforts and inconveniences we have
been obliged to put up with, we have managed to provide against
them tolerably well. While writing up my notes of this past
day? I cannot, if I look round me, complain of any great misery,
or,* at least, I cannot feel very unhappy about it, do what I will.
Krumme Peter's apartment is certainly far inferior to his enter-
tainment, but it contains three beds, and the servants have just
covered them with our own linen; a supper of roast fowls and
salad has satisfied our hunger, and the wine is neither sour nor
weak ; and now that I see Miklos has filled my chibouque with
choice Latakia, and rested its delicate amber mouthpiece on my
pillow, mixed my cool draught of eau sucre and placed it with a
novel by my bed-side — why I believe I shall go to bed and read,
and smoke for the next hour in as perfect a state of ecstasy as if
my couch was down, and its hangings of most costly materials.
HOSPITALITY.
235
CHAPTER XII.
KLAUSENBURG IN WINTER.
Transylvanian Hospitality. — Klausenburg. — Transylvanian Incomes. —
Money Matters. — The Gipsy Band. — Our Quarters. — The Stove. — The
Great Square. — The Recruiting Party. — A Soiree. — The Clergy. — The
Reformed Church. — Religious Opinions. — The Consistory. — Domestic
Service. — County Meeting. — Count Bethlen Janos. — Progress of Pub-
lic Opinion.— The Arch-Duke.— The Students and Officers.— Climate.
— Separation of three Counties. — The Unitarians. — Habits of Society.
The Ladies. — Education. — Children and Parents. — Divorces. — Casino
and Smoking. — Funerals. — Schools. — The Theatre.
WINTER set in with all its rigour, and we determined to re-
main quietly at Klausenburg, at least for some time. I pass over
the presentation of introductions and the necessary formalities of
making acquaintance. An Englishman, who is only accustomed
to the stiff, though well-meant forms of English society, can
have little idea how a stranger is received here.
The first family we visited, invited us to take our dinner and
supper regularly with them when we had no other engagement.
" You will find few persons in Klausenburg just at present; the
inns are very bad, and therefore, whenever you are not engaged,
we shall expect the pleasure of your company at two o'clock for
dinner, and at nine for supper." Nor was this a mere ceremony ;
for if we missed one day, a servant was sure to come the next to
invite us. With such a reception I need scarcely say we soon
felt ourselves at home at Klausenburg.
But I believe I have never told the reader what sort of a
place this Klausenburg is. Well, then, it is a pretty little town
of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, situated in the valley
of the Szamos, and overlooked by hills on every side. It is
built round a large square, in the centre of which stands the fine
old Gothic cathedral. From this square, almost all the streets
run off at right angles. The streets themselves are wide, in the
true Magyar taste, and the houses, though handsome, are often
of only one story, and never more than two.
The old walls, gates, and towers which formerly guarded the
town, are in great part standing, and I believe they even still
236 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
close some of them at. night. The Szarnos does not run through
the town, and it is well it does not; for it is a strange unmanage-
able river, and might carry it away in some of its sudden inun-
dations. On the opposite side of it, however, there exists a part
of Klausenburg, if such a title can be given to a collection of
miserable huts, which cover the side of the hill. They are, for
the most part, holes scraped out of the soft sandstone rock, with
a little projecting thatch over the door. This wretched place
is inhabited by gipsies and dogs. I unite the two, because, in an
excursion I made into this region, I found more of the latter than
the former, and it was not without some difficulty that I escaped
from them.
Though, generally speaking, Klausenburg can lay no claim
to figure as a European capital, yet it possesses some few houses
which would make a respectable appearance in London or Paris.
It is very rare, however, that their owners occupy the whole of
them, — a part is generally let off to others. Although many of
the Transylvanian nobles have immense estates, including twenty
or thirty villages, there are very few of them who are not deeply
in debt, and very much harassed for ready money. Six per cent,
is the maximum of legal interest, but ten is more generally paid
for loans. In matters of business the generality of the Transyl-
vanians are mere children. There is not one in fifty who can
tell you the amount of his own income or expenditure. You
are often surprised to hear a man of ten thousand acres, talk
of receiving only seven or eight hundred pounds a-year in rents,
and you are still more surprised when you hear that so small
a sum maintains such a household as you see him keeping up.
On inquiring a little further into the matter, you find he has
not calculated as income or expenditure, all the corn and hay
his twenty or thirty horses consume, all the game, poultry, fruit,
bread, wine, and fire-wood, used in the family: "Oh! that is
nothing," he answers, if reminded of these matters; "that all
comes from my own estates." He reckons income what he re-
ceives in hard cash; expenditure, what he lays out in hard cash.
In all Transylvania there is not a single banker. A retail
tradesman, who has very large affairs with Pest and Vienna,
will give money on bills, and undertakes the transmission of con-
siderable sums, for a per centage ; but of regular bankers there
are none. Even this person will not receive deposits of money,
unless paid five per cent, for keeping them; for he says they are
of no use to him — he can do nothing with them. Imperfect
GIPSY BAND. 237
laws, which render the recovery of debts difficult, is the real
source of this inconvenience, but the habits of former times tend
much to keep it up. When the country was subject to civil
war, or to Turkish invasion, it was then, as it is still in Turkey,
considered prudent and economical to hoard up gold, or lay out
large sums in plate and jewels, so that in case of an attack, they
might be easily hidden, or carried off. The same feeling still
exists here, and it is not uncommon for ladies with an income of
five hundred pounds per annum, to possess more jewels than an
Englishwoman, of ten or twenty times that fortune, would dream
of. The quantities of pearls and diamonds with which some of
the Hungarian ladies load their national costume, is quite out of
all proportion; to me they forcibly recalled the bead-decked
dresses of the savages of the South Sea Islands, — Heaven defend
me, though, should they hear that I have said so !
At one of the first dinner parties to which we were invited,
the attendance of the gipsy band was ordered, that we might
hear some of the Hungarian music in its most original form.
The crash of sound which burst upon us, as we entered the
dining-room, was most startling; for be they where they may,
gipsy musicians make it a point to spare neither their lungs nor
arms, in the service of their patrons. This band was one of the
best in the country, and consisted of not less than twenty or
thirty members, all of whom were dressed in smart hussar uni-
forms, and really looked very well. Few of them, if any, knew
notes, yet they executed very many difficult pieces of music with
considerable accuracy. The favourite popular tune, the Rakotzy,
— the Magyar " Scots wha hae," — was given with great force.
I am more than ever convinced that none but a gipsy band can
do it full justice. The effect of the melancholy plaintive sounds
with which it begins, increased by the fine discords which the
gipsies introduce, and of the wild burst of passion which closes
it, must depend as much on the manner of its execution as on
the mere composition. It is rather startling to the stranger, on
arriving at Klausenburg, that no sooner is he lodged in his inn,
than he receives a visit from this gipsy band, who salute him
with their choicest music to do honour to his coming; and it is
sometimes a little annoying to find that he cannot get rid of
them without paying them most handsomely for their compliment.
In December we left the inn, and got into very comfortable
lodgings, in the house of Dr. P , with a sunny aspect and a
look out into the market-place. We had altogether four rooms,
238 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
for which we paid four pounds per month. When we dined at
home, which was very seldom, they sent us in a very fair dinner,
of five dishes, from the casino, at twenty-pence each.
The weather was intensely cold, and we were obliged to keep
large wood-fires in the stoves all day long. The windows were
double, and the doors fitted pretty well, but we still felt it ex-
cessively cold. We were fortunate in having old-fashioned stoves,
which opened into the room, and which, if less elegant, are much
more wholesome and comfortable than those which open on the
outside. I do really think, of all unwholesome, uncomfortable
inventions, the modern Austrian, or Russian stove is the worst.
It throws a tremendous heat into the room, of a kind which, to
those unaccustomed to it, is almost sure to produce headach, and
at the same time it offers no vent for foul air. And then, as to
regulating the heat, that is next to an impossibility. The late
Emperor Francis wittily observed one day, that he believed "it
required as much talent to warm a room, as to rule a kingdom,"
and I really think he was not far from the truth, — for those who
suffer the heat have no communication with him who makes the
fire, nor does the latter ever enter the room to judge how far
the heating is needed ; in fact he knows about as much of the
feelings of those he alternately starves and stews, as an absolute
monarch of the wants and necessities of those whom he pater-
nally misrules.
In a house we were staying at for some time, the daraband
— fire-maker — was deaf and dumb, and all he could be made to
understand was, that the rooms required heating. Whenever
this poor fellow wished to show his liking to any one, he always
did it by keeping the stove hot the whole day. By some means
or other, it appeared that we had attracted his especial favour,
and we soon found ourselves in danger of being roasted, from
pure kindness.
The cause of this daraband's loss of speech and hearing is
curious. Till the age of thirty he had full possession of all his
faculties; but, at that time he met with a severe fall, which is
supposed to have injured the brain, and which left him quite deaf
and dumb, and partly idiotic. When very much excited, how-
ever, by passion, he has once or twice been heard to speak, and
that, too, distinctly and well, but immediately afterwards he re-
lapsed into his former state.
Those who love looking out of the windows, would scarcely
choose Klausenburg as a winter's residence. Even in our great
MARKET DAY. 239
square, we found but little variety. The old cathedral was op-
posite to us, and would be a fine building, if its base was not
obscured by shops. There is a shabby pillar also, intended to
commemorate the visit of the late Emperor to Transylvania; and
these are the only objects of architectural pretension for the eye
to rest on. As for variety of colour, there is none. Everything
is covered with snow ; the hills, the church, the houses, the
square itself, are all snow, and when the peasants are wrapped
up in their white sheep-skin bundas, they look like snow too.
On one side of the square stands the guard-house, and at
eleven precisely every morning, a horrid noise of metal drums
brings out the Hungarian grenadier guard, — and splendid fellows
they are too in their tight blue pantaloons, rough great-coats,
and bear-skin caps — to stand shivering in the cold for half an
hour before the mystic signs of changing guard can be got through.
On ordinary days this, with an occasional variety, — as a horse
falling on the frozen snow, or a barking dog startling the empty
square, a sledge from the country with its four horses shaking
their noisy bells as they dash along, or an old aristocratic coach
with a pair of long-tailed prancers, and a coach-man buried to
the nose in bear's skin — is all that the most industrious window-
watcher can discover. As for the pedestrians, they do not de-
serve looking at, for they are all alike, a mass of fur cloaks,
which vary only in their being held more or less closely to the
figure, as the weather is warmer or colder.
On market-day, indeed, the scene is somewhat gayer; the
square is filled with small tents and wagons, where the peasants
are displaying for sale their hay and corn, and poultry, and fire-
wood, and exchanging them for such coarse commodities, chiefly
cloth and leather, as they require. Brandy, too, runs away
with a large part of their profits; and few of those whom we
saw so keen in haggling for a kreutzer in the morning would in
a few hours after have sufficient sense left to guide them home.
But the greatest variety the market-day offers, is the recruit-
party. Since the violent dissolution of the Diet, and the refusal
of the counties to levy soldiers without a vote of supply, the
Government has been obliged to resort to recruiting to fill up
the regiments. Eight or ten smart young fellows, dressed in
hussar uniforms, and preceded by a gipsy band playing the
national airs, promenade the town in loose order, talking and
laughing with all they meet, and looking so idle and so happy,
that it is impossible not to envy them. Every now and then the
240 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
party halts, forms a circle, and commences what is called the
Werbung, or recruiting dance. It is performed to a favourite
Hungarian air, and consists in slightly beating time with the feet,
striking together the spurs, and occasionally turning round, the
whole party singing all the time.. While this was going on, I
saw one sly fellow quietly steal from the circle of dancers, and
walking outside the group of open-mouthed peasants, enter into
conversation with them, and cunningly drop his most dainty baits
before all the fish he thought likely to bite. Some of the wiser
ones turned away, or pretended not to hear him, but two silly gud-
geons were nibbling so long, that I am much mistaken if they
were not hooked. And, indeed, it is no wonder; the music, the
dancing, the national uniform, and the long spurs — almost all
that constitutes the pride and pleasure of an Hungarian peasant's
life, seem within his grasp; and when to these are added the
fourteen shillings smart-money, it is enough to upset the sternest
virtue. The Hungarian peasant, however, always enlists on the
understanding that he is to be a hussar, that he shall have a
horse, and wear spurs and blue pantaloons; and bitter are the
poor fellow's tears when, as is often the case, he finds himself on
foot, and for his comely national dress, is forced to assume the
hated breeches and gaiters of the Austrian infantry.
Our usual mode of passing the day, after the simple breakfast
of one tiny cup of coffee and a slice of bread, was in writing or
taking lessons — S in German, and I in Hungarian — till two,
which is the common dinner hour. From five to eight or nine
every house is open, and we generally paid our visits to the
ladies' drawing-rooms during that time. At nine, we found our-
selves hungry, and by no means unwilling to encounter a supper
little less ponderous than the dinner, and then our pipes and
book finished the day. This was the first time in the course of
pur Hungarian travels that we had found any real inconvenience
in society from not understanding the Magyar language. In
other places, German is the language commonly spoken, but the
Transylvanians are too stanch Magyars for that; and I even
know some of them who have almost forgotten their German
from pure patriotism. Twenty years ago, German nurses and
governesses were found in every respectable house; now French,
or even English, are almost as common.
A soirte, the first of the season, at the Countess 5s, to
which we were invited, laid open to us something of the social
habits of the capital. The invitation was verbal— they seem to
A SOIREE. 241
have a horror of writing notes here — and the time half-past six'.
In the first room sat a crowd of young ladies without a soul to
speak to them, save a stray youth just escaped from college, or
some good-tempered old beau who had taken pity on their des-
titute condition. In the second and third, were the usual com-
plement of card-tables, dowagers, and dandies, with a few pretty
women, still in the prime of life, and the sole objects of attention.
How it is that this rigid separation should have been established
between the maids and matrons, I know not; but I suspect that
some coquettish mammas were prudent enough to think that a
separation between mother and daughter, at least in their cases,
might be for the benefit of both parties, the exhibition of mam-
ma's flirtations, un pen prononcees, being scarcely adapted to
improve her daughter's innocence ; and the daughter's fresh colour
and youthful charms being certainly not calculated to set off the
waning beauties of mamma. The refreshments were altogether
exotic. A large table was crowded with tea-urns, cups and
saucers, cakes and sweetmeats, bonbons, ices, a large bottle of
rum to take with the tea, after the Russian fashion, and I know
not what else, of tempting delicacies besides. With some ama-
teur music, to which no one listened, and some honest hard
waltzing, in which all took real pleasure, a little scandal, and a
little flirting, the party broke up at ten.
With the exception of a slight tendency to the over-gay, the
ladies' dresses were just the same as one sees in every other part
of Europe ; at least, 1 am sure, I could tell no difference. Dancing
seems really more of a passion here than I ever saw it any where
else; and the greatest misfortune that can happen to a young
lady is, to have a paucity of partners. A lady told me the other
day, that in her dancing times, she remembered well that she
never said her prayers for her "daily bread," without adding
" and plenty of partners at the next ball, I beseech thee." How
far the prayer might be an appropriate one, I leave Theologians
to decide; but I am sure it was a sincere one; and I believe the
loss of the daily bread would not have appeared more cruel than
the want of partners.
On calling on the Baroness B one day, we found her sor-
rowing that her favourite maid was going to be married.
"I shall never get so good a hair-dresser again; and, besides,
she has been with me from childhood; and, after all, she was
much better off where she was, than as the wife of a poor cler-
gyman."
VOL. II. — 21
242 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
"What!" I asked, "does a respectable clergyman marry a
lady's waiting maid?"
"Oh, yes! It is the same gentleman you have met at my
house in the country ; he is a very honest man, and thinks him-
self very fortunate in getting her. She is quite as well educated,
and has picked up rather better manners than the generality of
those to whom he could aspire; and, besides, he has probably
some hopes that we may help him forward in consequence."
" And shall you receive your former maid at your table, as
you lately did the clergyman ?"
" Of course not : he will come as usual, whenever we are in
the country: but his wife will not dream of such a thing. You
might have noticed, that although the lower ends of our tables
are crowded by our stewards and bailiffs, and dependants of va-
rious kinds, their wives are never admitted."
The great body of the Protestant clergy of Transylvania are
derived from the poorer classes of society, as the peasants or
small tradesmen. Those of the towns, indeed, are often the
sons of professors, merchants, or gentlemen of landed property ;
but these form the exception, not the rule. During the period
of their education, they are commonly maintained by assistance
from the lord of the village to which they belong, by the charity
of the Protestant body at large, or from the funds of the college
itself. The latter portion of the time they remain in the schools
is in part occupied in teaching, by which they gain something to
help out their slender pittance.
The government of the Reformed Churches in Transylvania
approaches, in some respects, to that of the Presbyterian Church
of Scotland. The whole body of Calvinists is divided into se-
venteen circles, each circle being governed by a presbyter, no-
tary, two laical curators, and two assistants. The ecclesiastical
causes of each circle are judged by the presbyter and twelve cle-
rical assessors. The appeal from the circle courts is to the Ge-
neral Synod, which is composed of the bishop, the presbyters,
notaries, two clerical deputies from each circle, and some laical
deputies from the Consistory. The Consistory is the great
council, or parliament of the Calvinists, and meets twice a year
at Klausenburg, to decide all the important affairs of the Church.
The Consistory is composed of deputies (patroni) chosen thus :
— The members of every church, peasants or others, meet to-
gether every four years, and elect two of their own body, who,
together with the clergy, assembling from the whole circle, elect
THE CLERGY. 243
two, four, or five deputies (according to the size of the circle) to
the Consistory. Besides these deputies, the Consistory is com-
posed of the bishop, first notary, presbyters, notaries of circles,
professors of colleges, curators of circles and colleges, and all the
lords-lieutenant, privy counsellors, and state secretaries belong-
ing to that religion. The Consistory chooses from its own body
four presidents, of whom the eldest present always takes the
chair. The election of the bishop is nominally made by the
Synod, subject to the approval of the Government ; but the first
notary, who succeeds to the bishopric as a matter of course, is
chosen by the Synod independently.
The manner of nominating to a cure is this: — If a village is in
want of a clergyman, the seigneur nominates some qualified per-
son; that is, some one who has gone through a course of educa-
tion,— like that described in speaking of the college of Enyed, —
and has been duly ordained ; and, if he is approved by the bi-
shop, he, with the consent of the Synod, confirms the nomina-
tion. If, however, the peasants object to his induction, or after-
wards become discontented with his services, the bishop is obliged
to remove him.
The salary of the Transylvanian clergyman is commonly very
small. Besides a cottage and plot of ground, — an entire pea-
sant's fief, — he receives a voluntary payment, the amount of which
is agreed on beforehand, in part from the lord, and in part from
the peasants. It is rarely that this is entirely in money. The
peasants commonly agree to give a tenth of their corn and wine ;
and the lord, to a certain quantity of the same articles, adds a
sum of money, varying from eight to twelve pounds. This is
but a poor pittance for a man of talent and education; and when
it is considered that the greater part even of this depends on his
pleasing the lord of the village, we shall not be surprised that the
clergyman of Transylvania does not occupy so dignified and ho-
noured a position as he ought to do. Though there are, undoubt-
edly, many men of high character among them, as a class, they are
commonly spoken of by the nobles as deficient in independence
and self-respect. Nor is this remark to be confined to the Pro-
testants; the Catholics are equally obnoxious to it. The very
custom of admitting the priesthood to their tables as daily guests,
amiable a trait as it may appear in the character of the nobles,
without treating them as equals, has a direct tendency to convert
them into dependents and flatterers. Even the higher dignita-
ries of the church are not always free from the like animadver-
244 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
sions; and in speaking of ecclesiastical causes, of which they are
the judges, I have often heard men of the highest character say,
that a few presents and a little cajolery, will help them to un-
ravel a knotty point, or solve a conscientious scruple with asto-
nishing rapidity.
From disregard for the professors of religion to a disregard
for religion itself is but a short step, and I am sorry to say it is
one which is often made in Transylvania. It is a common thing,
among both Catholics and Protestants, for the best informed of
the young people — the old cling to the faith and observances of
their forefathers with a fervent and sincere attachment — to speak
of religion as a useful means of influencing mankind, of Christi-
anity as a beautiful moral system ; but there are very few with
whom I have spoken seriously on the subject, who have not de-
nied its Divine origin. In fact, they seemed to think infidelity
itself a proof of a strong and enlightened mind, and were asto-
nished that any man of sense could really believe the authenticity
of miracles.
As might be anticipated from this laxity of belief, bigotry has
few devotees. The Catholic party is dominant, and those more
immediately favoured by the Court, it is true, are somewhat in-
clined towards propagandism; but, with both parties, religion is
more a part of politics than of faith. The Protestants are ne-
glected and oppressed because they are Protestants, and such
treatment has created among them considerable bitterness and
a strong party spirit. Of course, this is not to be wondered at ;
persecution is the best cure for indifference; but it is rather
startling to see the man with whom one has been arguing over-
night for the credibility of Scripture, the next morning heading
a meeting of strong Calvinists. " Why, what can you have to
do with the Consistory?" I observed to Baron , one day
when he was canvassing for a full attendance of members at the
next assembly, — "What can you have to do with the Consistory,
if you don't believe in religion?" "I may not believe the dog-
mas of the Reformed Church," he answered, "and yet have a
strong conviction that the principles of the Reformation, the
right of free inquiry, and the duty of every man's forming his
own opinion, are just and true. What I contend for now is the
independence of our schools and colleges with respect to any in-
terference on the part of an absolute and Catholic Government.
In that I am as Protestant as the best believer amongst them."
I have been sometimes at a loss whether most to admire or
DOMESTIC SERVICE.
245
deprecate the treatment and position of servants here. A Tran-
sylvanian servant is commonly the child of his master's peasant,
perhaps one who has been left an orphan, and bequeathed to his
care, perhaps a playfellow of his little master, who has been
taken into the family in his very infancy, and there he will pro-
bably remain till he can serve no longer. Their wages are small,
— of course I speak of the generality, the very highest classes
are the exceptions every where, — those of footmen rarely exceed-
ing four or five pounds a-year, and grooms and coachmen often re-
ceiving only one; but then they are all found in clothes, linen,
and washing. If a female servant wishes to marry, her mistress
provides her a handsome trousseau, and helps to furnish her
house; if a man-servant marries, his wife is very likely taken
into the family, or some out-door place is found for him. When
they become too old to serve any longer, there is no idea of turn-
ing them off, but they are commonly sent to some country house
at a distance, and maintained there for their lives. Some gen-
tlemen have dozens of these old pensioners quartered on different
estates; as they say, "It costs us but little; for the expense of
transporting the corn we receive in rent from our peasants would
hardly pay for the trouble, and it keeps these poor fellows very
comfortably."
If this has its good side, it has also its bad, for I never saw
servants more negligent and dirty than those of Transylvania.
I believe they do not rob their masters, but they get drunk on
their best wines, lame their best horses, and probably disobey
their orders five times out of ten. Nor do I think the familiarity
with which they are commonly treated, any more a proof of re-
spect or of kindly feeling, than our distance and reserve of
cruelty and pride. The more nearly the servant approaches
the master in his rights and position in society, the more neces-
sary it is that reserve should intervene to keep up that deference,
without which obedience can hardly be expected. But when
the servant is of another caste, and can never approach the
sphere of those above him, the case is different, and the more he
approaches to the state of the slave, the more he is treated with
familiarity, because there is the less danger of his being tempted
to forget his relative position .in consequence of it. In America
the negroes in the slave states are treated with infinitely more
familiarity than they are in the others; but it would be absurd
on that account to conclude that slavery is preferable to free-
dom, or that the freeman's master is more cruel than the owner
21*
246 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of the slave. In Russia, this contemptuous familiarity is carried
to a still greater extent. A princess of that country was once
discovered employing her footman in lacing her stays, and when
remonstrated with by her more civilized visiter, answered, very
composedly, "What can it signify ? he is only a servant." To
a modification of the same feeling, I attribute much of the fami-
liarity with which servants are treated in Transylvania, — the
very praise of a good servant, that " he is faithful as a dog," is
enough to prove it; and I cannot, therefore, as many writers
have done, from seeing it in other parts of the Continent, hold
it up to admiration or imitation. The good servant ought to be
too much respected by his master to be treated with familiarity;
for in the dependent position which he necessarily occupies, it
could only degrade him to a mean flatterer, or render him diso-
bedient and careless.
The dislike of any other livery than their national dress is
very strong among the servants here ; indeed, to such an extent
is it carried, that those who wish to have servants in livery are
often obliged to hire them at Pest or Vienna. Except the lady's
maid, the female servants are commonly dressed like the peasant
women, and wear the same substantial boots and bundas.
On the fifth of December, there was a meeting of the county
of Klausenburg, the first held since the dissolution of the Diet.
This looked as if the Government were inclined to try concilia-
tion, and we heard that all the chiefs of the liberal party were
anxious that it should pass off with the greatest quietness, but
that they were resolved at the same time to manifest a firm ad-
herence to their rights. The course to be adopted was deter-
mined on at a meeting of the principal nobles at the house of
Count Bethlen Janos, — the admitted leader of the liberals; — and
it was to assemble and draw up a protest against the dissolution
of the Diet, and all the subsequent acts of the executive, and
then to separate, with a refusal to act in any way with a Govern-
ment of which they cannot acknowledge the legality.
The meeting took place in the hall, formerly occupied by the
Diet, and which was still fitted up as it had been during the sit-
tings of that assembly, with rows of benches covered with green
cloth. The Administrator, the substitute for the Lord-lieute-
nant who had resigned, took his place with fear and trembling ;
for he was aware how strong the opposition was against him, and
he did not probably feel quite comfortable as to how the meeting
might end. After the clerks had read over some documents,
COUNTY MEETING.
247
among which was the Imperial Ordinance closing the Diet, in
Latin, Count Bethlen Janos rose. Added to an exceedingly fine
countenance and striking figure, Bethlen Janos possesses a voice
of greater depth and sweetness than I ever remember to have
heard. His manner is calm, but earnest and persuasive in the
highest degree, He is generally accused of being too lazy to
take such an active share in public affairs as his talents and
eloquence demand of him. That could not be charged against
him, however, on this occasion. He had been suffering from
ague for several months previously, and was actually under the
influence of the fever while he was speaking.
His task was a difficult one. A considerable number of Szolga-
birok, magistrates, who had been fairly chosen in 1833, in con-
sequence of the cessation of the county meeting, had not been
able to give up their offices, as they were bound to do, at the
end of the year, and go through a new election ; they had now
been three years in office. All these men were anxious to come
forward and resign ; but as it was determined that nothing should
be done, of course their re-election could not have been made,
and probably Government would have appointed a set of corrupt
bureaucrats in their places. The quiet dignified manner, and
calm reasoning of Count Bethlen, seemed to have its effect.
Some of the friends of Government tried to counteract his wise
counsel by stimulating the more uncompromising of the opposi-
tion to a violent course — but it was in vain ; the moderates car-
ried the day. A committee was appointed to draw up a protest,
and the meeting adjourned. Many of the best speakers had
been drawn off by similar meetings having been called together
in several other counties. After Bethlen Janos, the best speakers
were Baron Kemeny Domokos, Zejk Joseph, and Count Teleki
Domokos. The speeches were generally very short, and in con-
sequence the speakers found it frequently necessary to rise and
interrupt, in order to explain their meaning more fully, which pro-
duced some confusion in the debate.
Even among the liberal party, different opinions have been
formed as to the prudence and wisdom of the extreme measures
of Baron Wesselenyi, which led to the violent dissolution of the
Diet on the part of the Government. Many of those who had
followed his steps while successful, were anxious to escape from the
path into which their fears and not their convictions had drawn
them. Others, too weak to oppose the torrent in the height of
its flow, now began to make themselves heard; and there were
248 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
many who believed that a more cautious, if less direct, course
would have been attended with more favourable results. Perhaps
these opinions are right, and on the spot, I was much inclined to
agree with them myself; at the same time, it is impossible to deny
that the principles of Wesselenyi, if too advanced both for the
Government and the mass of his countrymen, were in themselves
noble and high. The attempt to carry them out at that moment
may have been imprudent, untimely; but they have had the
effect which all high party principles have, of engendering sen-
timents of disinterested nationality and generous devotion to the
public good. A few years ago, Government would have been
right in counting on love of place as stronger than love of prin-
ciple ; but a public conscience has been called into action ; he that
could get the most was not the most esteemed — and, as was seen
in the moment of action, even men of doubtful conduct no longer
dared to leave the straight course, so strong was the public feel-
ing against any dereliction from public duty. For this the
country has, in a great measure, to thank Wesselenyi, and I am
not sure that it is not the greatest boon he could have conferred
on it.*
Nothing can be conceived more uneasy than the state of society
here at the present moment. Politics have completely divided
the most intimate friends, so that it is difficult to form even a din-
ner party without bringing opponents together. The Arch-duke
and his small band of officials, together with the whole of the
military, are sent to Coventry by the greater part of the nobility.
Many ladies not only refuse to attend at his palace, but will
not go into society where he is invited. Of course this has no
tendency to soften the Arch-duke?s feelings, and many tales are
afloat of the harsh things he has said. That he is a most dan-
gerous enemy of constitutional rights is beyond all question.
* Later events have still further confirmed this opinion. The Transyl-
vanian Diet was called together again in 1838, at Hermanstadt, and al-
mostall the points formerly refused were redemanded, and finally obtained
from the Government. The Diet firmly refused to elect the Arch-duke for
governor, and he has in consequence left the country. Many of those
gentlemen who gave up their places on the dissolution of the former diet,
have been re-elected by the present one, to still higher posts; the election
of the president, and the publication of the debates, have been yielded
without opposition, and it is to be hoped, that in future the country and
Government will cordially unite in amending the institutions, and amelio-
rating the condition of this beautiful country. The first act of the Diet was
to appoint a commission for the reform of the laws affecting the peasantry.
OFFICERS AND STUDENTS.
249
Only a short time since, in answer to a remonstrance from one of
the most moderate of the opposition, on the illegality of some
ordinance just issued, he observed, "Das erste Gesetz ist des
Kaisers Befehl, — the first law is the Emperor's will,"— a senti-
ment too absolute to find an echo even within the walls of the
Seraglio.
These feelings of dislike to the Court and its party, have been
strongly called forth by an occurrence which took place in the
theatre within these last few days. As a young student was
passing out of the theatre, at the same time with a number of
officers, he pushed against one of them — rudely in all probability,
and not quite unintentionally, for between officers and students
there is a great hatred, — when the officer and several of his com-
panions drew their swords, attacked the unarmed boy, and
wounded him severely. In England, the officers would have
been tried for murder; here, they were commended by their supe-
riors, and the student thrown into prison. Now, though, for
my own part, I fully agree with the Transylvanians in regarding
such an act with the greatest horror, it is but just to the Aus-
trian army to give the reasons by which they attempt to justify
it. If an Austrian officer receives an insult and does not avenge
it, he is looked upon by his comrades as a coward; if he fights a
duel, he is broken by his commander; and therefore to redress
his own wrongs the moment they are inflicted is the only plan
by which he can escape dishonour or punishment. It is still dif-
ficult to conceive, however, by what sophistry it could be con-
sidered fair to use arms against an unarmed man.
Towards the middle of January the cold became excessive.
At eight o'clock in the morning of the tenth of that month, the
thermometer stood at twenty-two degrees of Fahrenheit below
freezing. This is a greater degree of cold than has been known
at Klausenburg for many years; indeed it is colder than a com-
mon winter at St. Petersburg. The winter in general, however,
is exceedingly severe in Transylvania, and I know no better in-
stance to prove how much other circumstances, besides the lati-
tude, influence the climate of a country. Klausenburg is thir-
teen degrees south of St. Petersburg, and five degrees south of
London; yet, owing to its geographical position, it has five
months winter of almost arctic severity. The contrast is ren-
dered still more striking when we recollect that the summers
here are so hot as to produce the grape and water-melon in the
open air.
250 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
This was the first time I ever felt a really painful cold, and
on going out I found it affect my eyes severely. The breath
froze on the moustache and whiskers, and though I heard of no
noses being lost, several ladies had their ears frozen in close car-
riages, as they were going out to parties. The bread they brought
us in the morning was mostly frozen, and we heard that the
liqueurs had frozen during the night, and broken their bottles.
I was surprised one day to see a peasant, who was talking to
another in the square, resting his hand on the head of a roe-buck,
which appeared so tame that it stood quietly by his side ; but in
a few seconds, when the men parted, I was still more astonished
to see him set the animal exactly in the same position on his
shoulders, and walk off with it. In fact all the game and meat
was frozen, and required a gradual thawing before it could be used.
A considerable sensation has been excited of late by a report
that three counties of Transylvania, formerly belonging to Hun-
gary, are to be restored to that country. The Transylvanians
do not seem to relish this plan much ; they say these counties are
eminently Protestant and liberal, and, if taken away, the opposi-
tion would be so much weakened as to be in danger of extinction,
— others, again, hope it may only be a prelude to a union of
the whole of Transylvania to Hungary, which would be a means
of strengthening the latter country, and would ensure the Tran-
sylvanians also a more strict observance of their rights, though
the rights themselves might be somewhat restricted by it.
We had a visit one day from Szekelly Moses Ur, the professor
of Theology in the Unitarian College here. Professor Szekelly
told me he spent a short time in England some years back, and
visited most of the Unitarian congregations. At the Unitarian
College in York, he was much astonished at the wealth of the
professors; the first "had 300/. a year," and the two others
150/. each — " but England/' said he, " is a rich country !" " How
much have you then, if you consider that such excessive wealth?"
1 asked.
" We have SO/, a-year each, and rooms in the college, and
there are few professors here better paid than we are."
Professor Szekelly estimates the Unitarians of Transylvania
at forty-seven thousand. In the college there are two hundred
and thirty studen.ts, of whom one hundred are togati, and follow
the higher branches of learning, the rest classisten, mere boys.
There are professors of Mathematics, Philosophy, History,* and
* The Unitarians have also Gymnasia at Thorda and Keresztur.
WOMEN OF TRANSYLVANIA. 251
Theology, besides six preceptors under them. We visited the
college and church, the latter of which is a handsome building
and kept in good order. The form of service is the same as that
maintained in all Protestant dissenting churches.
Unitarianism was introduced into Transylvania by Isabella,
daughter of the King of Poland, and wife of the first Zapolya,
and it was under her regency, during the minority of her son,
that they obtained equal privileges with the other professors of
Christianity. Blandrata, the physician of Isabella, is said to
have taught her the doctrines which Servetus was promulgating
in Italy. For some time Unitarianism remained the religion of
the Court, and, of course, it soon became the religion of the cour-
tiers. Since that time, however, many changes have occurred,
by none of which have the poor Unitarians gained. Their
churches have been taken away from them and given in turns to
the Reformed and the Catholics. Their funds have been converted
to other purposes; the great have fallen away and followed new
fashions as they arose, and the religion is now almost entirely
confined to the middle and lower classes. It is in the mountains
of the Szekler-land that this simple faith has retained the greatest
number of followers. Here, as elsewhere, they are said to be
distinguished for their prudence and moderation in politics, their
industry and morality in private life, and the superiority of their
education to the generality of those of their own class.
The habits of society in Transylvania, in many respects, differ
little from those of England about the end of the last century.
The ladies usually pass their mornings in attending to the affairs
of their households, or in listening over their embroidery to the
news of the day which a neighbouring gossip has kindly brought
to them. Some of them, it is true, spend these hours at the easel
or the drawing-table, and others store their minds with the
choicest products of foreign literature. In addition to a pretty
good circulating library which Klausenburg already contains,
the ladies have lately established a book-club among themselves,
in order to ensure a better supply of new books. I know many
ladies to whom the names and works of all our best classics are fa-
miliar, either in the originals or translations, and there are very
few who cannot talk learnedly of Byron and Scott. This may
not be thought to show any very great proficiency in literature,
but I am afraid if we were to ask English ladies how much they
know — not of Hungarian writers — but of those of Germany even,
we should often find their knowledge still more shallow.
252 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
The education of children is for the most part committed to
the mother's care. In the richer families she is aided by a
governess and a master, in those less rich the whole duty rests
on her, but in no case is it left entirely to the care of strangers.
Boarding-schools are almost unknown; and the boys are conse-
quently committed to the care of private tutors, often priests or
clergymen, till fit to be sent to college. It is a great misfortune
that the wholesome lessons which pride so often receives in pub-
lic schools, cannot be enjoyed by these children. Too often their
tutors are little more than their servants, and they are conse-
quently brought up with an overweening idea of their own con-
sequence, and of the inferiority of all around them. Count Sze-
chenyi has given a humorous description of this sort of educa-
tion, and its effects, which is worth quoting. Although intended
for Hungary, and a little exaggerated, there are riot wanting
instances even in Transylvania to which it might be well applied.
" Many of our children, from their very infancy, have always
been attended by a couple of hussars, whose labour has been to
praise their little master's every act in hope of adding a trifle to
their wages by their servility — albeit they have rarely succeeded
in that matter. Has the little count walked half a mile — oh,
what a pedestrian he will make! Has he got through an exa-
mination— private, of course, — and are his parents in office —
what a great man he will turn out some of these days ! If the
young gentleman, attended by a handsome suite, pays a visit to
his father's estates, every body is in waiting to receive him, and
he sees things only in their holiday dress. Suppose his studies
now finished — that is, his private tutor dismissed — and he sets
out on his travels to gain a knowledge of the e world.' He pays
a visit to Count N , to Baron M , to the Vice Ispan
H , and to Squire F ; he passes through a good part of
his father-land, finds horses ordered every where he presents
himself, and so between visits to his friends and a few weeks'
bathing at Mehadia or Fiired, manages to get through the sum-
mer. After a six weeks' residence in Venice and Munich, to com-
plete his knowledge of foreign ' Weltweisheit' — world-wisdom
— he returns home, and is appointed to an office already waiting
for him. And now he plays the great man ; he knows his fa-
ther-land, has travelled into foreign countries, talks about the
English Parliament and the French Chambers, and enlight-
ens his hearers with his opinions on these matters. Then he
tells them in how sad a state France is, how her agriculture is
DOMESTIC MANNERS.
253
fallen, and darkly hints that Great Britain may yet be ruined by
her steam-engines and machinery !"
From some of these dangers the education of the women is
free. Left entirely to a mother's care, or taught by a foreign
governess under her eye, there is little chance of their falling
into these errors; nor indeed, as they are excluded from political
employment, is it worth the Government's while to interfere for
the sake of checking a mental development which it so much
fears in the other sex.
I must do the sons and daughters of Hungary the credit to
say, that in no country is the behaviour of the child to the pa-
rent more respectful than in Hungary. This partly depends on
the habits inculcated in early life. From infancy the child is
taught to kiss the parent's hand as its ordinary salutation, and
the morning and evening greetings are considered matters of
duty, and punctiliously observed even in after life. It is plea-
sant to see the married daughter kiss the mother's hand and
receive her blessing as she leaves for the night, and in the morn-
ing to find her in attendance to offer her parent the first saluta-
tions on the coming day. Nor is the custom which places the
mother at the head of the daughter's table, and which makes her
almost mistress of the hduse when she visits her child, less sooth-
ing to the feelings of one who has long been looked up to as the
directress of all about her. I have often been surprised to ob-
serve the absolute silence maintained by grown-up sons in the
presence of their fathers, and I have sometimes been sorry when
I have seen them sacrifice, if not their political sentiments, at
least the conduct which those sentiments would have dictated, to
the feelings and prejudices of old age. Great as is the respect
we owe our parents, the duty we owe our country is more sacred
still.
Society, at least during the winter, occupies a large share of
the ladies' time and attention. After dinner they commonly
make their visits; in summer they drive out to the Volks Garten,
or some other place in the neighbourhood, and, still later, either
receive visiters at home, or go out to spend the evening with
some of their friends. Though more domestic in their habits
than the French, they are not such slaves to their fire-sides as
ourselves. It is not thought a misfortune to spend an evening
alone, but it is more commonly passed in society,
The conversation of small towns is very apt to run into scan-
dal and tittle-tattle, and Klausenburg is certainly not free from
VOL. ii.— 22
254 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the imputation ; but if the weeds of the social system find a soil
for their nourishment here, its flowers are not less plentiful and
luxuriant. There are women in Transylvania whose accom-
plishments and manners would render them the ornament of any
society in which they might be placed. Nor is the general tone
of conversation much lower in its intellectuality, — whatever it
may be in refinement, — than in most other countries. I was
particularly struck by the freedom with which political and re-
ligious discussions were often carried on before ladies here, and
by the interest and share they took in it. In Transylvania, I
never heard a lady insulted by an apology for speaking in her
presence of subjects which interested her husband, father, or bro-
ther. Perhaps the next sentence may explain the cause of this.
The position of women in Hungary and Transylvania, with
respect to their civil and even political rights is very different
from what it is with us. We have already remarked, when
speaking of the Diet at Presburg, that the widows of magnates
have the right of sending a deputy to sit, though not to speak
or vote, in the lower chamber ; and, in the county meetings, the
widows of all nobles can send their representatives to act in their
names. Their civil rights, — that is, of the married women or
widows, for the maid remains a minor and ward of her nearest
male relation, should she live to the age of Methuselah — are
still more important. An Hungarian lady never loses her maiden
name, and even during her husband's life actions at law regard-
ing her property are conducted in her name. Over her property
the husband has by law no right whatsoever; even the manage-
ment of it she may retain in her own hands, though she rarely
or never does so.
In case of divorce, where the character of the wife is unim-
peached, the whole of the children are left in the care of the
mother till the age of seven, and the girls during their whole
lives.
Divorces are far from uncommon among the Protestants of
Transylvania; for except when attended by scandalous dis-
closures, which is rare, both law and custom mark them as un-
fortunate rather than disgraceful. They are commonly obtained
by the wife against the husband on the plea of ill treatment,
inveterate dislike, impossibility of living together, or the employ-
ment of threats or force to accomplish the marriage — any of
which are sufficient in law — and she retains all her property and
rights unimpaired. It is curious that very few cases occur in
which they do not marry again quite as well as before.
THE CASINO. 255
The Casino at Klausenburg, if less splendid than its elder
brother in Pest, is at least equally hospitable: our names were
put clown, and we were free of it as Jong as we chose to stay.
The ladies complain that their drawing-rooms are sadly deserted
since the establishment of the Casino; the attractions of pipes,
cards, billiards, conversation, and books, seem to have beaten those
of beauty. It is rare to go into the Casino of Klausenburg
during the evening and not find its rooms full. If I complained
that the Casino of Pest was invaded by the pipe, what shall I
say of that of Klausenburg ? Its air is one dense cloud of smoke,
and it is easy to detect any one who has been there by the smell
of his clothes for some time after. Such a smoking nation as
this I never saw; the Germans are novices to them in the art.
Reading, writing, walking, or riding, idle or at work, they are
never without the pipe. Even in swimming, I have seen a man
puffing away quite composedly. A coachman thinks it is a great
hardship if he may not smoke as he is driving a carriage, although
it may happen that the smoke blows directly into the face of his
mistress. The meerschaum is cherished by the true smoker with
as much care as a pet child: when new, he covers it up in a little
case of soft leather that it may not be scratched, and he smokes
it regularly and with great caution, that it may take an equal
colour throughout ; and when at last it has obtained the much-
esteemed nut-brown hue, with what pride does he exhibit and
praise its beauty ? A meerschaum, engraved with arms, is one
of the common presents between intimate friends ; and some of
them are worked with exquisite taste and skill. The most com-
mon tobacco bag is a part of the skin of the goat, and is often
ornamented with rich embroidery.
The most luxurious smoker I ever knew, was a young Tran-
sylvanian, who told us that his servant always inserted a lighted
pipe into his mouth the first thing in the morning, and that he
smoked it out before he awoke. " It is so pleasant," he observed,
" to have the proper taste restored to one's mouth before one is
sensible even of its want."
I am sorry to say smoking does not confine itself to the Casino
or the bachelor's bed-room, but makes its appearance even in the
society of ladies. In some houses, pipes are regularly brought
into the drawing-room with coffee after dinner, and I have even
heard of a ball supper being finished with smoking. I never
knew a lady who did not dislike this custom; but they commonly
excuse it by the plea that they could not keep the gentlemen
256 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
\vilh them if they did not yield to it. It is but justice to say,
however, that there are drawing-rooms in Klausenburg from
which this abomination is rigidly excluded, and where the gen-
tlemen are still happy to be allowed to make their bows without
a similar permission being extended to their meerschaums.
S was present at the funeral of Count R , and has
given me some curious particulars of it. Count R was a
Protestant, and the greatest part of the ceremony took place in
his own house. After a short service, and a general sermon to
all those invited to the funeral, the clergyman proceeded to ad-
dress each one of the mourners separately and by name. He
began with the nearest relative, — in this case the widow, — and
after enlarging on the virtues of the deceased, as a husband and
father, pointed out the consolation she might derive from the re-
flection, and when at last she was quite overcome by her feelings,
she was led out by two of her friends, and the next of kin was
then addressed in the same way, and so on through the whole
company. Such a ceremony, if well conducted, gives the cler-
gyman a great opportunity of correcting the faults and failings
of individuals in circumstances when admonition is most kindly
received ; but, as in our own funeral sermons, it too often ends in
a mere panegyric of the deceased, without regard to his deserts,
or to the edification of the hearers. To speak impartially under
such circumstances would often be cruel, and is scarcely possi-
ble .in any case : in Transylvania it is rendered still more difficult
by the handsome present the clergyman commonly receives for
his services on the occasion.
I was taken by the Baroness B to see a school in which
she felt great interest, and in the foundation of which she had
taken a considerable share. This school was for children of all
religions, and had been established to enable the poor Protestants
and others to educate their children without having them tempted
to become converts to Catholicism, of which they were in dan-
ger in other places. The system pursued was that of Lancaster,
and it seemed to succeed well. They only attempt to teach the
first elements of education, as far as learning is concerned, but
what is of more importance, religious and orderly habits are in-
sisted on. The services of the day are begun and ended with a
prayer and hymn, and the reading of select passages from the
Bible. Among the children were Calvinists and Unitarians,
Catholics, Greeks and Jews,— the latter only taking no part in
the religious acts.
PARTY FEELING. 25?
There are other schools for the poorer classes, founded by the
Baroness Josika, a lady of great enterprise and public spirit, to
whom Klausenburg is indebted for many very useful institutions.
In spite of not understanding a word that was said, I went
several times to the theatre as a matter of duty. I cannot say
a great deal in favour of the acting, but I really do not think it
was worse than is seen in the provincial theatres of most other
countries. Klausenburg was the first town that could boast of
a regular Magyar theatre, and may therefore claim to have ex-
ercised no slight influence in extending and polishing the lan-
guage. I met Mr. Jancso, the first Hungarian actor who ever
distinguished himself, the other day at dinner at the Countess
W 's. He is said to have enjoyed great popularity in his
day, and to have fully deserved it. He is now old, and, like so
many of our own past favourites, but very ill provided for.
Whenever the Countess W , however, is in town, Jancso is
sure of a good dinner, as there is always a cover laid for him at
her table.
Having sufficiently recovered from a slight hurt I had received
about the middle of January, which the cold had aggravated
into a rather troublesome affair, I began to think of moving ; and
we accordingly determined to bid adieu to Klausenburg and
spend the carnival in Pest. In truth, the unhappy divisions
which politics have caused in society renders Klausenburg any
thing but a pleasant residence just at present. It is idle to say
That such matters should have nothing to do with our enjoyments
— where great interests are at stake, every legitimate means of
exercising moral influence must be employed; the renegade, the
seller of his conscience, must be excluded from the drawing-room,
as he is from the senate ; must be shunned by the women as he
is despised by the men. But necessary as all this may be, it is
far from pleasant, and we therefore determined to bid it farewell,
hoping that the moderation of the people, and the returning good
sense of the Government, would in a few years restore to Klau-
senburg its former character of one of the gayest little places in
the world.
22*
258 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
CHAPTER XIII.
WINTER JOURNEY ACROSS THE PUSZTA.
Return to Pest. — A Poet. — Travelling Comforts.— The Carriers. — Gross
Wardein, — Prince Hohenlohe. — The Italian, — Paprika Hendel. — Great
Camania. — The Cumanians and Jazygeis. — The worst Road in Hun-
gary.
ON the 24th of January, we bade adieu to Klausenburg and
took the road to Pest. It was Friday, and many were the evil
predictions of our kind friends ; but a bright morning, and the
thermometer as high as 18° below freezing of Fahrenheit, were
not to be neglected. While changing horses at Nagy Kapus,
the first post, we were saluted in Italian by an important-look-
ing personage, who informed us that he was a poet, and who in-
quired in return if we were not the Englishmen who, he heard,
were wandering about the country. We were but too proud to
acknowledge the identity, when he assured us he had already
informed his literary society of the strangers" visit to these dis-
tant lands, and begged our names and titles, that he might make
no error in any future mention of us ! It appears that he had
served in the Austrian army during the wars of Napoleon, and
was received a member of some learned society at Milan, since"
which period he has been continually writing poetry, which no
one reads.
In spite of an invitation to stay the night at Banffy Hunyad,
we determined to push on for Gross Wardein as quickly as pos-
sible. We had a bright moon, and its rays falling on the snow
with which every thing was covered, left us nothing to desire as
far as light was concerned. The cold we did not fear, for we
had taken very effectual means to guard against that. It is only
in real cold countries that man knows how to keep himself warm.
Our heads were well protected by a kalpak, or high fur cap, the
whole body enveloped in a bunda or fur cloak, the hands in fox-
skin gloves, and the feet and legs in a sack of thick cloth lined
with sheep-skin, decidedly one of the happiest efforts of human
genius. Bless that sack ! for during four days and a night in
the midst of snow, travelling among wooded mountains, and over
CARRIERS. 259
extensive plains, our happy toes rejoiced in an uninterrupted state
of a most felicitous insensibility to cold.
From Hunyad to Nagy Barod, the road, equal to a good
English turnpike-road, follows the valley of the Sebes Korcs,
one of the prettiest in Transylvania, terminating in a fine pass,
beyond which, from the height above Nagy Barod, the whole
plain of Hungary lay before us. While waiting here till the
post-mistress had run over the scattered village to make up the
number of horses, for we were now in Hungary, and the post
was no longer so good as in Transylvania — we went into the
little inn in hopes of obtaining some apology for supper. The
only room was fully occupied ; in one corner lay the landlord,
and in a box, suspiciously near, his handmaid Julie; on the floor
were scattered, apparently, heaps of sheep-skins and boots, but
in fact, a number of carriers on their way from Klausenburg to
Pest, and all so fast asleep, that walking amongst them failed to
disturb their slumbers. These, however, were the master car-
riers ; their wagons, horses, and drivers, were filling the snow-
covered yard through which we had passed. I class the horses, men,
and wagons together, as they all reposed quietly in the snow to-
gether, and seemed all equally insensible to its cold. In winter,
when the Theiss and Maros are frozen, these carriers form the
only means of commercial intercourse between Hungary and
Transylvania. They have generally a train of light wagons,
each with eight or ten small horses, and carrying perhaps 40 to
50 centners per wagon. The whole distance from Pest to
Klausenburg requires, in summer, from ten to twelve days, and
fourteen in bad weather, and the charge is from four to five shil-
lings per centner, according to the state of the roads, for the
whole journey. The carriers themselves are most trustworthy,
nor is there any danger from robbery. These men go up to
Vienna when the goods from the Leipsic fair arrive there, and
carry them directly to Klausenburg ; in fact, all the commerce of
the country passes through their hands. A person, twenty years
engaged in this trade, assured us he had never known a robbery
of his wagons.
A little thin soup, and a well-garlicked sausage again fortified
us for the road, and we reached Gross Wardein by eleven the
next morning, — more than eighty miles in the four-and-twenty
hours.
Gross Wardein is really one of the prettiest tittle towns I have
seen for a long time. Its wide, well built streets of one-storied
260 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
houses, and extensive market-places, are quite to the taste of the
Magyar, who loves not the narrow lanes and high houses of his
German neighbours. But the glory of Gross Warclein is in its
gilded steeples, its episcopal palace, its convents, and its churches;
and although of the latter, the seventy which it formerly boast-
ed are reduced to twenty-two, they are quite sufficient for the
eighteen thousand inhabitants it contains. Prince Hohenlohe,
of miracle-working memory, is now the occupant of this see.
His elevation to the bishopric, has, however, completely extin-
guished the light of miracle : some say that the old Emperor
gave his reverend highness a strong hint that such exhibitions
were but little to his taste, and begged that Gross Wardein might
not be made the scene of his pious humbugs. Only a few months
since, a gouty old Englishman, a man of education and family,
astonished the inhabitants of this little town, by informing them
that he had come all the way from England to be cured of his
gout by the Prince. Some of those who told me of it, touched
their foreheads, nodded significantly, and seemed to think the
poor gentleman's malady was not confined to his toes. On find-
ing his errand bootless, he posted direct back, as he had come,
without troubling himself with looking at any object on the
way.
Three hours were we obliged to wait at Gross Wardein for
horses. As I was strolling alone through its wide streets, wish
that particular kill-time lounge, common to all travellers de-
tained against their will, a "Sense, signore" introduced me to
a pair of bright black eyes, which recalled me at once to the
banks of the Arno or Tiber, and which belonged to a very pretty
woman, whose appearance indicated that she belonged to that
demicaste, half lady, half not, the members of which are so often
sacrificed to their own vanity and our egotism.
" Perhaps il Signore is going to Italy."
"Not at present."
"Che, disgrazia! I had hoped you were going there, and
would have taken me with you. I have been here for some
months, and am so tired of hearing nothing but Hungarian, and
seeing nothing but snow, that I would fain be once more back
in dear Florence: I should never wish to travel again."
Of course, I regretted a thousand times that fate should have
denied me the pleasure of restoring those bright eyes to their
native sun, and could not help inquiring, what had led them so
far away from their destined orbit?
PAPRIKA HENDEL.
261
"Le circonstanze, signore," — with a deep sigh: "but now I
should like to go back." The deuce is in those " le circonstanze;"
— I never yet saw a pretty woman in a difficulty who did not
accuse " le circonstanze " of the whole affair.
Though it was one o'clock before we started, fortune favoured
us with very good horses, and we made forty miles before nine,
which brought us to Bar&nd. There was not an elevation of
two yards the whole distance, and the road, except during the
last stage, was excellent ; nor did we miss it then, for we drove
without fear over the frozen snow, sometimes following the
track of former wheels, sometimes the fancy of the peasant or
his horses, but always at a capital pace. In no part of Hunga-
ry are the villages so large, the peasants so rich, and the horses,
consequently, so fat and strong, as on the plains.
Thefogado (inn) at Bar&nd was none of the best; the rooms
were cold, there was nothing for supper, and the landlady was
ill in bed ; nevertheless, we soon got the stove heated, a good
dish of paprika hendel before us, and enjoyed a night of most
luxurious sleep. I do not think I have yet enlightened the
the reader as to the mystery of a paprika hendel ; to forget it,
would be a depth of ingratitude of which, I trust, I shall never
be guilty. Well, then, reader, if ever you travel in Hungary,
and want a dinner or supper quickly, never mind the variety of
dishes your host names, but fix at once on paprika hendel. Two
minutes afterwards, you will hear signs of a revolution in the
basse cour; the cocks and hens are in alarm; one or two of the
largest, and probably oldest members of their unfortunate little
community, are seized, their necks wrung, and, while yet flut-
tering, immersed in boiling water. Their coats and skins come
off at once ; a few unmentionable preparatory operations are ra-
pidly despatched — probably under the traveller's immediate ob-
servation— the wretches are cut into pieces, thrown into a pot,
with water, butter, flour, cream, and an inordinate quantity of
red pepper, or paprika, and, very shortly after, a number of bits
of fowl are seen swimming in a dish of hot greasy gravy, quite
delightful to think of. I have not yet quite made up my mind,
whether this or the gulyashds — another national dish, made of
bits of beef stewed in red pepper — is the best; and I therefore
recommend all travellers to try them both. These hot dishes
suit the Hungarian : red pepper, the growth of Hungary, he con-
siders peculiarly national ; and, excepting ourselves, I believe he
is the only European sufficiently civilized to know the full value
of that most indispensable article of culinary luxury.
262 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Our first post next morning, still over the sea-like, snow-co-
vered plain, brought us to Kardszag, a large and prosperous
village of eleven thousand inhabitants. I call it a village, for
though I believe it enjoys the privileges of a market town, its
cottages built of mud, perhaps shaped into squares and dried in
the sun, its roofs of reeds, its wide unpaved sandy roads rather
than streets, and its respectable peasant-looking inhabitants,
render it almost a perversion of language to call it a town.
It was Sunday, and church (for they are mostly Protestants
on the plains) was just over ; a number of men, among the best
built and most handsome of any part of Europe, were standing
round the Town-house after morning service, while several troops
of children, each under their respective masters, were returning
from school. It was pleasant to see the little fellows, so smart
and comfortable did they look in their red Hessian boots, wide
white trousers, and lambskin coats or cloaks, which quite enve-
loped them, and rendered them not unlike the little animals whose
robbed fleeces they wore.
We were so struck with the easy look of the people, and the
neatness and apparent comfort of the cottages, that we asked
who was the owner of the place ? One of them, politely baring his
fine head of long, black hair, fastened up with a comb, told us, they
served no one but their king : they were Cumanians. In diffe-
rent parts of Hungary there are certain districts, of considerable
extent, enjoying immunities and privileges which place them in
a very different position from the rest of the country. Among
these, the most important are Great Cumania, of which Kards-
zag is the principal place ; Little Cumania ; the land of the
Jazygers; and the Haiduk towns; all forming portions of the
great plain.
The inhabitants of the first three of these districts seem to
have a common origin, though the dates of their settlement, —
those now called Jazygers, under Ladislaus the First, in 1090 ;
the Great and Little Cumanians, severally under Stephan the
Second, in 1122, and Bela the Fourth, in 1138, — are sufficiently
distant. Hungarian historians are still in doubt as to the pre-
cise country formerly occupied by these people, and even as to
their original language. There can scarcely, however, be a
question that they have sprung from the same eastern stem from
which the Magyars themselves branched off, and that their lan-
guage was essentially the same. At the present day, in no part
of Hungary are the language, manners, and feelings of the peo-
ple more truly Magyar than among the Cumanians.
THE WORST ROAD. 263
In all these districts, the peasant is himself lord of the soil,
and owns the land ; he is, therefore, free from the annoyances of
personal service, and is in the enjoyment of the innumerable ad-
vantages of propriety. His deputies sit in the Diet. It is true,
that in return for this, he bears more than an equal portion of
the burdens of the state. With the noble, he is bound to do
military service when called on, and to contribute a part in the
extraordinary subsidies occasionally granted by the Diet, while
with the peasant, he pays an equal portion of the heavy Govern-
ment taxes. Notwithstanding these several drawbacks, he is
undoubtedly the most prosperous and happy of the Hungarian
peasants, a sure proof, — and would that legislators knew it, —
that it is less the amount, than the manner of taxation, in which
its real oppression consists.
From Szolnok, where we passed the third night, we had still
a long day's journey, of at least sixty miles to perform. The
first stage to Abany has the reputation of being the very worst
road in Hungary, and to those who know what Hungarian roads
are, such a reputation is not without its terrors. A gentleman,
whom I can well believe, assured me that he had occupied six-
teen hours in travelling over these ten miles in a light carriage
drawn by twelve oxen. The soil is a rich, black, boggy loam,
and the road consists of about thirty yards' width of this sub-
stance, separated from the ploughed land, on each side, by deep
ditches, to prevent the traveller driving over the furrows, which
he would certainly prefer as the better road of the two. The
inhabitants urge as an apology, that there is no stone except at
an immense distance, and this is true ; yet I think in some other
countries, and even here, with more just laws, the basalt of Tokay
would have found its way down the Theiss to their assistance ;
but as long as the whole burden of making roads rests on the
shoulders of the unfortunate peasants, the proud noble must be
content to stick in the mud. We were fortunately favoured by
the frost, and got over it in four hours. We now approached
the capital, and with the aid of six horses, a little extra borra
valo to the kis biro, to procure the horses quickly, and to the
peasant to flog them unmercifully, we reached Pest by the eve-
ning.
264 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA,
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CARNIVAL IN PEST.
A Ball. — Ladies' Costume. — Luxury and Barbarism. — University of Pest.
— Number of Schools. — Austrian System of Education — its Effects. —
Corruption of Justice. — Delays of the Law. — Literature. — Mr. Kolcsey.
— Baron Josika. — Arts and Artists. — The Theatre. — Magyar Language.
— Mr. Korosi and his Expedition to Thibet. — Trade Companies. — Po-
pular Jokes. — Austria, Hungary, and Russia. — Blunders of Mr. Quin
and other English Writers on Hungary. — The last Ball of the Carni-
val.— The Masquerade. — The breaking up of the Ice.
" WELCOME back to Pest, friends ! you are just come in time
for all the gaiety." Such was the salutation of Count D
as he met us on the first morning of our return. "I have two
balls for you to-night, and several others during the week. I
know what you are going to say, that you are not acquainted
with any of these philanthropic ball-givers; but I will arrange
all that for you ; I will write a note to the Baroness O , to
say I shall bring you to her house this evening, and I will there
introduce you to every body you ought to know, so that the
whole affair will be settled as ceremoniously as even a ceremo-
nious Englishman could wish !" Although we pleaded hard for
a few days' rest, before launching on this sea of pleasure, D
protested the carnival was too short for a wise man to lose a day
of it, and therefore, we had nothing for it but to submit in peace.
About nine the same evening we found ourselves ushered by
an hussar, dressed in blue and silver, into a splendid ball-room,
brilliant with light and beauty. Our reception was as kind as
well-bred hospitality could make it, and on looking round we
soon found a number of faces we had met before, and all ready
to offer us a kind welcome back.
And now I confess myself fairly puzzled. I suppose I ought
to describe this ball, — but what points am I to seize on, by
which to distinguish it from a ball any where else? There is
not a dress or a costume of any kind, that differs a particle from
those of London or Paris ; not a dance, save the waltz and quad-
rille ; not a gait or movement, that is not common to ladies and
gentlemen of any other country. There may be some of those
LADIES' COSTUME. 265
fine shades of distinction which the delicate appreciation of a
woman's mind might seize and work upon, but I must confess, to
my grosser apprehension, the characteristics of good society vary
so little in any part of Europe, that but for the furniture of the
room, or the language spoken, I should scarcely know a ball in
one great capital, from a ball in any other. An elegant suite of
rooms, well lighted, a good band of musicians, a number of pretty
girls and their mammas, with a proportionate quantity of men,
free from the vulgarity of dandyism, and especially when the
whole party is acquainted, and all are perfectly at their ease, are
always sufficient to compose a pleasant ball any where. On this
occasion the presence of a reigning Prince gave the ladies an ex-
cuse for displaying their most brilliant parures of diamonds, and
the heads of many of them literally blazed with jewelry.
I am afraid the Hungarian ladies must plead guilty to a little
more than common affection for those pretty baubles. Nor, in-
deed, can it be wondered at, for their national costume is so co-
vered with them, and they are allowed by all the world to look
so lovely in it, that it is no wonder if they think the jewels have
some influence in the matter. And this reminds me that I have
not yet said a word about this costume, although to have omitted
it would have brought on me a frown from every pair of bright
eyes in Hungary. Let me premise, however, that this dress
was not worn at the ball at the Baroness O 's, nor indeed is
it ever used, except at court or on public occasions, as the in-
stallation of a lord lieutenant or other great ceremony.
The full dress of the Magyar nemes asszony, — noble Hun-
garian lady, — is composed of a tight bodice, laced across the
breast with rows of pearls, a full-flowing skirt, with an ample
train, a lace apron in front, and a long veil of the same material
hanging from the head to the ground behind. The dress is
composed of some rich brocade, or heavy velvet stuff. The
head, neck, arms, and waist, are commonly loaded with jewels,
and the veil and apron are often richly embroidered, after the
Turkish fashion, in gold. The only difference between the mar-
ried and unmarried is, that the latter have no veil, and, instead
of the small cap, from which the veil hangs, their hair is braided
with pearls.
But to return to the ball. I was rather amused with the tac-
tics of the Hungarian ladies as I observed them this evening. I
had heard that the tone of society in Pest was not so strict as it
might be, but, I protest it was not only quite as strict, but even
VOL. ii.— 23
266 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
a little more so than would have suited my taste. I could not
see a symptom even of an innocent flirtation ! and I almost doubt
if one could be carried on with any degree of satisfaction ; for it
is the fashion for two ladies to walk and sit together, so that go
to whom you will, there is always a third person in the conver-
sation; and I refer to any man experienced in such matters, if
it is possible to utter sweet nothings with due effect, except as
the Germans say, unter vier Augtn — between four eyes. Nor
is this custom confined to the young ladies; the dowagers are
equally cautious; not one of them ventures into a ball-room
without her friendly guardian. In some cases it was amusing
enough to mark how knowingly this choice had been made, —
how the beauty had chosen her contrast in the plain and humble
— how the friend of the pretending was the modest and unas-
suming.
To us, as strangers, French was the language in which we
were commonly addressed, but amongst themselves German was
universally used. Some of the younger members of the party
spoke English fluently, and one of the little children of the house,
only four years old, seemed as well master of it as we were. I
am afraid it would not be saying much for the conversation, if
I pronounced it as good as is met with in drawing-rooms else-
where ; but in truth, where dancing is so serious a business as
here, there is but little time for talking.
The suite of rooms thrown open was handsome and well
adapted to the purposes of a ball. The first room was filled with
dancers, who slid over the well-polished floors to Strauss' quick-
est airs ; the second, a large drawing-room, was covered with ot-
tomans, lounging chairs, and all the other necessary nothings
which make up drawing-room furniture, while the walls were
hung with good specimens of English and French engravings ;
the third room was half boudoir, half study, and its tables
groaned beneath the weight, if weight they can be said to have,
of heaps of annuals and books of beauty ; while the last of the
suite was very tastefully disposed as a refreshment-room, The
dancing was kept up with great spirit till about twelve o'clock,
when a second suite of rooms on the other side of the ball-room
was opened, and a supper was laid out to which ample justice
was done. Supper over, and the champagne seemed to have
lent new wings to the dance ; for when we left at two, there
were then no symptoms of the party's breaking up.
Now in all this I can see very little that is remarkable, albeit
SCHOOLS. 267
much that is agreeable; and therefore, with a hint that such
things were going on most days of the week, and that we were
fortunate enough to he at once admitted into the midst of them,
I shall leave them for a while and pass on to other matters.
The contrast, however, so rapidly brought before us, of the snow-
covered Puszta and its skin-clad peasants, with the luxurious
capital and its elegant crowds, djd strike us most forcibly at this
ball. There are few places where the real contrast between ex-
cessive luxury and abject misery is so great as in London, but
its outward appearance is still greater here. When we looked
at the delicate women who filled the salons of the Baroness
O , and thought of the roads they travelled over, the inns
they sometimes slept in, and the rude, savage peasantry by
whom they were often surrounded, it seemed as if there must be
two individuals to occupy such different positions.
Pest has a university, founded as far back as 1635, and en-
riched by Maria Theresa, Joseph the Second, and Francis, with
gifts of large estates, so that its annual revenue amounts to thirty-
four thousand pounds. It boasts, at the present time, one hun-
dred and four professors, tutors, and others, and one thousand
students. There are libraries, museums, and all other essentials
to a learned institution. Of the professors, there are nine theo-
logical, six juridical, thirteen medical, fourteen philosophical,
and one each for the Hungarian, German, French and Italian
languages. The most eminent of these is Professor Schedius,
the editor of a splendid new map of Hungary, still in progress,
whose name is never mentioned without expressions of admira-
tion and respect.
I have incidentally spoken of schools, and education in several
parts of these volumes, but the subject is so important that I
trust I shall be excused if I resume as shortly as possible the
statistics* of education in Hungary, that we may see how far the
effects, as we have observed them, answer to what might be ex-
pected from them.
It was in the reign of Maria Theresa, that a general attempt
was first made to extend education into every town and village
of Hungary. As early as 1500, the Protestants had made great
progress in educating the poor of their own church, but during
the many persecutions to which they had been subject, their
* For most of these details I am indebted to the often-quoted work, the
" Gemalde of Csaplovics."
268 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
schools were destroyed, and the funds converted to other pur-
poses, so that the Hungarians, as a nation, may be said to have
been previously without education. The system of Maria
Theresa was followed up by Joseph, who, under the name of
mixed schools, brought all sects and religions together under the
same masters. This was in itself sufficient to excite the opposi-
tion of the Hungarians, bigoted and intolerant as they then were ;
but even had this difficulty been got over, the mixed schools
were condemned to popular hatred by being made the medium
for the introduction of the German language, and the consequent
destruction of Hungarian nationality. After the death of Joseph,
the mixed schools, except in some few places, were given up,
and each religion was left to educate its own members after its
own fancy, the Catholic, however, alone receiving aid and en-
couragement from government.
At the present time there is scarcely a village in Hungary
without one or more schools. Where the inhabitants are all of
one religion, there are no difficulties to be overcome. Where
differences exist, if the separate creeds are too poor to maintain
a school each, the poorer attend that of the more powerful,
which is commonly Catholic ; the Protestant children, however,
not being forced to take a part in the religious instruction, which
is left to the priest, or, still more commonly, to his capellan or
clerk. The education extends to reading, writing, arithmetic,
catechism, Klugheits Regelen, or moral maxims, and sometimes
a little geography, history, and Latin Grammar. These schools
are maintained, and the masters chosen, by the peasants them-
selves, the landlord being obliged to give ground for a school-
house, and thirty or forty acres of land for the use of the master.
The payment is for the most part in kind and labour. There are
normal schools in different parts of the country, for the education
of masters for the national schools.*
Besides these national schools, which may be said to be com-
mon to all religions, the Catholics have fifty-nine Gymnasia,
and six JircTiigymnasia, in which the course of education lasts
six years. These are chiefly under the direction of the Piarists
* Within these last few years infant schools, on the model of those of
England and France, have been instituted, chiefly through the zeal and
perseverance of the Countess Theresa Brunswick. As yet, however,
though they seem to have succeeded better than could have been expected,
they are too recent, and in too small numbers, to have so beneficial an in-
fluence as they seem well capable of exercising.
SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. 269
and other religious orders. The easier Latin classics and other
common branches of education are taught in those institutions.
They have also six philosophical schools, where Greek and
mathematics are taught; five academies, teaching physics, logic,
metaphysics, and law; and several seminaries for training up the
priesthood, besides the University of Pest, of which we have
already spoken.
Of the Protestants, the Reformed have the most perfectly or-
ganized system of education. Besides the national schools, they
have many Latin schools for the peasantry, in which the course
extends over four years; they have gymnasia also, and three
great colleges, viz., those of Debreczen, Saros Patak, and Papa.
The chief school of the Lutherans is the Lyceum at Presburg,
which possesses sixteen teachers ; besides which they have three
similar institutions, and eleven gymnasia.
The members of the Greek church are the worst provided of
any with the means of education ; but they are said to be rapidly
improving in this respect. In addition to the Lyceum of Kar-
lowitz, they have four other institutions of the higher order, and
between one or two thousand elementary schools.
Now, with such machinery for educating, what is the state of
knowledge in the country at large? Is it greater or less than
that found among the same classes of society in our own country,
where the number of schools is much less? I have no hesitation
in saying that it is much lower. To the numerical philosophers
— those who calculate men's intelligence and morality as they
would the distance of the stars, — it may appear paradoxical that
schools and education should not mean the same thing ; yet as-
suredly they do not. Education may be made the means of
training to ignorance as well as to knowledge; and I know of
no better exemplification of this fact than the system of instruc-
tion pursued by Austria.
Without entering into the details of this system, let me give
the reader the result of a thorough inquiry into it made by one
of our countrymen living in Vienna. In answer to my question
of what were the effects of the Austrian education, he answered,
"In one word — stultification." "If a student," he continued,
"obtains a first class certificate, you may be sure he is a fool ;
if a second, he may be not more than ordinarily ignorant; but if
he get only the lowest, he runs a fair chance of being a clever
fellow. The course of study is so laborious, and at the same
time the books to be read, the comments to be listened to, and
23*
270 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
all things to be learnt, are so adapted to shut out every idea of
what is great or good, or beautiful, that one who has followed
out the system, is not only less wise than before, for what he
has learnt, but, from the time that has been occupied, it is im-
possible also that he should have devoted any attention to the
acquisition of better things."
Nor do others give a more favourable report. Even M. St.
Marc Girardin, who appears rather as the advocate of the sys-
tem, states that it is admirably contrived for preventing any de-
velopment of the higher mental faculties. The Government,
in its paternal solicitude, considers the higher branches of know-
ledge unfit for the tender minds of its children, as it might only
lead them to plague their heads about matters which are better
left to the direction of their superiors. It has accordingly en-
deavoured to direct all their energies to the cultivation of mate-
rial knowledge ; and by concentrating their whole force on that,
to raise the country to a very high state of material develop-
ment. Admitting, for a moment, that such an object is a wise
and good one, — how has it been answered? Do we find the
Austrian in agriculture, in trade, in commerce, in the fine arts,
in science, or in any one thing — save, perhaps, fiddling and
waltzing — before the rest of Europe? The government has been
foolish enough to believe that it could use the energies of the
human mind as it would those of a steam-engine — it has been
ignorant of the well-known fact, that it is only in freedom that
the mind can work out any thing pre-eminently good, whether
in the sciences, in literature, or in the mere mechanical arts.
And yet there are many well-meaning people who recommend
the Austrian system to the imitation of England! No, God
forbid we should imitate Austria ! I allow we are as badly off
for education as a people can well be, but yet it is a thousand
times better to remain as we are than to have a half-priest half-
police directed system, which would impose such chains on our
understandings, that through our whole lives we should never be
able to break loose from them. The advocates of the Austrian
system forget that there are other sources of knowledge besides
books, other teachers amongst us than our pedagogues, and
stronger stimulants to knowledge than even their well-soaked
birch. It is scarcely possible to live in a populous country like
England, with a free press, and a Protestant church, and remain
very ignorant. Our ears, our eyes, our every sense conveys
knowledge to the mind at every moment, from every object by
BRIBERY OF JUDGES. 271
which we are surrounded. Reading and writing are very use-
ful as the keys to the door of knowledge ; but if we are not
allowed to use them when we have acquired them, we might
really be as well without them. Now something of this Aus-
trian system has been introduced into the schools of Hungary,
particularly among the Catholics. The press, too, is stifled by
an Austrian censorship, and when to this is united the political
condition in which the peasantry live, we shall scarcely be as-
tonished that, though they all go to school, and though many of
them can read and write in two or three languages, they are yet
much more ignorant than the English peasant who often cannot
read or write his own.
I know there are many of the Hungarians, — and some of the
wisest among them too, — who do not desire that the education
of the peasantry should proceed any further till they have been
placed in a better position as to their civil rights. They fear
lest the educated peasant should become aware of the rights he
ought to have, before others have learnt that they ought to grant
them to him, and that a revolution rather than a reform might
be the consequence. This is a sort of double-edged argument
very dangerous to wield, for it may be applied with equal force
the other way; and in England we have too often heard of the
folly of giving rights to men not educated to use them, to allow
it any weight. I suspect there is much more danger, that un-
less the peasantry do demand their rights, and somewhat loudly
too, they will never obtain them. I do not think there is an ex-
ample in history of an oligarchy — the very essence of which is sel-
fishness,— having yielded up their own privileges, or restored to
others their usurped rights, except when they have no longer
dared to refuse them. That the Hungarians may form an ex-
ception— a glorious exception, to such blind egotism — is my most
earnest wish ; but I would not on that account neglect the more
certain means of accomplishing the end, should that wish remain
unfulfilled. x
One of my greatest neglects on my former visit to Pest, had
been to make some inquiries about the laws and lawyers here.
I had no very favourable opinion of them; for I recollected that
some years before, when travelling in Austria, I happened to
fall in with a very agreeable old gentleman, who proved to be a
general in the Austrian service, and among other subjects our
conversation turned on the advantages of the different forms of
Government in our two countries. In answer to my accusation,
272 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
that the secrecy and espionnage of the Austrian Government
encouraged corruption in its officers, and that even the adminis-
tration of justice was open to bribery, he laughed outright at my
simplicity, and assured me that the same things took place in
England, and every where else. Although the general's remark
did not convince me of the existence of this corruption in England,
it taught me to what an extent it must have prevailed in his
own country, before it could have destroyed in his mind all be-
lief even in the purity of justice elsewhere. Bearing this oc-
currence in mind, I inquired of some Hungarians the state of the
supreme courts of justice in Hungary; for as they do not act
during the sitting of the Diet, I had no opportunity of observing
them myself. I am sorry to say I found them but little better
than those of Austria. One of my informants said they were
not so bad, however, as they used to be; "the judges don't like
to take bribes openly now!" The same gentleman mentioned
an instance in which one of his own family had bought a judge,
with the gift of an estate for the duration of his life. It is the
custom for both plaintiffs and defendants to make private visits
to the judges previously to trial, in order to instruct them as to
the nature of the causes, and we can all guess what arguments
on such occasions would be likely to have the most weight. The
two highest courts of justice are the Royal Table and Septem-
Viral Table,* the members of both of which, at least the greater
number, are appointed by the Crown. If I am not much mis-
taken, they are removable also at the will of the Crown.
The reader may be surprised that I should have taken so much
trouble in many parts of this work to point out the corruption
which pervades every part of the Austrian administration in Hun-
gary. I have not done so for my own pleasure. It is no delight
to me to seek out the deformities of the social system, and to
hold them up to public gaze; but I have felt it in this case a
duty to do so, for I believe it is on such facts that the character
of a Government depends. I believe that no tyranny could
* The Royal Table is composed of the Personal (president also of the
lower chamber of the Diet,) two prelates, two barones tabulae, the vice-
palatine, the vice judex curias, four prothonotaries, the crown fiscal and three
royal, two archiepiscopal, and three supernumerary assessors. In mining
causes, a mining assessor is added.
The Septem- Viral (so called because originally composed of seven per-
sons,) is now formed of the Palatine as president, five of the higher clergy,
ten magnates, and six gentlemen.
HUNGARIAN LITERATI.
273
exercise so demoralizing, so debasing an influence on the human
mind, as this corruption on the part of those whose station and
power in society should fit them to be its guides to what is good
and great.
There is another circumstance connected with the administra-
tion of justice in Hungary, which is scarcely less grievous — I
mean its long delays. The evil is very great, when delay inter-
feres with the settlement of civil causes; but what shall we say
of it when, as here, it prevails equally in criminal cases. Mr.
Hallam remarks somewhere, that there is a period in the history
of nations, when the procrastination of the law, instead of an
evil, is the only means afforded to the weak to protect them-
selves against the power and violence of the strong. In some
cases, this might appear, at first sight, the case in Hungary ; but
it should not be forgotten, that an act of injustice, of which the
execution is thus delayed, though it loses none of its bitterness
to the victim, loses greatly in its effect on the public mind. The
tyrant obtains his end, but the people are less shocked with the
tyranny, because they have long contemplated its possibility.
The most striking illustration of this delay which I ever remem-
ber to have seen, was at St. Benedek, in the valley of the Gran.
About the gates of the castle, I observed a number of very old
men in chains; and on inquiring how long ago, and for what
crime these graybeards had been put in prison, I found they had
been confined only a few months, though it was for having ex-
cited an insurrection of the peasants some fifty years ago that
they had been condemned. The process had actually lasted fifty
years, and these old men were now condemned to spend the
remainder of their lives in prison, for a crime committed in their
youth, and of which all recollection had passed away !
A dinner party, to which we were invited soon after our
return, introduced us to two of the most distinguished among
the modern literati of Hungary, Mr. Kolcsey and Baron Josika.
Kolcsey has all that simplicity of manner about him which so
often distinguishes true genuis. His poetry is said to be charac-
terized by vigour and originality. At the present moment, he
is even more popular as a deputy and orator than as a poet. Of
course, a poet must be a Liberal in the country where every thing
which can excite a poet's affections or fancy is engaged in the
cause of Liberalism ; and few have defended it with more elo-
quence or firmness than Kolcsey.
Although Hungary has boasted poets, even from an early
274
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
period of her history, of whose works considerable remains still
exist; and although I feel sure, that among the people there is an
abundant harvest of ancient lyrical and legendary lore still to be
gathered, yet it was not till the close of the last, or the commence-
ment of the present century, that Magyar poetry could be said to
take a stand with that of the other European nations. During the
last half of the past century, Faludi, Raday, Barcsai, Revai, and
some others, prepared the taste for relishing Hungarian song,
introduced into it a greater freedom, and showed the capability
of the language for a higher strain than it had hitherto been
esteemed fit for. But it was Joseph's violent atttack on the
very existence of the language, which awoke throughout the
nation all its sympathy and love for it; and the lyres of the
Kisfaludis (Sandor and Kdrolyi,) of a Kazinczi, a Berzsenyi, a
Kolcsey, a Vorosmarty, and a host of minor luminaries, re-
sponded to the sentiment. Hungarians speak of Kisfaludi Sandor
with a degree of enthusiasm that shows that he has not only
been able to please the imagination, but has known the secret of
touching a nation's heart. Vorosmarty and Kolcsey are still
living : long may they remain to adorn and elevate the much-
loved language of their father-land !
While poetry had been making these rapid advances, it was
not to be expected that the influence of the rest of Europe in
the cultivation of prose romance, should be entirely lost on Hun-
gary. Several novelists and romance writers have arisen, some
of whose works may fairly pretend to more than a temporary
existence; but it is admitted that Baron Josika Miklos has fairly
outstripped all his rivals in this contest. His first work* was
" Abaft," a page from the history of Transylvania, under her
native princes. The time chosen is the reign of the weak and
vacillating Bdthori Zsigmund. In addition to considerable
power in the delineation of character and the illustration of a
high moral principle, which Baron Josika always proposes to
himself in the plot of his novels, Abafi contains some delightful
sketches of the past. The wild romantic life of the border rob-
ber stands in bold contrast with the quiet and domestic scenes
of the interior of a noble and virtuous household. Old Klausen-
burg, too, is brought back in lively colours before us, as history
* A German translation of Josika's works, (1839,) now lies before me, in
eight vols. 12mo. It consists of "Abafi;" "The Last Bathori;" "The
Fickle;" <'Decebalus;" "The True Untrue;" "The Suttee."
ARTS AND ARTISTS. 275
and its present remains assure us it was at that period. " The
last Bathori" is another historical romance, which takes Bdthori
Gabor, Prince of Transylvania, for its hero. The picture of
manners during a period (1608 to 1613) of almost constant in-
testine war, aggravated in some instances by hatred of race, is
drawn with vivid colouring. The domestic virtues of the Saxons,
among whom a great part of the events take place ; their firm
adherence to their rights, and their brave opposition to the
tyranny of the Transylvanian princes ; the cruel and insulting
persecution to which they were subjected, and the lawless violence
which was employed against them when there was no longer
need of their arms, or purses, are admirably brought into play.
Nor, to those who know the country, is it less gratifying to per-
ceive the sentiments of kindliness which have animated an Hun-
garian writer on a subject in which Hungarian prejudices are
singularly strong and susceptible. Of the other works of Baron
Josika, I need not speak, as they want the charm of nationality,
and that impress of truth and reality, which can alone convey an
interest and sympathy to others. From this censure, however,
I must exempt " The True Untrue," were it only for the excel-
lent sketch it contains of the feelings and opinions of the gentry
of the old school in the person of a county magistrate.
In the fine arts Hungary has made but little progress. Even
in the most wealthy houses paintings are very rare. I believe
the only painter born in Hungary, whose name is at all known
to history, is Gottfried Mind, called the Cats' Raphael, from his
admirable knowledge and delineation of his favourites, the cats.
The only living painter of any eminence is Marko, now in Rome,
whose beautiful landscapes and classical figures are well known
and highly esteemed. In sculpture, I have seen one or two
pieces of Ferenczi, which, though not without merit, are far be-
low the estimation in which they are held here. The most ex-
traordinary work of art I have seen in Hungary, is an alto-relievo
in copper, which we were shown while yet in progress. The
artist, Szentpeteri, is a poor silversmith, who, after a few essays
of little importance, has undertaken to copy Le Brim's picture
of the battle of Arbela, from an engraving in alto-relievo on cop-
per. The work was about three parts finished, and showed not
only wonderful industry and perseverance, but a degree of talent
and taste from which great things might have been produced
under proper cultivation. The figures are hammered out
from the inside when the metal is so hot as to be easily mal-
276 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
leable.* The artist is an exceedingly simple unpretending per-
son, whose whole soul seems wrapped up in his work.
In music, Liszt and Mademoiselle Unger place Hungary in
more than a respectable position ; but they, as well as Marko
and Szentpeteri, are obliged to seek in other climes for encourage-
ment and patronage.
The theatre for the performance of German pieces here, is al-
most as large as the great theatres of Paris or London; but it is
a gloomy-looking place and badly adapted for the transmission
of sound. The ordinary company is a pretty good one, and
most of the great actors who come to Vienna pay a visit to Pest
before their return, so that it is by no means ill-supplied. Since
we have been here, we have had Madame Schroeder Devrient
and an opera company, and, still later, Anchiitz, the tragic actor
from Vienna. Even our own best tragedians might take lessons
from Anchiitz in the representation of their own Shaksperean
characters.
There is an Hungarian theatre in Buda which I have not seen,
and a new theatre is erecting in Pest, which is to be devoted en-
tirely to Hungarian pieces. The establishment of this theatre
is looked forward to with the greatest interest, as an object of
national importance, from the influence it is calculated to exert
in the diffusion and cultivation of the language.
It would not be right to quit this subject without saying a few
words relative to this same Magyar language, to which such fre-
quent allusion has been made; and although I do not think my
half-dozen lessons in Hungarian give me the right to speak on
the matter ex cathedra — albeit, many travellers do so with still
less — I may venture a remark on two or three grammatical pe-
culiarities, which appear to me the most interesting. I have
before observed that in proper names the surname precedes the
Christian name — as that of the genus the species in natural his-
tory— and the same rule prevails with some titles. In the use
of pronouns, it is singular that they are made to follow instead
of precede the noun,- and are affixed to it; — Kalap, a hat, — Ka-
lap-am, my hat. Both these peculiarities are, I believe, com-
mon to the Turkish language also. In like manner the preposi-
tions are made postpositions; — Kalap-am-ba, in my hat. In
consequence of this joining together of words, the Hungarians
* This work was exhibited in London in 1838, but did not excite so
much attention as it merited.
MAGYAR LANGUAGE. 277
can construct a whole sentence in a single word, and the follow-
ing is often given as an illustration ; not that such a word would
be used in conversation, but as a proof of how far it may be
carried ; — Ha meg Ko-pe-nye-ge-sit-te-len-nit-teh-het-n&-le,k. —
If I could deprive you of your clothes. In the construction of
verbs, there is a difference from those of other European languages,
which renders a true knowledge of Hungarian exceedingly diffi-
cult to the foreigner. This is the existence of a determinate and
indeterminate form of every tense and mood. It is easy enough
to understand the principle of it, but exceedingly difficult to
apply it correctly. Latok, I see, is in the indeterminate form;
latom, I see it, in the determinate. In the same way latott &
goz-hajot — did you see a steam-boat? is indeterminate, — latta e
a goz-hajot — did you see the steam-boat? — determinate.
That the Magyars should think the Magyar tongue the sweet-
est, the strongest, the fullest, the best, — that they should ima-
gine that poetry can never flow so smoothly, or eloquence speak
with such energy, as in the Magyar nyelv, is quite natural ; for
no one can feel all the beauties of a language which has not been
familiar to his childhood ; but they must not be astonished if a
stranger, who has only got into his grammar, does not quite agree
with them. That the Magyar is forcible and energetic, I believe ;
for it partakes in that of the character of the people. Its sharp
and accentuated syllables give it a character of distinctness and
precision, and its accurate division into long and short vowels
may confer on it a certain facility for versification ; but as for its
soft and musical qualities, I must confess I could never discover
them. The Hungarian ladies say it is the best language in the
world for love-making : — I can only answer, tant pire pour nous
autres etrangers.
And a propos of the language, before I entirely quit the sub-
ject, let me record one of the most single-minded and enthusiastic
adventures I ever heard of, and which is intimately connected
with it. Nothing puzzles Hungarian historians more than the
question as to where the Maygars came from. One traces an
analogy between the Magyar language and the Finnish; another
makes the Magyars Turks; others trace them to the mountains
of Circassia, and some again throw them back to the wall of
China. The assistance which language might afford in this in-
vestigation has not been neglected, but hitherto nothing very
satisfactory has been made out. The common opinion, however,
is in favour of Thibet as the place of their origin, and the Cauca-
VOL. n. — 24
278 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
sus is supposed to have been a resting-place in the course of their
western emigration. It was in 1819, that this subject took such
strong hold of the mind of a poor Szekler student of the name of
Korosi, that he determined, after finishing his studies, to make a
journey into these countries to try if he could not solve this great
national question. Though noble, Korosi had no fortune what-
soever, and he consequently knew that he should have to endure
all the additional hardships which the greatest poverty could
place in the way of a difficult undertaking. To prepare himself
to encounter them, for six months previous to setting out, he
subjected himself to the most severe exercise, literally living on
bread and water, and sleeping on the hard ground. As he was
starting on his expedition, he happened to pass through the vil-
lage of a gentleman with whom I am acquainted, and who met
him and invited him to stay and dine with him. " Impossible,'7
said the single-minded student ; " I am going to Thibet, the way
is long and I must not tarry on the road, or my life may be too
short to accomplish it."
In 1820, Korosi had reached Teheran, having passed through
Circassia without having obtained any solution to the question,
and from thence he pushed on to Thibet, where he was heard of
in 1822. When in Constantinople, in 1836, a gentleman who
had travelled much in the East, told me that he had seen Korosi
only the year before in Calcutta ; that he had then rooms and
every thing necessary furnished by the East India Company, and
that he was actively occupied in compiling lexicons of one or two
Thibet languages, of the existence even of which no one had
been previously aware. Of the great question, the original seat
of the Magyars, this gentleman said he believed that Korosi had
not arrived at any satisfactory conclusion. The East India Com-
pany had been desirous to engage him in their service at a hand-
some salary, but he had declined it as of no use to him.
Among other matters which gave life to the winter in Pest,
was the occurrence of a little revolution'among the cobblers.
The trades in Hungary are still, in all the towns, under the con-
trol of Companies or Corporations, as they formerly were with
us. The consequence is, of course, as in all other close bodies,
a great oppression of the weaker members, and it appeared, in
the present case, that the master shoemakers had been so hard
upon their workmen that the latter had turned out and committed
some slight excesses, before the burger guard — a sort of "train-
band knights," — could reduce them to order. All who would not
POPULAR JOKES. 279
consent to return to their work, were very unceremoniously pre-
sented with passports and " recommended to travel."
No one, I believe, who knows any thing about the matter, be-
lieves that these companies are now of any use — whatever they
may have been in former times — save to enrich a few bad work-
men at the expense of the community at large; but they have
managed to turn them to account in Hungary, in a manner I
never heard of before. In cases of fire, every company is obliged
to attend and give assistance, and to each is assigned a particu-
lar duty; to the masons, for instance, the climbing the roofs;
and even the surgeons are obliged to be in readiness to relieve
those who may have received injury.
I believe some little knowledge of national character may be
obtained from common international jokes and stories, and I may
therefore give the reader one or two about the Hungarians, cur-
rent among the Viennese. Whether I have read these or heard
them, I really forget ; but as I find them in my note-book, I must
give them, although they may be quotations from an Austrian Joe
Miller.
Once upon a time, the manager of an Hungarian theatre pro-
duced what he considered a very fine piece of scenery, in which
was represented a full moon, in the form of a round, fat, clean-
shaved face, which might have suited a Dutch cherub. Instead
of the anticipated applause, the luckless manager found his scene
received with damning hisses; and it appeared that the popular
indignation was more particularly directed against the "palefaced
moon," "the German moon," as they called it. Now as the
Hungarians like their moon, as well as every thing else, to be
quite national, the manager determined to please them, and next
night up rose the poor moon with as glorious a pair of musta-
ches as the fiercest Magyar amongst them could exhibit. Hur-
rahs burst from every mouth at sight of this reform, and all cried,
" Long live our own true Magyar moon, and confusion to all
German moons for ever!" — The moon had evidently been brought
up at court, and had learnt the value of popular prejudices to
those who know how to use them against those who hold them.
Another tale against the poor Hungarians had its origin in the
hatred they bear to the knee-breeches of the Germans. One of
the Hungarian regiments, quartered during summer in the burn-
ing plains of Lombardy, was ordered by the colonel to parade in
white trousers, which had just been given out, instead of the
thick blue tights they had previously worn. The officers, how-
280 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
ever, found it no easy matter to induce compliance, and one ex-
cuse or another was always found for delay, till at last the colo-
nel issued a second order, peremptorily fixing a day for the
change, and threatening severe punishment for disobedience. It
could no longer be put off, and the men accordingly paraded in
whites ; but, determined not to be made comfortable in any body's
way but their own, they all wore their thick blues underneath.
Young Baron entered our room one morning, evidently
much excited, and as he concluded a detail of some new trick
the Government had just played on the Diet, he exclaimed, " It is
time such treachery were ended; we shall never have any good
as long as we remain attached to Austria, — I say national inde-
pendence, and if any man will raise the banner, I will follow it.
Happen what may, we cannot be worse off than we are."
"Quietly, friend," interrupted an older gentleman, who hap-
pened to be present; "you do not mean what you say, and if
you did, it would be sheer nonsense. The Austrian Government
is not ill-intentioned, but it is stupid. It is false and treacherous,
I allow, but rather from cowardice than malice; and such
speeches as that you have just made, do therefore a great deal
of mischief. Recollect that it is only a few months since the
Government committed a gross act of cruelty and injustice in
throwing into prison, without any trial, a number of young men,
because, in a debating society at Presburg, they had entertained
this very subject of national independence; and where, to make
the matter more ridiculous, they had quarrelled as to whether Sze-
chenyi or Wesselenyi should be the king of their new Utopia. A
Government so weak as to be frightened out of its senses, and
led into acts of the grossest barbarity about so silly an affair as
this, should be treated only like a child, and not terrified by
bugbears which have no reality. But, if you speak seriously of
such a matter, there are one or two points it would be well for
you to think over first. You should recollect that Hungary is
surrounded by Austria, Russia, and Turkey, none of them coun-
tries from which the advocates of freedom could expect much
sympathy or assistance. And then," continued the old gentle-
man, as the Baron was about to interrupt him, "the very nature
of the country is such as to render its occupation by an insurgent
army almost impossible. Full half of Hungary, and that the
most fruitful half, is an open plain, on which ten thousand regu-
lar troops would be able to dissipate all the untrained masses
you could bring against them. The mountains you might per-
haps hold, but your enemies need only leave you there till hun-
AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY. 2SI
ger produced discontent, and discontent treachery, to enable them
to secure a bloodless victory,"
"As for Russia!" answered the Baron, "she has quite enough
to do to check liberalism at home, without interfering with it
in Hungary. She could exercise no power here."
"I think you conclude too hastily," I observed, "you know
well enough you are divided into several races and several re-
ligions. You know that Russia is constantly at work to under-
mine the fidelity of the Sclavish and Wallack portion of your
population. Of the ten millions of which you consist, no less
than four and a half are Sclaves."
" Yes, but allowing your calculation, though I think you
overrate it, you must acknowledge that the Sclaves are divided
into Sclavacks, Rusniacks, Croatians, and Sclavonians, and that
they hate one another quite as cordially as they hate the Mag-
yars, and Russia more than all."
"Skilful intrigue might still do much mischief, and Russia
would be likely enough in secret to promise you all kinds of aid,
till she had succeeded in disorganizing the country to such an
extent that it could never more stand betwixt her and the objects
of her ambition. Fortunately the northern Sclaves are chiefly
Catholic, and therefore free from Russian influence on the score
of religion; but race and language are strong bonds of union,
and if to these be added the dazzle of conquest, and the glory of
belonging to a powerful people, they are not to be despised.
Nor are the Wallacks, especially if those of Transylvania be
taken into the account, a less important element in calculating
the weakness of the position you would assume. Their attach-
ment to the Emperor of Russia, as the head of the Russo-Greek
church, is beyond question. I know some of the bolder spirits
have calculated, that, if driven by Austria to the madness of re-
volt, all these interests might be conciliated, by at once declaring
the whole body of peasantry free from seigneurial jurisdiction,
and confirming to them the possession of their land without
labour or rent. Such, however, are dangerous expedients, and
would scarcely turn to the profit of any."
" There are certainly difficulties in the way, and serious ones,
I allow, but men forget these when driven to madness, as we are.
If Austria does not change her policy, she must be content to see
Hungary right herself before long."
"You exaggerate, dear Baron," again urged our friend;
"things are not quite so bad as you represent them; and as to
282 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
what fate may have in store for our fatherland in the distant
future, we cannot now tell ; but as matters stand at present, the
advocate of civil war in Hungary must be little less than a mad-
man. The day may come when, by the combinations of Euro-
pean policy, the empire of Austria shall be dismembered, or
rather fall to pieces of itself, and Hungary, strong and united,
be able to offer to its king a throne more glorious than that he
filled as Emperor of Austria; but in the mean time, let us content
ourselves with those blessings which our present position offers
us, and direct our whole efforts to improve our institutions, and
render them such as the spirit of the present age requires."
As the common dinner hour at Pest is two or three o'clock,
the time for making calls is between six and eight. On these
occasions, it is the custom to dress almost as for an evening
party; the ladies in caps and low dresses, the gentlemen in silks
and shoes. On paying a visit of this kind at the house of
Madame F , I by chance interrupted a conversation on a
little matter of scandal which had just occurred at Milan, be-
tween a certain prince and his lady. On being informed of the
nature of it, and on expressing my wonder that I had not heard
of it before, one of the ladies, a desperate politician and a stanch
Austrian, exclaimed, "No, no! we don't publish such matters
in our newspapers, as you do!" and with that she commenced a
general attack on England and the English, from which I was
evidently expected to defend them. The abuse of the press was
the more immediate object of her denunciation; and very justly
did she declaim against the immorality of certain disclosures in a
celebrated crim. con. case, which had then just astonished the
continental public. Our libels too were not more tenderly han-
dled. "Nay," she continued, "not content with libelling one
another, you must corne here and libel us. A book, I see, has
just been published in England, in which all the ladies of Hun-
gary are spoken of as ignorant and uneducated !" Of course, I
had not a word to say then in my defence, but I think I have a
fair right now to revenge myself on Mr. Quin for getting me into
.such a scrape.
Many, I dare say, remember a very agreeably written book,
called, "A Steam-boat voyage down the Danube," — that is,
from Pest to below Orsova, and occupying about ten days, during
which time the author thinks he has collected information about
Hungary which entitles him to pronounce opinions on all sorts
of matters, and, amongst others3 on the education of Hungarian
ladies,
ENGLISH TRAVELLERS.
283
On the authority of his not understanding the language in
which some young ladies on board the steamer conversed, he
affirms not only that they spoke no other language than Hun-
garian, but that such was generally the case. Now it is a fact,
however little it may be known to Mr. Quin, that the education
of Hungarian ladies, as far as languages are concerned, is very
much more advanced than that of English or French ladies — ay,
or gentlemen either — of the same rank. I have passed a consi-
derable time in the country, and have had the opportunity of
making the acquaintance of many Hungarian ladies, and I do
not know one who speaks only Hungarian, though I do know
several who do not speak that language. It is accounted one
of the great misfortunes of Hungary, that, instead of Hungarian,
German is the common language used in most families; and in the
drawing-rooms of the capital, German, French, and even Eng-
lish, are more often heard than Hungarian. If it were not calling
in question our author's erudition, — to which he makes some pre-
tension,— I would wager that German, and not Hungarian, was
the language which so terribly puzzled him. Let me assure
Mr. Quin that all Hungarian ladies speak German, most of them
French, many English and Italian, besides, what to Mr. Quin
might appear barbarous tongues, such as the Magyar, Sclavack-
ish, and Wallachian. And I may remark, en passant, that it
must have been peculiarly difficult for the pretty Countess, who
he says spoke neither French nor Italian, to have communicated
with the French femme de chambre who accompanied her. And
so having vented some of my spleen against Mr. Quin's negli-
gence and want of gallantry, I shall let him off, at least for the
present, without exposing any more of the many mischievous
blunders with which his amusing book abounds.
While I am speaking of travellers and their mistakes with re-
spect to Hungary, it might be as well to correct a few others,
but the task is so serious a one, that I dare only undertake it for
one or two very recent and glaring instances. Most travellers
proceed just as far as Vienna, where they hear all sorts of absurd
tales of Hungary; or if they go further, they run through the
country so hastily, that they can take up only the most crude
notions of its men and manners.
One* of these writers, in many respects very accurate and ju-
dicious in his remarks, fancies he saw troops of Hungaran pea-
sants driven by their cruel lords from their homes to make room
* Austria and the Austrians.
284 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
for hunting-parks or sheep walks ! The author seems to have
got into his head some confused idea made up from the ancient
history of the New Forest and the modern history of Irish eject-
ments, and to have applied it to the landed gentry of Hungary
— why or wherefore it is difficult to imagine. The herds of
peasants might have been Bohemians or Croats, probably on a
pilgrimage, but were certainly not Hungarians. He does not
probably know that the want of peasantry, not the superabun-
dance, is the complaint in Hungary; that the Hungarian peasant
possesses his land on a title which places it out of his landlord's
power to dispossess him, and that were any such attempt made,
the county and the Government would not allow it, because,
in losing the peasant they lose the taxes; nay, so strict is the
law in this respect, that if a peasant quit his land voluntarily,
his lord cannot occupy it himself, but must place another peasant
in it as soon as one offers. Besides, when the Hungarian peasant
leaves his native village to seek a better settlement, it is always
in his own country ; for he has a fixed idea that there is not
enough to eat and drink any where else than in Hungary. In-
stead of forming hunting-parks, which would be of little use,
where every Hungarian gentleman and every officer has the
right to sport over at least one half of his neighbour's estates,
most of the land-owners are clearing their ground, improving their
agriculture, and thinking more of increasing their revenues than
of extending their shooting-grounds.
Another traveller* who enters Hungary but for a few hours, still
finds something to say against it. He invites himself to dine
with a country gentleman he has never seen in his life, does not
find the dinner large enough for the accession his own party has
made to the family, misunderstands the customs of the coun-
try, and finishes by casting a slur on the hospitality of the most
hospitable nation in Europe. But this gentleman has strong
political feelings — not those of the most liberal tendency — and
he cannot pardon a people who talk about liberty and independ-
ence, although it is in opposition to a country which he himself
calls " a large state prison," and a system of government which
he characterizes as encouraging whatever has a tendency to
keep the human mind in a state of "uninvestigating ignorance."
A more serious error, and one which I am sure the author
would not have made intentionally, may be found in Mr. Gleig's
* Schloss Hainfeld, by Captain B. Hall.
THE LAST BALL. 2S5
recent work on Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. Mr. Gleig
observes, " In the rural districts every man you meet, provided
he be neither a noble nor a soldier, belongs to somebody. He
has no rights of his own ; he is a portion of another man's chat-
tels; he is bought and sold with the land, as if he were a horse
or an ox." Now I have already said sufficient to show the
reader that not one word of this statement is correct. But I
appeal to him if it is not painful to see a gentleman of Mr. Gleig's
talent take up, and give currency to so grave an error, which
at once deprives a whole nation of any sympathy or respect from
the whole of civilized Europe. Then comes the assertion that
it is only within the last year that regular county magistrates
have been appointed. I have no idea whence such a mistake
could have arisen. The county magistracy, as it is at present
organized in Hungary, is one of the most ancient institutions of
Europe.
The last ball of the Carnival is a very important affair here,
and for a full week before its occurrence great was the diplomacy
employed to arrange it. It is always expected to be the best
of the season, and is quite sure to be kept up till late in the
morning, so that it is apt to be very expensive. Still no one
dreamt for a moment of not having a ball; the only question
was, who was to give it? The Countess B declared that
she should like to do so, but the Count protested she had given
so many, that he could not afford any more. The Baroness
W , who has such very nice rooms, was not well enough to
bear the fatigue, and Mr. H , who was always ready to
oblige, could not this year, on account of the recent death of a
near relative. Happen, however, it must, and the very evening
before it was to take place, it was announced with great joy, in
the midst of a ball, that the good-natured Countess S had
consented to take the charge on herself, and she at once asked
every body to come, and tell those of their friends who were not
then present to come also.
It was then near midnight, and, as she told me afterwards,
she immediately returned home, summoned her servants, informed
them of what was to happen, and set them all to work, so that
by neither going to bed herself, nor letting any body else, before
the next evening, she had turned the house wrong side upwards,
and fitted it for the reception of her crowd of guests.
In the midst of the festivities of the evening, as I was quietly
enjoying the scene, I could not help smiling at the conversation
286 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
of some respectable dowagers near me, who lamented that, after
all, the last balls were nothing now to what they used to be in
their time— when they continued till daylight, and when all the
ladies and gentlemen, dressed as they were, walked in procession
from the ball-room to the church, and began their Lent the mo-
ment they finished their Carnival!
I did not wait for the end of this ball, as I wished to see the
masquerade at the Redout. The Redouten Saal is a large build-
ing on the quay, where the public balls are commonly held. The
room is one of the largest I ever saw, and requires I know not
how many thousand lights for its illumination. Though rather
heavy, it is a beautiful piece of architecture, and does its designer
great credit. Instead of the hundred or two well-dressed per-
sons I had just left, I found several thousands collected here, and
apparently of every rank, from the pretty milliner to the stately
Countess. Although the higher classes can scarcely be said to
share with the middle in their amusements, for they always hold
themselves a little on the reserve, they are yet wise enough to
attend their public festivities, and not the proudest lady would
venture on these occasions to refuse the hand of the humblest
apprentice boy in the dance if invited by him. This condescen-
sion on the part of the upper classes is most politic, as it tends
strongly to remove from the lower the feelings of envy and
hatred, which superior advantages are so apt to create.
As a stranger, I had expected to escape without notice, and
had not consequently masked: I was mistaken, however, for,
during the two or three .hours I remained, I had scarcely a mo-
ment's rest. One mask or another was constantly seizing me by
the arm, and squeaking into my ear a quantity of secrets (with
which to the present time I cannot conceive how they became
acquainted,) and then leaving me just as my astonishment was
excited to the highest pitch.
One of the best balls during the Carnival, was that given by
the lawyers and law-students, to which all the nobles and citizens
were invited. It is common in Vienna to speak of the law-stu-
dents, or rather the Juraten (as those who have finished their
studies are called) as a most rude and unruly set. They are
the same persons whom we have seen at Presburg filling the floor
of the Chamber of Deputies, and certainly exercising their lungs
most freely in applauding or hissing whomsoever they pleased.
But it is unfair to consider them rude on that account ; if they
have a right to be there, they do not exercise their privilege one
THE THAW. 287
bit more rudely than the gentlemen of the House of Commons
with us; and if they have not a right, why are they not kept
silent? That their presence is not only a great inconvenience,
but a direct interference with the liberty of debate, I am quite
ready to allow, and I cannot understand why the Chamber does
not pass a formal law to protect itself from such interference.
While it is permitted, however, no one ought to complain that
it is exercised. A great number of students were present, but
instead of the rude conduct I had heard attributed to them, I
observed nothing but the greatest order and propriety. Nor, as
I am speaking of balls, should I forget the very pleasant ones
given by the Casino every year. In fact, there never was a
place better provided with balls than this same Pest, and if a
man has any fancy that way, he may dance every night from the
beginning of the Carnival to the end.
Der stoss! — Der stoss! — Such was the cry, following the re-
port of a cannon, which we heard one morning through the
hotel and in the streets. Hastening out to see what was the
matter, we found the ice on the Danube had begun to move, and
every body had flocked down to the river to speculate as to
whether it would go off quietly, or whether there was any pros-
pect of injury from it to the houses on the banks. This breaking
up of the ice is a serious matter here. For months it has formed
a road across the river, which becomes now no longer secure,
and its great thickness and the quantity formed, render its re-
moval a very long process. When pressed by a flood of water
from above, the masses of ice often rise one upon the other, some-
times to the height of a house, and by the obstruction which they
cause produce a flood. It is from this circumstance one of the
greatest dangers is apprehended to the chain-bridge. What
arches, it is asked, can withstand the forces of such masses of
ice with the weight of the whole Danube pressing upon them?
Ice-breakers, however, set at some distance before the bridge,
on which the vast masses might break themselves, it is consi-
dered would prove effectual preventives against such a danger.
The use of cannon to break the ice too, has been suggested, but
I should think the newly discovered plan of blasting under
water by the aid of galvanism would be more likely to effect the
object.
A few days later I had a proof how great an inconvenience
this stoss is. General L , the commander of the garrison of
Buda, had issued invitations to all the beau monde of Buda, and
288 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Pest also, for a ball. Of course this could not be put off, but
the difficulty was, how were the Pest people to get there. The
ice was still on the move, that is, it made a progress of some
yards every day ; it was already clear from the sides to the dis-
tance of twenty yards on each bank, and great spaces of many
yards in extent were open. Most of the ladies gave up the ball
rather than face the danger, but Madame W declared, if
any one would join her, she would go, were it only for the cre-
dit of the ladies of Pest. A party was soon made up, and of
course the gentlemen had no excuse. How the ladies managed
I cannot say, but for myself I was taken out of the carriage and
carried through a heap of wet mud to a small boat which they
pushed across to the ice. There a hand-sledge was in waiting,
into which I got, and amidst a good number of crackings and
roarings of the ice, I passed over in safety to where another boat
conveyed me to a second carriage on the Buda side. If I re-
member rightly, the ice took three weeks before it was all gone
after the first stoss. During the whole of that time, day and
night, a watch was set, who gave the alarm whenever it was in
motion, and a gun was fired to warn the people to get off.
DEPARTURE FROM PEST. 289
CHAPTER XV.
FROM PEST TO FIUME.
Departure from Pest, — Notary of Teteny. — Volcanic District. — Bakonyer
Forest. — Subri. — Hungarian Robbers. — Conscription. — Wine of
Somlyo. — Keszthely — Signs of Civilization. — Costume of Nagy
Kanisa. — The Drave. — Death of Zriny. — Croatia and Sclavonia. — State
of the Peasantry. — Agram. — Croatian Language. — Public Feeling in
Croatia. — Smuggling. — Karlstadt. — Save and Kulpa. — The Ludovica
Road — its Importance. — Fiume. — English Paper mill. — Commerce. —
Productions of Hungary. — Demand for English Goods in Hungary. —
Causes which impede Commerce,, and the means of their removal.
SOON after the frost had disappeared, and before the ice had
fairly cleared away from the Danube, we heard that a new
steamboat was about to leave Trieste for Constantinople, touch-
ing at Corfu, Zante, and Athens in her way. As we had al-
ready seen so much of the Danube, and intended to return by it
again through Wallachia to complete our tour in Transylvania,
we determined to avail ourselves of this opportunity to visit Tur-
key. Another inducement, too, was the route we might take
through Croatia and by Fiume to Trieste, which would show us
another very important part of Hungary with which we were as
yet unacquainted.
Instead of starting early in the morning of the 28th of Feb-
ruary, as we had intended, we were delayed for some time by
the ice. It had now become too rotten to be used as a bridge,
and a ferry had been established wherever an open space was left;
but the ice was so constantly moving, that the ferry had fre-
quently to be changed, and one of these changes detained us seve-
ral hours. At last the ferry was declared open, the carriage
embarked, and we had nothing to do but shake hands with our
friends, and express a hearty wish that we might soon meet them
again, — and so we started on our way.
Our first drive did not afford us a very favourable prospect for
the rest of the journey. It was a cold wet night, and the roads
were so deep in mud, that it was as much as six good horses
could do to drag us through it. Before we had got half over one
station, too, the iron-work supporting the dickey gave way, and
VOL. ii. — 25
290 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
\ve were obliged to fasten it up with ropes. Under these cir-
cumstances, we determined to stop at the first village, Teteny,
for the night, and as there was not a bed-room to be had in the
inn, we gladly availed ourselves of the offer of the notary to
sleep in his house.
The notary was a very civil and obliging person, and from a
couple of violins and a piano-forte which we found in the room,
and from some music of Rossini's, which was lying about, I
should judge a man of taste also. He was master of the parish-
school, and told us that all the children attended it very regular-
ly. The peasants are Germans. He declined receiving any thing
next morning for the hospitality he had offered us, but the " gude
wife" was " mair canny," and allowed herself to be prevailed
on.
As we pursued this same route before, at least as far as Vesz-
prim, when we visited Fiired, I need say nothing more in regard
to it here, than that the carriage broke down three or four times
on the way, and caused as many disagreeable pauses before we
could get it mended. Whether it was the severe frost which
had affected the iron-work, or whether it was that the Vienna
iron was itself bad, I cannot tell, but it is certain that the unusual
straining caused by the state of the road was too much for it,
and great was our annoyance in consequence.
Instead of turning off to Fiired, we now continued along the
high road which runs parallel with the Balaton, but at some dis-
tance from it, to Tapolcza. For the greater part of the last
stage we had been struck with a new appearance in the moun-
tains, which seemed to rise alone, and in isolated masses from
the plain. This, of course, led us to suppose them of volcanic
origin, though they were too far off to enable us to make sure
of the fact. Before long, however, we found the road itself had
changed colour, and, on looking more minutely, it turned out to
be composed of volcanic tufa, instead of the new limestone we
had seen before, and a little further on, we came to basalt itself,
and thus the difficulty as to the appearance in these mountains
was at once solved. As we proceeded, we noticed that some of
the hills presented the appearance of truncated cones, while
others were quite conical, and on turning to our books afterwards
we found that we had fallen in with a well known volcanic dis-
trict, in which some of the mountains are said to have distinct
craters.
We had now entered the Bakonyer forest, a hilly tract of
SUBRI. 291
country, extending nearly from the Danube to Croatia, and co-
vered with thick woods, affording shelter to the bands of robbers
by whom it is generally infested. I am not very credulous on
the subject of robbers, but I do believe that this neighbourhood
is rarely quite free from them, arid I must confess I did not very
much like the look of some half-score fellows who followed the
carriage as we entered Tapolcza, inquiring very eagerly if we
would not go on further that evening. On talking with the
waiter at the inn, as to how far our suspicions might be well
founded, he said he thought them groundless, though on being
pressed further, he allowed that only a day or two before, four-
teen of Subri's men had been seen in the village dressed as
women, and he said that patrols were out through the whole
country, for the purpose of arresting them. Though we had
been staying so long in Hungary, we had scarcely ever heard
the name of Subri before, into whose territories we now appeared
to have intruded. Since that time, however, Subri has ob-
tained a European reputation, and his death has rendered him
a worthy subject of popular song. After having been wratched
for a long time by a body of troops quartered all through the
country, he was at last betrayed while drinking with his men at
a public-house. Before they were aware of it, a detachment of
cavalry had surrounded them; but they nevertheless made the
attempt to escape to the woods by fighting their way desperate-
ly through the soldiers. Several, both bf the robbers and soldiers,
fell, and the officer of the detachment had a very near escape.
On approaching Subri, with the intent to seize and take him alive,
the robber drew a pistol from his belt, and placed it close to the
officer's head. Subri, however, had vowed that he would never
be taken alive, and seeing that escape had become impossible,
he deliberately turned the pistol against himself and blew out his
own brains.
Many are the tales which have been told of this Subri, but
they are too doubtful to be worth repeating. Like most others
of the great robbers of Hungary — the Angyal Bandi, Zold Marc-
zi, and Becskereki — Subri had many of those notions of wild
justice, which render our own Robin Hood so dear to the recol-
lections of the people. To rob from the rich, and -give to the
poor; to punish the strong, and protect the weak; to ill-treat
proud men, and behave with gallantry to pretty women ; — such
are the characteristics of the great robbers of Hungary, and
such the traits that have filled the songs of the peasantry
292 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
with their names and deeds. There is another cause, too, which
has tended to increase the popular sympathy with robbers in
Hungary. They are, for the most part, young men who have
been taken for soldiers, and wrho, having run away, have no
other means of existence left. Even the sympathies of the no-
bles themselves are often engaged in their favour, and there are
few, who, either from weakness or mistaken kindness, refuse to
send provisions or money to an appointed place, when the Hun-
garian Captain Rock demands them.
The mode of raising the conscripts is so brutal, that it is im-
possible not to pity those who are exposed to it. When the
county has issued its orders to the under-officers to raise the re-
quired number of men, they proceed to the villages, and com-
mence a levy by main force. Their common plan is said to be to
take, at first, only the sons of the richest peasants, because they
are certain of obtaining a handsome sum for their release. As
soon as this is accomplished, they set about catching all the loose
fellows in the parish, who, knowing what they have to expect,
and pretty certain that nobody will release them, have already
taken to the woods and mountains, and cannot be got at without
a regular hunt. When once caught, these poor fellows are chained
in long lines, and thus literally driven, more cruelly than the same
men would treat their own beasts, to the head-quarters of the
army. It is not to be wondered at, that a service so recruited
should be detested, or that the men should try to escape; nor is
it matter of surprise that a human heart, whether noble or sim-
ple, should sympathize with the poor fellows whom such bru-
tality as this has driven to a life of crime. This system of re-
cruiting is a deep disgrace to Hungary, and it is the duty of
every friend of his country to use his utmost endeavours to re-
form it.
But to return to Tapolcza. The waiter's conversation, alarm-
ing as was the subject, did not prevent us duly appreciating the
excellence of the wine he had set before us; — possibly it made
us apply to it the more steadily. It was Schomlauer, and one
of the very best white wines I ever drank. It is grown about
a short day's journey from this place, on the hill of Somlyo, near
Vasarhely, and a little to the west of it. If I am not mistaken,
this hill must belong to the volcanic range we saw in this neigh-
bourhood; for I doubt if any other soil could give its wine that
high flavour which it boasts. The Schomlauer is a white wine,
full-bodied and strong. It would, I think, suit the English mar-
BAKONYER FOREST.
293
ket well, and it would probably bear the carriage without in-
jury-
Our route led us over a boggy plain, interspersed with volca-
nic mountains, rising abruptly from it, till we came to the shores
of the Balaton, and so continued as far as Keszthely. The sce-
nery at the lower end of the Balaton is mountainous, and must
present many points of great beauty, which in a more favourable
season we should have been delighted to ransack.
Keszthely is a thriving little town, arid of considerable impor-
tance, from the great school of agriculture founded here by
Count George Festetits, and known as the Georgikon. Though
no longer in so flourishing a state as formerly, the Georgikon has
still several professors and practical teachers maintained at the
expense of Count Festetits. There are few countries in which
more philanthropic endeavours to better the condition of the peo-
ple have been made than in Hungary; but, unfortunately, these
endeavours have wanted a character of permanency, and they
have, in consequence, almost always declined on the death of
their first founder.
From Keszthely, we started about mid-day with six horses,
hoping to get on two or three stages before night. But we were
mistaken ; we were again in Bakonyer forest, and the road, if
road it can be called, had become so bad, that at last the horses
stuck quite fast, and we were obliged to wait patiently till Mik-
16s returned, who had gone off, on one of the leaders, for fresh
horses. We did not complete the fourteen miles to Kis Koma-
rom, in less than seven hours and a half. We passed, in the
course of the day, several wagons guarded by soldiers, which
our drivers told us were conveying money to Pest. Patrols, too,
we observed several times in different parts of the forest.
The next day's journey was still worse ; with eight horses and
four drivers we had hard work to get to Nagy Kanisa. The
whole country in this neighbourhood is exceedingly wild and un-
cultivated. It is principally composed of forest and boggy grass-
land, which is naturally rich, and only requires a little cultiva-
tion to produce abundance. For wood scenery, — such as one
loves to fancy when hearing of Robin Hood, — I have never seen
any thing finer. In many parts of this forest, I do not suppose
an axe was ever used ; and even close by the road-side, thousands
of fine trees are rotting from age. They are mostly oaks, mixed
with a few birches. The mistletoe was in wonderful luxuriance ;
the dying tops of the oaks seemed quite borne down by it. Where
25*
294 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
the surface is clear of trees for a few yards, a fine turf springs up
naturally, though the pigs, with which these forests are filled in
winter for the sake of the acorns, root it up most unmercifully.
It is wonderful to what a depth these fellows will go in search
of roots, which they can srnell from the surface. Their power of
scent must be very much finer than that of the dog. We passed
several villages belonging to the bishop of Veszprim. The state
of the peasantry — in great part Sclaves — is deplorable, in spite
of the richness of the land. I do not think we have seen any
where worse cultivation, and greater misery, than in this dis-
trict.
During this journey, it so rarely happened that we could
calculate on arriving at a village at any fixed time, that we
always took care to start with a good loaf of bread and a bottle
of wine, besides some raw bacon and salami, which, although
not the most elegant viands, were exceedingly palatable to hun-
gry travellers. When, after dining three successive days on
this diet, we arrived at Nagy Kanisa about mid-day, and, in-
stead of a miserable village, found it a bustling little town, and
when we heard that a dinner was to be got, it was no wonder
that we regarded it as a God-send. S , after luxuriating on
the five good courses — soup, boiled beef, salt pork, and saur
Kraut, some pastry, and a loin of veal and salad — exclaimed,
" Well! if any one ventures to tell me, after this, that Hungary
is not a very civilized country, I shall beg to differ from him. I
should be glad to know where else such a dinner as this, and a
good bottle of wine to it, could be had for twenty-pence, — I am
sure not in England !" I do not think I have any where entered
my protest against the veal, which is always the first dish the
landlord — especially if he be a German — offers you in Hungary.
It is a most villanous affair, red, tough, and tasteless, and not
to be compared to an honest Magyar gulyas has, or paprika
hendeL
The women of Nagy Kdnisa are remarkable for the peculiar
character of their head-dress. It is formed of white linen, dis-
posed in flat folds, so much resembling that worn in the neigh-
bourhood of Rome, that one can scarcely help fancying that the
one people must have derived it from the other. I leave it to the
speculative antiquary to determine whether a Roman colony
taught the fashion to the Nagy Kdnisians, or whether some of
their barbarous ancestors carried it with them into the villages
of the Campagna.
THE ISLAND.
295
As we were about to leave this place, an English gentleman,
who had accidentally heard of our arrival, came and introduced
himself to us. He had been living with his wife, an Italian lady,
in this neighbourhood, for two or three years, and he gave a
tolerably favourable account of it. His neighbours, he says, are
polite and friendly ; living is very cheap, and the shooting parti-
cularly good.
It took us seven days of tedious travelling, before we arrived
at the river Drave, which forms the boundary of the ancient
kingdom of Croatia. Between the Muhr and Drave we passed
through some exceedingly flourishing villages, which offered a
very striking contrast to many we had previously seen. This
district, called the " Island," from its position between the two
rivers, although by no means one of the most rich, is yet one of
the most fruitful and prosperous in Hungary. The wine, the
tobacco, the corn, the flax, every product grown here, is better
than what is produced in the districts on either side of it. All
this prosperity seems to depend entirely on the greater industry
of the people. How this has been produced it is difficult to say,
but I suspect it is owing to the good management of the Count
or Counts — for I could not make out whether it was one or
many — Festetits, to whom the greater part of it belongs. In
one of these villages we observed a farm-yard and farm buildings
which would not have been a discredit to Norfolk.
It is in this neighbourhood that the Zriny family — those
Zrinys who figure in so many pages of Hungarian history —
took their origin, and possessed large estates. The glorious
death of Zriny Miklos has earned for him the name of the Hun-
garian Leonidas. Zriny was intrusted with the command of the
castle of Sziget, near Fiinfkirchen, and having cut off some of
the Turkish troops, Solyman the. Magnificent determined to
march against him with all his forces. Although Zriny had but
a small garrison, and wras left quite unsupported from without,
he sustained the siege with the most extraordinary valour. The
enemy was driven back in no less than twenty attempts to storm
the castle, sixty thousand of the Turkish forces had perished,
and Solyman himself had sickened and died — still Zriny held
out; but now only three hundred of his men were living, and
hunger was fast destroying even them. Determined not to yield,
Zriny and his brave band rushed out on the Turks, and were all
killed, fighting to the last. This heroic resistance so far weak-
ened the Turkish army, that they were obliged to retire without
attempting any further invasion.
296 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Near Csakatornya, at Nedelicz, is a custom-house for goods
passing from Austria into Hungary. A great part of the trans-
port trade — especially that carried on in the lighter wagons, be-
tween Trieste and Hungary — is said to pass through this place.
The chief articles are colonial produce, particularly sugar and
coffee. Laden wagons generally occupy seven days from Trieste
to Nedelicz, and from thence to Pest or Vienna, about eight
more.
The Drave is a fine wide river, but apparently not very deep;
with a little artificial aid, however, I should think it might be
rendered navigable considerably higher up than the point at
which we crossed. Directly on the other side, lies the town of
Varasdin ; but as we did not remain longer than was required to
change horses, I must content myself with saying that it is a
pretty town, of eight thousand inhabitants, with clean, well-paved
streets, and a great number of handsome buildings.
While we are hastening on to Agram, the capital of Croatia,
I may as well say a word or two about the country itself.
Croatia and Sclavonia — for they are always reckoned together
— form the south-western portion of Hungary, to which country
they have been united ever since the eleventh century. Their
population, which may be estimated at something less than a
million, without the borderers, is entirely of Sclavish origin, and
of the Roman Catholic and Greek religions. Croatia and Scla-
vonia have the same laws and constitution as the rest of Hungary,
except in one or two particulars, in which they enjoy special privi-
leges. The counties send deputies to the Diet just as other parts of
Hungary, and the county meetings are held in the same way ;
but in addition to this, they sometimes hold what they call Diets
of the Kingdoms of Croatia and Sclavonia — Comitia Regnorum
Croatia et Sclavonic. What the exact use of these Diets is, or
how far their functions extend, I was not able to make out, — in-
deed, I believe it is a disputed point, the Croatiaps wishing to
consider themselves as confederates of Hungary, the Hungarians
reckoning them as part and parcel of themselves. They some-
times, however, exercise the right of refusing to obey, or to
adopt the acts of the General Diet, when they interfere with
their own peculiar privileges.
A case has lately arisen with respect to one of these privi-
leges, which has given it a very unenviable notoriety. It is the
privilege of excluding all Protestants from the possession of pro-
perty, and, I believe, of refusing them even the right of living
STATE OF THE PEASANTRY.
297
within the boundaries of the two countries. This question has
been mooted before the General Diet, and a more tolerant law
passed ; but as yet no change has been effected, for the Croatians
have refused to sanction or adopt it. The only other distinction
of any importance is the existence of the Banat Table, a court
of justice, answering to the district courts of Hungary, to which
causes are referred from the county courts.
The soil of Croatia, though less rich than that of many parts
of Hungary, is by no means a poor one, but it is badly cultivated,
and is in consequence unproductive. The peasants whom we
met on the road were generally small in size, and poor in appear-
ance. Their dress is somewhat similar to that of the other pea-
sants of Hungary, but it is more coarse in material and rude in
fashion. The men wear brown cloth jackets, trimmed with red,
a round sheepskin cap on their heads, and trowsers made of thick
white cloth. The women have their heads wrapped in a piece
of white linen, arranged without taste and hanging down over
the shoulders. Their only ornament is a bow of red ribbon fas-
tened on the breast. In winter, over the linen gown, they wear
a shapeless white great coat.
At a small village where we stopped to dine, we fell into con-
versation with the landlord, — a bluff, jolly-looking fellow, — who
turned out to be a Croatian Radical, and by no means too con-
tent with the manner in which things are managed. He said
that the peasants are much more poor and miserable than in Hun-
gary, and that this is more especially the case in the mountain-
ous districts. Nor did he attribute it so much to the poverty of
the soil, or the smaller size of the peasants' fiefs, as to the op-
pression of their seigneurs. It is a very common thing, accord-
ing to his account, for a landlord to seize his peasants' land on
some frivolous pretext, and keep it from them altogether, or
oblige them to pay a heavy sum to be allowed to retain it.
Sometimes a vineyard which has been entirely formed by the
labour of the peasant, and which is often worth two or three
hundred pounds, is taken away, and a barren plot of ground, of
the same size, offered as an equivalent. The courts of law, he
said, afforded them no protection whatsoever. What rendered
this man's testimony of greater value was the fact, that he him-
self was noble. Notwithstanding all this poverty and wretched-
ness it should be remarked, that we saw here more large churches,
and more images of saints, than in all the rest of Hungary toge-
ther. I do not assert that this was cause and effect, but if not,
298 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
it was a curious coincidence, and it is one which I have observed
more than once in the course of my travels.
The road leading into Agram is so bad that we nearly stuck
fast in the suburbs; and this was the more remarkable, because,
till within a few miles of the town, the roads had been far better
than in most other parts of Hungary. Agram itself is a town of
ten thousand inhabitants, and wears an aspect of bustle and ac-
tivity, which speaks well for its prosperity. In strolling about,
the Catholic Bishop's palace was the first object which attracted
our attention. It was formerly a fortified castle, of such an ex-
tent as to include the cathedral within its walls. The fosse,
however, is now converted into gardens, with lakes, and winding
walks, and temples which, if a little fantastic, are still pretty,
and are very liberally thrown open to the public. The Bishop
is said to have about twenty-five thousand pounds per annum,
the greater part of which he derives from his estates in the
Banat. Although but indifferently regarded as an absentee
landlord, he is very popular as a resident bishop, and is said to
do a great deal for the good of the town. He has a regiment
of grenadiers of his own, which is composed entirely of his te-
nants from the Banat, each of whom is obliged to serve two
years. It is no wonder that such soldiers have not a very mar-
tial bearing, and I certainly never saw any thing more ludicrous
than the Bishop's clodhopper sentinels in their scarlet pantaloons,
brown coats, and high grenadier caps. The cathedral is a fine
old Gothic structure, but the interior is spoiled by a profusion of
rich marble altars, in the Italian style. The pulpit is quite
covered with alto-relievos in white marble.
From the palace we climbed the hill, on which stand the mid-
dle and upper towns — for Agram consists of three towns, in the
lower of which our hotel is situated. The Stadt, or higher
town, was formerly the fortress, and contains the palace of the
Ban of Croatia, and many fine houses of the nobles. We found
some good shops, chiefly kept by Raitzen (Servians) and Jews,
who are among the richest of the inhabitants, and have the trade
almost entirely in their own hands. Of Germans there are but
few here. The drapers' shops were particularly well supplied
with German, Italian, and a few English goods.
One of the booksellers' shops which we entered was large,
and bespoke a thriving trade. It contained almost all the stan-
dard German works, and German translations of Bulwer, Mar-
ryatt, and some others of our popular novelists. There were a
STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING. 299
few works in French, and one or two English works with en-
gravings. The bookseller, who was an intelligent man, told us
that all the higher classes speak French and German, but very
few English. One small shelf contained all the Hungarian
books, among which were the works of Count Szechenyi. Of
books in the Croatian language, there are only three or four ex-
isting. The Croatian language is a dialect of the Sclavish, more
resembling, however, that of Poland than those of Bohemia,
Russia, or even the Sclavack dialect of the north of Hungary.
Till within the last few years, it has been totally uncultivated,
and its use confined exclusively to the peasantry. Since, how-
ever, the Hungarian Diet has proposed to enforce the use of the
Magyar language instead of the Latin, in public transactions
throughout all Hungary, a spirit of opposition has been excited
among the Sclavish population, which threatens very serious
consequences. The first effect of the measure proposed by the
Diet was, the rousing up in Croatia of a strong sentiment of
nationality, which found vent in the establishment of a periodical,
something like the " Penny Magazine" in form, in the Sclavish
language. This is the "Danica Ilirska," edited by Dr. Gay.
It is published once a week, is very respectably got up, and con-
tains national songs, original articles, and translations.
They are now endeavouring to improve the language by in-
troducing new words in use among the Illyrians, whose language
was originally the same, but which is now more polished. The
Illyrian language is soft and agreeable to the ear, and, no doubt,
to them, contains a thousand beauties which no other language
can possess. There seems too to be some idea among the tetes
exaltees here of an Illyrian nationality. It is no uncommon
thing to hear them reckoning up the Croats, Sclavonians, Bos-
nians, Dalmatians, Servians, Montenegrins, and Bulgarians, and
then comparing this mass of Sclaves with the three or four mil-
lions of Magyars, and proudly asking why they should submit
to deny their language and their origin because the Magyars
command it.
I am very far from wishing this party success, though I can-
not help in some degree sympathizing with a people who resist,
when they think a stronger power is willing to abuse its strength
by depriving the weaker of those objects — language and reli-
fion — which they hold as most dear. No one can doubt how
ighly conducive it would be to the good of Hungary that
Croatia should be made completely Hungarian ; or that it is dis-
300 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
graceful to the age in which we live, that Protestants should be
excluded from a whole country on account of their faith ; yet in-
dubitable as are these facts, it may nevertheless be very impolitic
to seek to remedy them by violent means.
The act has passed, however, which declares that in ten years'
time no Croat shall be eligible to a public office who cannot read
and write the Magyar language, and the consequence has been,
the creation of a feeling of hatred against the Magyars, which
bodes but very ill for the speedy Magyarizing of the Croatian
people. I have no doubt that some portion of this opposition is
connected with Russian intrigue; for it is particularly strong
among the members of the Greek church, and it is so much the
interest of Russia to weaken Austria, by disorganizing her ill-
united parts, that we may be sure such an opportunity for the
attainment of her objects would not be lost. That many of
those who are influential in spreading the discontent, are un-
knowingly instruments in the hand of Russia, I feel certain; —
they profess, indeed, a most bitter hatred of Russia, and, I have
no doubt, feel it too; but they are as certainly working out her
objects as if they were her paid agents.
Among the communicants of the Greek religion, Russia has
still more power in Croatia than in Transylvania, because of the
similarity of the languages ; and this influence is increased by the
circumstance of the prayer-books of the Croats having been
formerly all printed in Russia. They consequently contained
many Russianisms, which remain to the present time, though it
is no longer allowed to print them out of Austria. It is a cu-
rious circumstance, too, that the Catholic and Greek religionists,
generally such bitter enemies, are said to agree exceedingly well
in Croatia.
We had observed, in walking through the town, a great num-
ber of gentlemen in full costume, and, on inquiring the reason,
found they had been present at a county meeting, which had ex-
cited great interest, from the circumstance of a royal commis-
sioner having been sent down expressly to attend it. It ap-
peared that Government, having found it impossible to check
smuggling, by means of its officers, on the frontiers of Croatia,
had determined to station them at different places within the
country, with power to seize suspected goods wherever they
might find them. This, however, would have been a gross
violation of the Municipal Constitution, which places the whole
executive power in the elected officers of the county ; and the
Croatians declared, accordingly, that they would not submit to
KARLSTADT.
301
it. In the face of such direct opposition, Government had not
ventured to put its plan into execution, and had sent down a
commissioner to explain its intentions, and, if possible, to per-
suade the Croatians to consent. One of them, however, with
whom we fell into conversation, observed, "We know better
than to let Government officers in amongst us, because, when
once there, it is no such easy matter to get rid of them again ;
and besides, the very laws which the Government wishes to sup-
port by illegal means, are themselves contrary to our rights, —
let them restore to us our free trade, — till they do that, I for one
•will aid the smuggler by every means I possess."
From Agram to Karlstadt, our next resting-place, we passed
through a rather uninteresting country, occasionally showing
symptoms of activity and cultivation, but in general much ne-
glected. The Save, which we crossed by a wooden bridge just
on the outside of Agram, is a fine river, and we were told con-
tains water enough at all seasons to float barges of two hundred
tons, bearing merchandise. A great quantity of corn and brandy
comes up the Save every year from the Banat, for Croatia,
Trieste, and Italy ; but of late years it is said to have been di-
minished by the competition with the corn from Odessa. The
manner in which many of the forests are destroyed by bad
management in this country, is really melancholy, and the de-
struction has gone to such an extent that firewood has become
exceedingly dear. We were told at Agram that a klafter — a
small cart load — costs as much as eighteen or twenty shillings,
and this in a country more than half of which is in wood.
Karlstadt is on the Croatian military frontier, and is rather
a pretty town, with many good houses, inhabited chiefly by the
border officers. It has a kind of fortress, but it is by no means
capable of holding out against artillery for a moment. The
river Kulpa, which flows through the town, and the Ludovica
road — the IJungarian Simplon — are the chief sources of its wealth
and importance.
From the communication which the road and the Kulpa were
expected to lay open, by means of the Save and Danube, be-
tween the Adriatic and the Black Sea, great commercial results
were anticipated ; but hitherto it has disappointed the expecta-
tions which were formed. A gentleman whom we met here,
told us that the Save is navigable at all times of the year, and
for almost any craft, and that the Kulpa, even in its present
state, is open for large boats in spring and autumn, and for
VOL. u. — 26
302
HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
smaller ones all summer, and that, with very little expense, it
might be rendered much more useful than it even now is. As
yet steam-boats have not been established, even on the Save, but
great hopes are entertained that they will be ere long.*
*The Menaeum contains a letter, dated Vienna, llth October, 1838,
containing a very interesting notice of the first attempt to navigate the
Save and Kulpa with steam. I extract a portion of it : —
"The steam-boat (of forty-horse power) was named the Archduchess
Sophia, and started from Semlin as follows :—
Date of Departure.
Place and Hour of Arrival.
Remarks.
*6th Sept.
Semlin, 2 P.M.
Kupinova,
7th Sept. 4 A. M.
Guna, 8th Sept.
3 A.M.
Brood, 9th Sept.
3 J A.M.
Puska, 10th Sept.
?| A.M.
. .7 P.M.
Pass the night.""
r/l
An island.
The ancient Syrmium.
7 floating mills.
Pass the night.
10 August, 2 Bos mills.
Junction of the Bosna.
Pass the night.
Junction of the Verbas.
Austrian fortress.
Junction of the Unna.
Pass the night.
Retarded by a fog.
Enter the Kulpa.
Termination of the Voyage.
, . g A.M.
12
'. .72
Bonora Adicza
• 7*
.124
Brood
, . 5
Swinar
. .8
Alt Gradisca . .
Jessenovacz . . .
Puska
. 74
. 1*
Sissek
, . 2
DESCENT.
Date of Departure.
Place and Hour of Arrival.
Remarks.
Sissek, llth Sept
8i A.M.
Jessenovacz,
12th Sept. 5 A.M
Jaroge, 13th Sept.
4 A.M.
Topola, 14th Sept.
5$ A.M.
Jessenovacz .... 3 A.M,
Alt Gradisca .... 8£
Jaroge 6£
Supanye 8
Mitrovitz 4£
Topola - . 5|
Semlin 1£
Pass the night, and take in
wood.
The Save very narrow.
Pass the night.
Brisk salute.
Take in wood.
Pass the night.
Termination of the Voyage.
CROATIAN BORDERERS.
303
As we were sitting down to our supper the landlord intro-
duced an officer of the Borderers, who having heard that two
Englishmen had arrived in Karlstadt, and being himself of Eng-
lish descent, wished to see them. His name was Samson, and
"The voyage was perfectly satisfactory ; and there seems no reason for
apprehending interruption to the navigation, either from want of water in
summer or floating ice in winter, as the experiment has been made during
the driest month of the year ; and the frosts of winter last only from the
beginning of January to the beginning of February. The first day's voy-
age passed off without incident. On the 7th, when approaching Mitrovitz,
the Save was narrow and deep, and the vessel for some time ascended
very slowly. This town will become the point of embarkation for the famous
Schiller, or red Syrmian wine, which is by many thought equal to Tokay.
On the forenoon of the 8th, especial circumspection became requisite, as at
Wuchijak, a place between Supanye and Schamacz, the river became
broad and shallow, having two long sand-banks; but luckily both were
got over without once grounding, and the reception of our smutty Argo-
nauts in the evening at Brood was in the highest degree gratifying. This
is an important Austrian fortress; a salute was fired on the occasion, and
the natives turned out en masse. The appearance of these people, with
their long shaggy black locks, and their short black caftan (Giinyacz;)
was striking. Their language is a curious mixture of Sclavonic and
Latin; for example, Kakasyte dormirali — how did you sleep? The vessel
was visited by Major-Gen, von Neumann, the commandant of the fortress,
and the evening was spent in festivity. On the 9th September, two offi-
cers of the fortress accompanied the vessel as far as Alt Gradisca, which
is opposite Berbir, formerly an Austrian tete de pont, but now a Turkish
fortress. A picturesque chain of hills, rising from the river, rendered this
the most agreeable part of the voyage. At Jessenovacz, nine hujas farther
up, the right bank ceases to be Turkish territory. The town is built of
wood; and, as it stands on piles, has been sometimes called New Amster-
dam. On the 10th, at two o'clock, the boat reached Sissek, and was re-
ceived with waving banners, joyous music, and firing of muskets. In the
evening there was a public dinner, when the healths of the Emperor, the
Empress, and the Arch-duke Palatine, were drunk with loud applause •
and on the llth, accompanied by twenty-three individuals, the vessel
started again on her downward voyage.
Should this experiment be followed up with spirit, the advantages which
may flow from it can scarcely be overrated. The present trade on the
Save and Drave is limited to barrel hoops, staves, firewood, &c., although
the country could produce vast quantities of corn, wine, and iron. It is
true, that the central parts between the two rivers are so thickly wooded,
that the old Hungarian proverb is still applicable, — *' Si lupus essem, nollem
alibi quam in Sclavonia lupus esse;" — but all along the Save, nature has
poured forth her choicest blessings. On questioning my informant as to
the quality of the soil, "fat and black" were the adjectives he used. It
would be out of place to enter into an 'examination of those peculiar laws
and institutions of Hungary, which hinder the influx of capital and the
development of the national resources. I shall, therefore, content
304 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
we found him a very good-tempered agreeable acquaintance.
He spoke of the Borderers with all the enthusiasm a good officer
might be supposed to feel for his men. Those of the Croatian
frontiers, he said, though not such fine large men as those of the
Banat, were very clever in the use of their weapons, to which
they were accustomed from their childhood. In such constant
danger are they from incursions from the Turkish Croatians and
Bosnians, that they never go out to tend their sheep, or even to
plough, without being armed. As might be expected, they be-
come better soldiers than agriculturists. On pressing our friend
very closely as to the subject of their honesty, he confessed that
they were rather apt to mistake other people's property for their
own, — "not," he said, "that they steal like those rascally in-
fidels,— they only take things, just in play, as children do !"
Karlstadt, he said, was so near the frontier, and so ill-defend-
ed, that a party of Turks might, by a sudden incursion, pillage
and burn it any day. Government, however, was intending to
fortify it more strongly. He seemed to have a sincere hatred of
his Turkish neighbours, and described them as a most barbarous,
cruel, and rapacious set, who would be continually at war if they
dared. "I think, however," he observed, "we have quieted
them for a while ; for in return for their last attack, we followed
them home, and burnt one of their largest villages, containing
two hundred houses, to the ground."
The next day we commenced the passage of the mountains
to Fiume, along the line of the Ludovica-road. This road was
formed by a private company under the direction of General
Vukassovics, but rather as a patriotic undertaking than as a corn-
self with remarking how curiously the interfering with the laws that regu-
late production and distribution, operates in two countries so different
from each other. In England, land intended by nature for pasture, is de-
voted to the plough; and in Hungary, millions of acres of what might be
garden ground, are abandoned to swine and cattle. Sissek is only forty
English miles from Karlstadt, between which and Fiume is the splendid
road constructed under the direction of Baron Bukassawich; and I am in-
formed that if the little cataract at Ozuil were blown up, the Kulpa would
be navigable to within thirty or forty miles of the sea. As it is; Fiume
may become the port of a great part of Hungary. I find, by the last re-
turns in the Commercial Gazette, that, in the month of August, the imports
of this place were 227,111 florins; and the exports, consisting principally
of corn and tobacco, 349.904. Should then this experiment be properly
followed up, the Save will be the great highway between the Adriatic
ports and Semlin, the Banat, Transylvania, Szegedin, and all the towns
on the Theiss and Maras."
SKRAD.
305
mercial speculation. It extends eighteen German, or about
eighty-five English, miles. Nothing can be more beautifully
constructed than it is ; there is not a sudden elevation of any con-
sequence from one end to the other, and the slopes are so gradual
that a carriage may be driven at a trot up and down them with-
out danger or difficulty. The body of the road itself is perhaps
a little too arched, but the parapet walls, drains, water-courses,
and bridges, are most beautifully executed, and maintained in ex-
cellent order.
Our first stage of two posts brought us by gradual ascents
into as wild and mountainous a district as I ever saw. The
stratum is entirely a compact limestone, presenting in many places
those vast caldron-shaped hollows which are so frequent near
Trieste.
We were surprised, on inquiring in German if any thing in the
shape of dinner could be got at the station-house, to be answered
in very good Irish, "Sure there is, your honour, — eggs and
bacon in plenty, and a chicken if your honour's not in a hurry."
Our respondent, we found, was the daughter of an Irishman who
had served under Napoleon, and she herself had been many years
in General Count Nugent's family. She had married an Italian
fellow-servant, and Count Nugent had set them up in this inn,
which is situated on a part of his own estate. We were the first
Englishmen she had seen since her settlement in this place, and
how she managed to make us out by the blue ends of our noses,
which was all that could be seen out of our fur cloaks, is more
than I can guess. She was glad enough to see us, and did her
best to make us comfortable with such poor means as were with-
in her power.
We got on as far as Skrad before night, which, like all the
other villages in this district, is a miserable place. The whole
country we passed through is mere rock and wood ; and though
clearing and cultivating might do something towards improving
its dreary aspect, it must ever remain a very barren district.
We passed some long trains of wagons in the course of the day,
chiefly laden with timber, rags, and some corn, which they were
conveying to Fiume. Others which we met returning were quite
empty.
We ascended still higher in the course of the second day, not
that we could observe it by the road itself, — for it is so beauti-
fully laid out that the ascent is quite imperceptible, — but we
found the snow, which had been all melted in the lower regions,
26*
300 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
still clinging, as we advanced, to the mountain sides. As we
began to descend, we were roused from a doze by a sudden cry
from Miklos, of "a great water! a great water!" and starting
up, we found the Adriatic, studded with beautiful islands, and
sprinkled over with fishing-boats, directly beneath us. For some
moments after his first exclamation, Miklos remained quite silent,
from awe and wonder, till at last he said, " Your Grace, that must
be the Danube again, no other water can be so large ; and see, there
are wild ducks swimming all about." He could not believe,
even when we told him, that it was the sea he saw, and that his
ducks were large boats, which the distance only made appear so
small.
The descent to Fiume was one succession of beauties, increas-
ing as we advanced. The construction of this part of the road
is exceedingly fine, quite equal to any thing of the kind in Europe.
In one place it has been cut straight through the rocks, and
forms a kind of gateway, called the Porta Ungarica. In the
course of the descent, on one side the road we observed a large
plain, completely surrounded by mountains, and forming a colossal
amphitheatre. It was in this spot that the Tartars, after having
overrun all Hungary, encamped, and where they were fallen
upon by the people, who had collected on the mountains round,
and cut to pieces. Eight thousand are said to have remained
on the field.
When we had nearly finished the descent, we came to a bar-
rier, and were desired to show our passports ; and no sooner did
the officer find from them that we were foreigners, than he de-
manded a toll of six shillings and four pence for having passed
over the road. " You ought," he said, " to have paid at the
other end, but the man there probably mistook you for Hunga-
rian gentlemen, and so let you pass." We, of course, paid it,
and in a few minutes after rattled over the stones of Fiume, till
we came to a stand before the hotel door.
And while we are settling down there, let us say a few words
as to the prospective advantages of this road. We have stated,
that hitherto it has been little used, partly on account of the
high tolls, partly from the want of further improvements for
facilitating the navigation of the Save and Kulpa — but most of
all from the want of commerce between Hungary and other
countries. Supposing for a moment all these drawbacks removed,
it still remains a question whether Fiume can ever become the
port of Hungary, and the Ludovica road its great artery. We
LUDOVICA ROAD,
307
doubt if it ever will, though we by no means condemn it to lan-
guish for ever in its present state. The trade of Hungary must
follow the course of the Danube, and find its port on the shores of
the Black Sea. The superior richness of the country through
which the Danube flows, the ease of transporting heavy goods
up and down a stream of such size, almost without any land-car-
riage, the number of its tributary streams, and the wealth and
importance of the t<5wns on its banks, render this unquestionable.
The only difficulty which presents itself is the passage of the
Iron Gates; and with fifty miles of road for towing or transport,
this will henceforth be of little consequence. It is true, that
warehouses are necessary at Scala Gladova, Orsova, and Mol-
dova ; that a consular agent ought to be stationed at Orsova ; that,
in fact, many arrangements are required to render commercial
intercourse perfectly easy and convenient ; but, sooner or later,
they will be made, for by this route alone can a great commerce
ever be carried on. At the same time Croatia and Sclavonia
may transport a part of their timber, hemp, rags, and tallow by
Fiume. and receive in return the manufactures of the west. But
there is another light in which, in the present aspect of European
affairs, this road may be regarded. At every moment we hear
of tremendous armaments, on the part of Russia, collecting in
Bessarabia and along the banks of the Danube; of great fleets
manoeuvring in the Black Sea, ready in a moment to overwhelm
the dependencies of Turkey, but intended, probably, only to
frighten European diplomatists into the belief that she could do
so. Suppose, for a moment, that these troops had marched, and
these vessels had sailed; suppose even that the Dardanelles were
closed to our fleet; what means does this road afford to Austria
of controlling the fate of Turkey? Austria, on the first alarm,
could throw a body of troops into Transylvania and along the
Wallachian frontiers, where they would occupy a position con-
fessedly impregnable. She could then admit through Fiume a
French or English army which, after a march of eighty miles
over the Ludovica road, could be placed on board the large
corn-boats, on the Kulpa or Save, and transported without fatigue
or loss down the Danube into the heart of Wallachia in about
ten days. She would thus have placed an overwhelming force
in the rear of the Russian army, with the power of intercepting,
in winter, when the ports of the Black Sea are frozen, the only
route by which that army could receive supplies. In this point
of view the Ludovica road may still be of European importance.
308 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
It is well known too that we are dependent on Russia for a vast
quantity of raw produce, without which our trade could not get
on. As we shall see hereafter, these articles can be furnished
as well by Hungary, and by the Fiume road they could always
reach the Mediterranean in spite of Russia.
On presenting our letters of introduction, we were very politely
received by the deputy-governor, Count Almasi, and every thing
worth seeing at Fiume was at once laid open to us. In truth,
the sights of Fiume are no great matters. It is a pretty little
seaport town, with a good harbour; but, although possessing the
advantages of a free port, it was untenanted by a single vessel
of any size. Nothing can be more beautiful than the situation
of Fiume ; it is backed by immense rocks, the sides of which are
covered, wherever a particle of soil can rest, with vineyards ;
while in front is the Adriatic and its lovely islands. The town
has quite an Italian air about it, and nothing but Italian and
Illyrian is heard in the shops and streets. Fiume has a club
and theatre, and the social life of its inhabitants is said to be
pleasant enough. It had a little semidiplomatic society, too, of
consuls, to which we were introduced, and from some of the con-
suls we obtained a good deal of information. It had formerly a
very extensive sugar refinery, occupying one thousand persons ;
but, as it had originally been created by a royal privilege, so it
was destroyed when the privilege was withdrawn. The only
productive industry at present existing, is the paper-mill of our
countrymen, Messrs. Smith & Co. We visited their mill, which
is placed near the end of the Ludovica road, and is worked by
the torrent which rushes down from the mountain. Mr. Smith
told us that they employed about two hundred and fifty people,
who worked pretty well, and were easily kept in order, and that
every day they were obliged to refuse applications for work..
All their machinery is brought direct from England. They pro-
duce a fair writing paper, though nothing of a very superior
character, which is almost entirely consumed in the Levant.
About a mile or two south of the town, a large Lazaretto has
been built, in one of the most beautiful bays I almost ever saw.
They say the arrangements of this Lazaretto are perfect — there
is nothing wanting but ships to fill it. Ten miles still further
south, is Porto Re, a large and commodious harbour, built by
Charles VI., and acknowledged to be the safest and best in the
Austrian dominions. A war-steamer had just been built there.
The small portion of sea-coast between Istria and Dalmatia, has
SMUGGLING. 309
often figured in the gravamina of the Hungarian Diet as the Li-
torale. For a long time Austria refused to give it up; and
though she has yielded with respect to this part, Dalmatia and
the islands, equally demanded by the Hungarians as a portion of
their dominions, are still refused to them.
We met a stout liberal here, who is at the same time a
Sclave and a strong supporter of the Sclavish nationality. He
speaks with great admiration of the talent with which Napoleon
seized on this point when he formed his kingdom of Illyria, and
the power that this idea still exercises over the minds of the
people. Dalmatia he describes as an exceedingly interesting
country, though the people are in a very wild and savage state.
If we had had time, we should have liked to have accepted this
gentleman's offer to show us the most important parts of Dal-
matia : but the steamer was to leave Trieste in a few days, and
Pola and its amphitheatre had still to be seen.
The commerce of Fiume is said to be very insignificant, and
to be confined almost exclusively to rags, staves, corn, and
tobacco. Of late years the corn trade has fallen off considerably,
the Odessa merchants having, from their facilities for trade, been
enabled to undersell the Fiume merchants, not only in the ports
of Italy, but sometimes even in Fiume itself. The best part of
the Fiume trade is with the smugglers ; and smuggling is so far
recognised, that an Englishman, who set up to trade here in an
honest manner, received a friendly warning from high authority
to imitate his neighbours, if he did not wish to be ruined. As
Fiume itself is a free port, of course it is surrounded on every
side by custom-house officers, who are so numerous, for this place
alone, as to cost sixty thousand florins (6000/.) per annum. Not
that they are of any use; for, as one of the authorities observed,
"ten pence a day is all they get for doing their duty, and, of
course, twenty pence will easily induce them to neglect it." The
coast, too, is of so mountainous a character, that it would be al-
most impossible to protect it, except by introducing a more libe-
ral commercial system.
And now, before we close these volumes, — for at Fiume our
Travels in Hungary may be said to have finished, and Pola and
Trieste are too well known to require description, — we must say
a few words on the commercial resources and prospects of Hun-
gary. It is so singular a fact that a country overflowing with
natural productions, and in want of every article of manufactured
industry, should be quite unknown to the merchants of England,
310 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
that some explanation of it seems required. In the first place,
we shall enumerate the chief productions of Hungary, and shall
then endeavour to show why these have not been sought for by
the English, and point out what the chief advantages are which
we might derive from a trade with Hungary.
Hungary and Transylvania, — for we shall now speak of the
two together, — with a population of twelve millions, occupy a
surface of about one hundred and ten thousand English square
miles. This surface is exceedingly various in its nature, but on the
whole it may be set down as one of the most fruitful portions of
Europe, as well as one of the most rich in natural productions.
We have already said so much of mines and mining, that it is
scarcely necessary to state here how extensive the veins of gold
and silver are which run through the whole country. It has
been stated by Beudant, that there is more gold and silver found
in Hungary than in all the rest of Europe besides. The privi-
lege of working the mines is open to every one on the payment of a
tenth of the produce to the Crown ; the only other restriction
being the obligation to have the precious metals coined in the
country, for which a small per-centage is charged. From the
number of places in which we have seen iron hammers, it must
be evident that iron abounds throughout extensive districts; but
hitherto the iron mines have been very badly worked, and the
iron so ill- wrought as to be extremely dear. For the erection of
the new chain-bridge at Pest, it has been found cheaper to have
the iron-work cast in England, sent by water to Fiume or Tri-
este, and from thence by land to Pest, than to have it manufac-
tured either in Hungary or in any other part of the Austrian do-
minions. Such is the advantage which commercial habits and
scientific knowledge give over cheap labour. I have heard it stated
that the iron of Hungary possesses qualities superior to that of any
other part of Europe, except Sweden, for conversion into steel ;
yet it is so badly wrought that worse cutlery cannot exist than
that of Hungary. Hungarian iron is quite unknown in the
English market.
Copper is found in great abundance — forty thousand hundred-
weight yearly. Lead, and indeed every other metal, is obtained,
but rather more sparingly. Sulphur occurs in eight different
counties; but it is often not worked from the want of demand for
the article ; I have myself seen mines given up from no other
cause. This is of importance at the present moment, when the
Sicilian monopoly is in the hands of Frenchmen, who are said to
TIMBER. 311
Lave raised the price of their sulphur, and thereby inflicted a
considerable injury on many branches of English industry.
The quantity of salt which these countries can produce seems
quite unlim ted ; and from the fine condition of the mines, the
pure state in which the salt occurs, and the position of the beds
near navigable rivers, it might be procured as cheaply as from
any part of the world. Soda, alum, potash, and saltpetre, are
all abundant, but particularly soda, which occurs in great purity
and plenty on the plain near Debreczen.
Coal, as I have already said, is found in several districts, and
I believe it is the only coal in Europe which can contest the field
with that of England for the use of steam-engines. That it is at
present as dear as English coal imported via Constantinople is en-
tirely attributable to bad, or rather dishonest, management.
Of wood, Hungary, and the neighbouring countries, Bosnia
and Servia, are capable of furnishing vast stores. At present,
England receives a large portion of her timber from the Baltic,
which might be as well obtained from these countries by Fiume
or the Black Sea, and the navy of England would then be no
longer dependent for its supply on the country which is most
likely to place itself in rivalship with her. The forests of Hun-
gary, particularly the Bakonyer, are almost entirely composed
of oak, which is of two kinds, — the red, a quick-growing soft
wood, of little use except for firing ; and the white, a firm last-
ing timber, well adapted for ship-building, or other purposes re-
quiring durability. In those parts of the country where the roads
are too bad to allow of the transport of large blocks of timber,
the wood might be cut into staves, for which there is always a
great demand, and so conveyed to the coast in smaller loads for
exportation. A considerable trade is already carried on in this
article between Fiume and Marseilles, most of the staves being
procured from Bosnia and brought by land-carriage to Fiume.
The opening of the Save and Drave would considerably reduce
the cost of carriage, and wood might then be transported, nearly
the whole way, by water to the Black Sea.
Another article connected with our shipping interest, to which
we have already alluded, is hemp. All the hemp used in the navy
is of Russian growth, and it is one of the chief of our imports
from that country. The hemp of Hungary is both cheaper and
better ; and instead of taking it from a rival, we should take it
from a safe ally.*
* Some months since, I heard that a part of the navy contract was to be
given to Baron Eokeles of Vienna for a supply of Hungarian hemp, but I
312 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
Hides and tallow are also articles of Russian commerce in which
Hungary might prove a formidable rival.
Of the Hungarian tobacco we have spoken at length elsewhere.
Although the tobacco of Hungary is an article which, from the
peculiar position in which we stand with respect to our Colonies,
can scarcely gain a footing in the English market; yet it is one
which the German and Italian merchants would gladly avail
themselves of, if they were allowed.
Horse-hair, bristles, gall-nuts, and rags, are all articles of
Hungarian commerce; and of the latter very large exportations
to this country already take place annually.
Spirits of wine are produced at a low rate, and are exported
to Germany.
It is always a difficult matter to decide how far any wine will
suit a particular market; but I have a strong suspicion that a
really good wine will suit all ; and, if I may trust my own taste,
I should say that much of the Hungarian wine deserves that
character. Hungarian wines may be divided into two classes :
the sweet wines, or Jlusbruch, and the red and white table
wines. The most celebrated of the sweet wines is that of Tokay,
which for delicacy of flavour and brightness of colour is une-
qualled. Next to Tokay comes the Menes wine, but though
rich and strong, it has a coarse taste when compared with Tokay.
Among the best dessert wines, after these, are reckoned those of
Rusxt, Karlowitz, St. Georg, and (Edenburg. These wines
are commonly drunk only in very small quantities, a glass or two
taken with the sweets being the extreme. As there is so very
little taste for sweet wines in England, I doubt if these wines
would find any great number of admirers amongst us, at least
until our habits are changed.
Of the table wines it is difficult to give any description, they
are so numerous and so little known. The wines of Buda (Offner
in German) and Erlau, are those I prefer of the red wines ; in-
deed, I think I have drunk old Buda equal to the best Burgundy.
Those of Posing, St. Georg, Sexo, Miskolcz, Neustadt, and
many others, are celebrated, but I cannot recollect them suffi-
ciently to speak of their merits.
Among the white wines, I can answer for those of Somlyo
(Schomlauer in German) and Neszm61y being equal to any of
the white wines of France (excepting, of course, Champagne,)
and they are better to my taste than the generality of the sour
am not aware that the arrangements are yet concluded. No exertions
ought to be spared either by Austria or England to carry them out.
WOOL.
313
products of the Rhine. Others of note are those of Ratzischclorf,
Badacson, Szekszarcl and Sirak. Of the Transylvanian wines
I have spoken at sufficient length already. The white wines of
that country are certainly not inferior to those of Hungary.
The characteristic qualities of the Hungarian wines are their
strength and fire. They almost all of them require keeping some
time before they come to their prime. It is supposed that of
the 24,400,000 eimers grown in the country, not more than
80,000 are exported, and these go almost exclusively to Silesia,
Poland, and Russia. Vienna consumes also a considerable quantity
of Hungarian wine. It was long questioned whether these wines
would bear transporting across the sea, but Count Szechenyi
tried the experiment by sending a cask to the East Indies, and
when it came back, it was found perfectly sound at the end of
the voyage. The addition of a little brandy might be required
by some of the lighter sorts ; but with that and with more care
in the preparation of the wine and the cleaning of the casks, I
have no doubt they would be perfectly safe.
Wool is at present one of the chief articles of Hungarian com-
merce, chiefly because its exportation is untaxed. It is scarcely
twenty years since the Merino sheep have been introduced into
Hungary, and the quantity of fine wool nowT produced may be
judged from the fact, that at the last Pest fair there were no
less than 80,000 centners offered for sale. The greater part of
this wool is bought by the German merchants, and much of it is
said to go ultimately to England, after having passed by land
quite across Europe to Hamburg. Of late years, a few English
merchants have made their appearance at the Pest fairs, which
are held four times in the year ; but I have not yet heard of any
wool being sent to England by the Danube and Black Sea. Be-
sides the Merino wool, there is a considerable quantity of a long
coarse wool grown, which is chiefly sold for the manufacture of
the thick white cloth worn by the peasants, and which might
be found very serviceable for our carpet fabrics.
A still more important article of Hungarian produce is corn,
and it is one from which, it is to be hoped, England, ere long, by
the abolition of her corn laws, will enable herself to derive the
full benefit. At present, the quantity of grain annually produced
in Hungary is reckoned at from sixty to eighty millions of Pres-
burg metzen. This calculation, however, is of little importance,
as at present scarcely any is grown for exportation ; but, were a
market once opened, it is beyond a doubt that the produce might
VOL. n, — 27
314 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
be doubled or trebled without any difficulty. I have heard it
stated by one well able to judge, that at the present time one
quarter of the whole country is uncultivated, although the greater
part of it is capable of furnishing the richest crops at a very
slight cost. The wheat of Hungary is allowed to be of an ex-
cellent quality. Where the land has little or no value for other
purposes, and the labour costs nothing, it is difficult to see how
it can be produced any where at a cheaper rate than here.* Nor
*In nil article in a late number of the British and Foreign Quarterly, it
is stated that Hungarian wheat from Fiume can be brought to England at
a lower rate than from any other country. I quote the statement as it stands,
without being able however to vouch for its accuracy : —
" The price of Hungarian wheat fit for shipment to Eng- C fl. kr. s. d.
land is at present, per metzen, at Sissek. 4 2 45 or 5 6
N. B. At other times it is 30 or 40 per cent, less.) '
Expense of transport from Sissek to Karlstadt by the river 7 A in 04
Expense of transport from Karlstadt to Fiume by land 0 50 or 1 8
3 45 or 7 6
" Hence we find, that the price of Hungarian corn at Fiume is 3 florins,
45 kreutzers, or 7s. Gd. sterling per metzen. Now, 2 metzen are consi-
dered equal to 3 stajo or staro, Venitian or Trieste measure; hence we find
that the cost of Hungarian corn per stajo is 5 florins, or 10s.; the rate of
freight from Fiume to Trieste by sea is 7 kreutzers, or 2£d. ; the whole
cost, therefore, at Trieste, is 5 florins? 7 kreutzers, or 10s. 2£ d. : 348 stajo,
however, are considered equal to 100 imperial quarters, according to which
estimation the price of corn at Trieste, per imperial quarter, is 35s. 7^^^.
«(To this calculation must be added,
For the several commissions at Sissek, Karlstadt, and Fiume 5 per cent.
For waste, deterioration, uninsured risk, insurance . , 3 per cent.
Rate of insurance from Trieste to England , * ' . . 1| per cent.
Export duty from the Austrian dominions, or Hungary, to the
district of a free port, or to a foreign country . . 9J per cent.
Amount of commission del credere . » . ",».,• r • 3£ per cent.
Charges and expenses on shipping ^ . . . 2 per cent.
The uninsured risk, heating, short weight, deterioration on the
voyage from Trieste to England . . * ^ ~J' f\, • 1 Per cent.
The whole per centage, as above detailed, is equal to . 24£ per cent.
Now 24£ per cent, upon 35s. Id. is 8s. 8%$%d. ; leaving out the fraction,
the price of Hungarian corn per quarter is 44s. 3d. : add 8s., which is about
the average freight to England, the cost of Hungarian corn to the English
merchant is 52s. 2d.
a It must be remembered, however, that the price of the corn at Sissek
(the principal depot for corn collected from the country, or brought by the
Save from New Becse, where considerable purchases are made,) upon
which we have based our calculation, was taken at the present high ave-
rage, though it is sometimes 40 per cent, lower. If, then, we had adopted
the lowest instead of the highest rate for the stajo at Sissek, the final re-
IMPEDIMENTS TO COMMERCE. 315
do I think an increased demand would materially raise the price
to the foreign consumer ; as improvements in the art of cultiva-
tion, greater industry on the part of the cultivators, and increased
facilities in the means of communication, would be sufficient to
raise the profits of the grower without increasing the cost to the
consumer.
No corn-growing country has such means of communication
prepared by nature as Hungary, and it requires only a demand
for her productions to bring them into full use. The richest
parts of the country are the Banat, the plains on either side the
Theiss, the country north of the Maros, and the districts about
the Save and Drave. Now every one of these rivers is naviga-
ble, so that it is impossible to conceive a country placed under
more favourable circumstances than Hungary.
The causes which have hitherto prevented a country so rich
in productions, and possessing these advantages, from reaping
the rich fruits of foreign commerce, must next be considered.
One of the most important of these we believe to be, the re-
strictive laws arbitrarily imposed on Hungary by Austria. Hun-
gary has the right to tax herself, but from time immemorial the
king has enjoyed the privilege of imposing a duty called, from
its amount, Vigesima Regalis (the King's twentieth,) or five per
cent, on articles imported into, and exported from Hungary. Soon
after the accession of the house of Hapsburg, however, attempts
were made to change this into a system of indirect taxation ; at-
tempts which, despite the complaints of the nation, have been per-
severed in ever since. But the most tremendous blow to commerce
was given by Joseph, who entertained the idea of forcing the coun-
try to manufacture for itself, — by the imposition of a duty of
sixty per cent, on all foreign articles. Even then none but a
noble was allowed to import, and he only on the understanding
suit would have been more than 3s. lower; let us now adopt a mean ave-
rage between 49s. and 52s. 3d., it will give 50s. !\<L. The following, then,
is the result of the previous calculations : the price in England of corn im-
ported,
s. d.
from France : . is 52 3
— America 50 0
Odessa 52 0
Hamburgh 54 4£
Dantzic 52 6
Lower Baltic • . . . . .515
Hungary 50 7$"
316 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
that the articles imported were for his own use. Of course, this
regulation was evaded either by the merchant's purchasing no-
bility, or by some noble lending his name to a merchant for the
same purpose.
Although the same amount of duty was not levied on all ar-
ticles exported, yet as exchange is absolutely necessary for the
prosperity of commerce, its effects were equally disadvantageous
as regards exports. On some articles, however, the export duty
was much higher than sixty per cent.; and the Hungarians soon
perceived that if, notwithstanding these obstacles, a market was,
from some peculiar profit to be derived from it, found for their
produce, the Government was sure to step in, and to impose so
heavy a burden as to destroy it in a very short time. The con-
stant changes, too, which were made in the tariff, rendered trade
so uncertain, that no one could be induced to cultivate, or specu-
late, where an arbitrary act of an irresponsible minister might at
once change the whole circumstances on which his calculations
must be founded. The end of all this has been two national
bankruptcies, the destruction of all commerce from without, and
of all energy and enterprise within, an empty exchequer, and a
people almost in a state of barbarism.
At last Austria appears to have opened her eyes to some of
her errors. Thanks to Mr. Macgregor's plain straightforward
exposition of the frauds and losses to which her present system
exposes her, she has at last consented to revise her tariff, and to
change it where possible. Unhappily, however, that is no such
easy task. She is surrounded by swarms of leeches in the shape
of contractors, collectors, and rogues of every kind and class,
who have long lived on the corruptions of the system, and who
now cling to it so firmly, that it is a life-struggle to shake them
from their hold. Manufactures, too, have been encouraged under
this false system, and now claim protection and support from
those who have hitherto fostered them.* Still a change has been
begun. Every man can now import and export for the purposes
of trade, be he of what class he may. Absolute prohibition can
scarcely any longer be said to exist, and the duties on upwards
of a hundred articles of commerce have been materially reduced.
Still all this has reference to Austria in general, not to Hun-
* I have heard, however, that some of the manufacturers of Vienna were
exceedingly ready to aid Mr. Macgregor in opening trade, declaring that
they could compete better with the fair trader on a moderate duty, than
with the smuggler on none at all.
IMPEDIMENTS TO COMMERCE.
317
gary in particular, and there are many circumstances peculiar to
the latter country which demand separate legislation. The ex-
port duties on Hungarian produce, even into Austria, remain as
before. But even these obstructions, serious as they are, and
deeply as it behooves Hungary to struggle for their removal, are
still light compared with others, dependent on the Hungarians
themselves. I allude to the peculiar state of the Hungarian laws
affecting credit. Without entering into these, many of which
have been alluded to before at some length, I shall only here
enumerate one or two of the more important.
The law by which the absolute alienation of property is ren-
dered impracticable, while at the same time it is allowed to load
it with debt, is one of the most injurious. In consequence of this
law it becomes impossible to give good security, and the price of
money is therefore exorbitant. The enforcement of a contract
against a noble, too, is rendered so difficult and tedious that stran-
gers are unwilling to deal with them.
All the laws interfering with the free purchase and sale of the
produce of the land, as the excise of bread and meat, the seigneu-
rial monopoly of selling wine, and others, tend materially to im-
pede commerce. The privilege of the nobles, of exemption from
taxation, interferes with the expenditure of large sums on public
works, as roads and bridges, and thus renders communication,
the first requisite for commerce, difficult and expensive. If to
these be added the want of good faith in their dealings, on the
part of many of the Hungarians, and the want of commercial
habits in the mass of the people, we have the chief causes as-
signed by the English merchants of Trieste, for not dealing more
extensively with Hungary. There is another reason, however,
which these gentlemen did not mention, but which was no less
manifest from their conversation, namely, their own ignorance of
Hungary, and the exaggerated notions they have been led to
form of the difficulties attending communication with it.
The question remains, how can these impediments be re-
moved?
As the Austrian Government sees more clearly the importance
of strengthening the Danubian provinces, — as she becomes more
perfectly convinced of the immense losses her revenue sustains
by the present prohibitory system, and by the armies of custom-
house officers and smugglers, both of which she in fact maintains,
— as the German union begins to press more heavily on her to-
wards the west, and renders the importance of a free communica-
27*
318 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
tion on the east more palpable, — as the necessary progress of
events shows her that it is only by establishing commercial re-
lations between Hungary and the rest of Europe that the Danube
can remain an open river, there can be little doubt that Austria,
though slowly and reluctantly, will apply herself to reform
her system, and to foster all which can tend to the development
of the resources, and which can strengthen the position of Hun-
gary.
With respect to the difficulties in the way of commerce, arising
out of the state of the laws of Hungary, the removal of these
must depend on the honest and enlightened exertions of the Hun-
garians themselves. The writings of Count Szechenyi and
others have already had a great influence in dissipating the pre-
judices which formerly opposed reform, and a little more inter-
course with the rest of Europe, especially if that intercourse
were commercial, would very soon do the rest.
The ignorance of English merchants on the subject of Hun-
gary is by no means a trifling impediment to their engaging in
commerce with that country. The productions of Hungary are al-
most unknown, except in Austria and some parts of Germany ;
travelling in the country is difficult, and believed to be even more
so than it is. The German language is as yet but little known
among our merchants; and the reports which they hear from the
Germans, who are anxious to keep the trade in their own hands,
are so discouraging, that few have the courage to make a per-
sonal examination of their truth.
With the existing laws of Hungary, it is not safe, it is true,
for the foreign merchant to go into the market with the same
confidence he would in other countries. He can neither enforce
the fulfilment of a contract, nor recover a debt without great
difficulty and expense. It is necessary, therefore, that he should
know something of the parties with whom he deals, in order that
his confidence in their faith and honour may supply the place of
commercial laws. For, much as I like the Hungarians, I am
bound to confess, that the strict integrity demanded in mercantile
transactions, is not to be found in the body of the nation, — men
of honour there are, and many of them, but I here speak of the
mass. There is no certainty that the foreign merchant, if he
orders a certain quantity of wine, or wheat, or hemp, from the
Hungarian grower, of the same quality as the sample furnished,
should not receive a sour wine, a damaged wheat, or a hemp
weighed with rubbish. Such things have occurred, and might
COMMERCE WITH HUNGARY.
319
occur again ; but they have happened in other countries, too, in
the infancy of their commercial relations, especially where the
buyer did not take the trouble of acquainting himself with the
character of the sellers. As others, however, have found a re-
medy for this, I do not see why we could not do so too.
To effect this object, it is necessary that the merchants should
have agents in Hungary who would make themselves well ac-
quainted with it, and that the Government should appoint a con-
sul, who could aid and foster their efforts, as well as afford them
the protection of his presence. That such an appointment would
be justified at the present moment is, I think, undeniable. We have
already seen what the productions of Hungary are, and in many
cases how advantageously they might be substituted for those
of Russia in our market. How materially this change would
weaken the power of England's most dangerous enemy, and
strengthen one of England's oldest and firmest allies, is self-evi-
dent; and its political importance is therefore clear; nor is its
commercial less so. Hungary manufactures scarcely any thing;
and in her present position, as a country deficient in population
and rich in soil, it would not be wise to attempt it, or indeed
possible to accomplish it. The manufactures of Hungary at pre-
sent are confined to coarse cloths, linens, leather, and the com-
monest articles of household use. Yet in Hungary there is not
only great luxury in dress and personal ornament, but a grow-
ing taste for the comforts of convenient and elegant furniture ;
nor is the consumption of such articles confined to a few. It is
true the peasant has little money to exchange for such matters;
but that is only because there are no merchants to buy his wine
and corn ; while amongst the class of country gentlemen, and
amongst the richer citizens, the demand is very considerable.
The taste is decidedly in favour of every thing English, so much
so, indeed, that the Vienna manufacturers have English labels
printed in England to affix to their own goods, and so deceive
the purchasers. The articles from England for which there
would be the most immediate sale, it is difficult to enumerate ;
but all articles of cutlery, every thing in iron or brass, as imple-
ments of husbandry, carriage-springs, locks, parts of furniture,
&c., fine linen and cotton goods, woollen stuffs and cloths, car-
peting, saddlery, stationery, china, and fine earthenware, maybe
safely set down.
That the present moment is a favourable one for opening com-
mercial relations with Hungary is shown, not only from the re-
320 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
cent disposition of Austria to strengthen her alliance with Eng-
land, but by the strong wishes expressed on the subject by the
Hungarians themselves, and which, if properly responded to on
our part, might induce them to hasten the removal of those ob-
structions which at present stand so much in the way. When
the news of Mr. Macgregor's treaty was communicated in Hun-
gary, the county meetings sent addresses of thanks to Prince
Metternich for the unexpected boon; and during the present
Diet it has been actually proposed to send a commercial agent
to England, and to request that an English agent may be sent
to Pest to arrange commercial intercourse between the two
nations. Our Government ought to respond to this call with
the greatest alacrity. A consul-general established at Pest,
with power to correspond with the consuls along the whole line
of the Danube, and to establish such arrangements as are re-
quired for securing free intercourse between the different parts of
that river, would be of immense use both to England and Hun-
gary; and should an English minister neglect to take up the
matter — as where the subject is unconnected with party, it is
more than probable he will — it becomes the duty of the English
merchants to insist on it. Would that my appeal might reach
them ! A little exertion on their part might secure to England
not only a good customer, but, what is more important, a true
and faithful ally.
POSTSCRIPT.
THE most important events which have occurred in Hungary
since the period of our travels are the inundation of the Danube,
and partial destruction of Pest; the condemnation of Baron
Wesselenyi, and the assembling of the present Diet.
The inundation took place on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of
March 1838, and exceeded by many feet any within the memory
of man, or recorded in history. No less than 2281 houses in
Pest and Buda were destroyed, and several hundred lives lost.
In the lower streets the water was seven and eight feet deep.
The loss of lives would have been still greater had not a number
of gentlemen — among whom Baron Wesselenyi distinguished
himself as the most successful, — gone to every part of the town
in boats, and by that means rescued many hundreds from de-
struction.
Large subscriptions were raised in Hungary and Germany,
but particularly in Vienna, in aid of the chief sufferers ; and
Government advanced a loan of four million florins, at two per
cent., to be employed in rebuilding the capital.
With respect to Baron Wesselenyi's condemnation, I can only
give such information as the public prints have already made
known ; for it would be absurd to attempt to correspond on po-
litical subjects through the Austrian post. The offence of Baron
Wesselenyi, of which we have spoken in the commencement of
our travels, was committed in the spring of 1835. Sentence
was not pronounced till 1839 ! Report says that even then his
judges had determined to acquit, when a very influential person
employed himself in communicating to them the certain displea-
sure of Government, should such be the issue of the affair.
Without vouching that such is the fact, it is certain that an im-
pression has gone abroad that the judges have neither decided
legally nor honestly ; and it must be allowed their verdict bears
very much the appearance of a compromise between conscience
322 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
and interest. They find him guilty of mitigated high treason!
Nor are the reasons which they have assigned in their verdict
likely to remove this impression. They condemn him for say-
ing,* " That the Government sucks out the marrow of nine mil-
lions of men (the peasantry;) that it will not allow us nobles to
better their condition by legislative means ; but retaining them
in their present state, it only waits its own time to exasperate
them against us, — then it will come forward to rescue us. But
wo to us ! from free-men we shall be degraded to the state of
slaves :" and the wicked animus with which all this has been
said is considered especially proved from an expression of Wes-
selenyi's in a private note, " That all his life had been passed in
pounding pepper under the German's nose."
The Austrian Government has had the good sense to show
itself less disposed to cruelty than its judges — perhaps, too, the
execrations of all civilized Europe against the jailers of Pellico,
Confalioneri, and And rynane, have not been without their effect,
— and in consideration of Baron Wesselenyi's state of health,
it has allowed him every alleviation of which the prison is capa-
ble. Baron Wesselenyi has been permitted even to leave Pest
for six months in company of an officer, only to place himself
under the care of a celebrated physician, whose advice was con-
sidered iiecessary for him. The good-hearted Arch-duke Pala-
tine is said to have used his influence to accomplish this end.
The Diet was again called together this summer; and after
the reception of the Royal Propositions, recommending the Diet
to complete the Hungarian regiments by a new levy of troops,
it soon became evident that there were several grievances to be
dealt with before that was likely to be agreed to. One of the
first difficulties was the refusal of Government to admit Count
Raday, who had been elected deputy for the county of Pest, to
take his seat; because, in a county meeting, he had spoken
strongly against the conduct of the judges in the case of Baron
Wesselenyi, and a prosecution had been commenced against him
in consequence. A new writ was accordingly issued, but the
county refused to elect under it, and petitioned the Chamber to
desist from all further proceedings till their deputy was admitted.
As the judges are members of the Lower Chamber, or rather
have seats in it, and do not deliver judgment as long as the Dietal
session lasts, of course this cause could not be decided till after
* I copy from the Morning Chronicle of March 30, 1839.
POSTSCRIPT. 323
the close of the Diet ; if therefore the principle were once ad-
mitted, that any man against whom the Government chose to
commence a prosecution previous to the meeting of the Diet,
should on that account be excluded, the freedom of election was
at an end, — the Government might exclude whom it pleased.
The Diet has taken up the matter most warmly ; but I can-
not do better than quote a passage from an excellent letter, dated
Presburg, July 25th, of The Times.
" The present Chamber of Representatives, at the opening of
this Diet, unanimously determined to act in even a more decided
resistance to late occurrences than was proposed by the electors
of Pest ; and their attention having been directed to a necessary
grant of soldiers, contained in the speech from the Crown, re-
fused, in a message to the Upper Chamber, to consider the pro-
position, unless the original judgments against both Wesselenyi
and Raday were reversed ; at the same time praying that Cham-
ber to join with them in a message to the throne. The result
was a series of very bold speeches from a coinciding party in the
magnates. For three weeks the greatest excitement prevailed
in both Chambers, in which time the question was negatived in
the Upper by a small majority ; and at length the Palatine, upon
a formal complaint from the judges (who, being ex officio mem-
bers of the Lower House, heard their characters very roughly
handled,) prorogued the Chambers at the pleasure of the king.
After eight days the Diet was again convoked, and a message
read from the Crown, complaining of the resistance offered by a
party in the Chambers, and hoping that such resistance would no
longer be continued ; but no terms of compromise were offered
by the Government, and the Chambers have assumed the same
position as before — the same warfare between the Government
and the demanding party, and on either side an apparently equal
disinclination to give way. It is difficult to pronounce upon the
probable upshot of these proceedings. The ten years' service
of the last grant of military is expiring, and the necessity, on the
part of the Government, for the assistance of the Chambers
consequently urgent ; but the Government cannot yield without
offering a compromise of their own acts and policy, and the
Lower Chamber considers that upon their present determination
depends the future integrity of the nation."
Still later reports bring word, that Count Raday has himself
resigned, rather than keep up any longer a state of ill-will be-
tween the Diet and Government. How far he may have been
324 HUNGARY AND TRANSYLVANIA.
right in his determination it is difficult to say, with the slight
knowledge we have of the merits of the case; but it would ap-
pear a dangerous precedent to allow the Government to com-
mence a prosecution against any one it chooses, and by these
means condemn an obnoxious individual to a political death while
yet innocent of any crime in the eye of law: — at least, it is to-
tally opposed to every thing which we are taught to consider
common justice or political right.
THE END,
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
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DB Paget, John
91^ Hungary and Transylvania
P15
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