CHAPTER XXXIX

The Hungarian.

"Then you are a countryman of Tekeli, and of the queen who made the

celebrated water," said I, speaking to the Hungarian in German, which I

was able to do tolerably well, owing to my having translated the

Publisher's philosophy into that language, always provided I did not

attempt to say much at a time.

_Hungarian_. Ah! you have heard of Tekeli, and of L'eau de la Reine

d'Hongrie. How is that?

_Myself_. I have seen a play acted, founded on the exploits of Tekeli,

and have read Pigault Le Brun's beautiful romance, entitled the "Barons

of Felsheim," in which he is mentioned. As for the water, I have heard a

lady, the wife of a master of mine, speak of it.

_Hungarian_. Was she handsome?

_Myself_. Very.

_Hungarian_. Did she possess the water?

_Myself_. I should say not; for I have heard her express a great

curiosity about it.

_Hungarian_. Was she growing old?

_Myself_. Of course not; but why do you put all these questions?

_Hungarian_. Because the water is said to make people handsome, and

above all, to restore to the aged the beauty of their youth. Well!

Tekeli was my countryman, and I have the honour of having some of the

blood of the Tekelis in my veins, but with respect to the queen, pardon

me if I tell you that she was not an Hungarian; she was a Pole--Ersebet

by name, daughter of Wladislaus Locticus King of Poland; she was the

fourth spouse of Caroly the Second, King of the Magyar country, who

married her in 1320. She was a great woman and celebrated politician,

though at present chiefly known by her water.

_Myself_. How came she to invent it?

_Hungarian_. If her own account may be believed, she did not invent it.

After her death, as I have read in Florentius of Buda, there was found a

statement of the manner in which she came by it, written in her own hand,

on a fly-leaf of her breviary, to the following effect:--Being afflicted

with a grievous disorder at the age of seventy-two, she received the

medicine which was called her water, from an old hermit whom she never

saw before or afterwards; it not only cured her, but restored to her all

her former beauty, so that the King of Poland fell in love with her, and

made her an offer of marriage, which she refused for the glory of God,

from whose holy angel she believed she had received the water. The

receipt for making it and directions for using it, were also found on the

fly-leaf. The principal component parts were burnt wine and rosemary,

passed through an alembic; a drachm of it was to be taken once a week,

"etelbenn vagy italbann," in the food or the drink, early in the morning,

and the cheeks were to be moistened with it every day. The effects

according to the statement, were wonderful--and perhaps they were upon

the queen; but whether the water has been equally efficacious on other

people, is a point which I cannot determine. I should wish to see some

old woman who has been restored to youthful beauty by the use of L'eau de

la Reine d'Hongrie.

_Myself_. Perhaps, if you did, the old gentlewoman would hardly be so

ingenuous as the queen. But who are the Hungarians--descendants of

Attila and his people?

The Hungarian shook his head, and gave me to understand that he did not

believe that his nation were the descendants of Attila and his people,

though he acknowledged that they were probably of the same race. Attila

and his armies, he said, came and disappeared in a very mysterious

manner, and that nothing could be said with positiveness about them; that

the people now known as Magyars first made their appearance in Muscovy in

the year 884, under the leadership of Almus, called so from Alom, which,

in the Hungarian language, signifies a dream; his mother, before his

birth, having dreamt that the child with which she was enceinte would be

the father of a long succession of kings, which, in fact, was the case;

that after beating the Russians he entered Hungary, and coming to a place

called Ungvar, from which many people believed that modern Hungary

derived its name, he captured it, and held in it a grand festival, which

lasted four days, at the end of which time he resigned the leadership of

the Magyars to his son Arpad. This Arpad and his Magyars utterly subdued

Pannonia--that is, Hungary and Transylvania, wresting the government of

it from the Sclavonian tribes who inhabited it, and settling down amongst

them as conquerors! After giving me this information, the Hungarian

exclaimed with much animation,--"A goodly country that which they had

entered on, consisting of a plain surrounded by mountains, some of which

intersect it here and there, with noble rapid rivers, the grandest of

which is the mighty Dunau; a country with tiny volcanoes, casting up

puffs of smoke and steam, and from which hot springs arise, good for the

sick; with many fountains, some of which are so pleasant to the taste as

to be preferred to wine; with a generous soil which, warmed by a

beautiful sun, is able to produce corn, grapes, and even the Indian weed;

in fact, one of the finest countries in the world, which even a Spaniard

would pronounce to be nearly equal to Spain. Here they

rested--meditating, however, fresh conquests. Oh, the Magyars soon

showed themselves a mighty people. Besides Hungary and Transylvania,

they subdued Bulgaria and Bosnia, and the land of Tot, now called

Sclavonia. The generals of Zoltan, the son of Arpad, led troops of

horsemen to the banks of the Rhine. One of them, at the head of a host,

besieged Constantinople. It was then that Botond engaged in combat with

a Greek of gigantic stature, who came out of the city and challenged the

two best men in the Magyar army. 'I am the feeblest of the Magyars,'

said Botond, 'but I will kill thee;' and he performed his word, having

previously given a proof of the feebleness of his arm by striking his

battle-axe through the brazen gate, making a hole so big that a child of

five years old could walk through it."

_Myself_. Of what religion were the old Hungarians?

_Hungarian_. They had some idea of a Supreme Being, whom they called

Isten, which word is still used by the Magyars for God; but their chief

devotion was directed to sorcerers and soothsayers, something like the

Schamans of the Siberian steppes. They were converted to Christianity

chiefly through the instrumentality of Istvan or Stephen, called after

his death St. Istvan, who ascended the throne in the year one thousand.

He was born in heathenesse, and his original name was Vojk: he was the

first kiraly, or king of the Magyars. Their former leaders had been

called fejedelmek, or dukes. The Magyar language has properly no term

either for king or house. Kiraly is a word derived from the Sclaves;

haz, or house, from the Germans, who first taught them to build houses,

their original dwellings having been tilted waggons.

_Myself_. Many thanks for your account of the great men of your country.

_Hungarian_. The great men of my country! I have only told you of the--

Well, I acknowledge that Almus and Arpad were great men, but Hungary has

produced many greater; I will not trouble you by recapitulating all, but

there is one name I cannot forbear mentioning--but you have heard of

it--even at Horncastle, the name of Hunyadi must be familiar.

_Myself_. It may be so, though I rather doubt it; but, however that may

be, I confess my ignorance. I have never, until this moment, heard the

name of Hunyadi.

_Hungarian_. Not of Hunyadi Janos, not of Hunyadi John--for the genius

of our language compels us to put a man's Christian name after his other;

perhaps you have heard of the name of Corvinus?

_Myself_. Yes, I have heard the name of Corvinus.

_Hungarian_. By my God, I am glad of it; I thought our hammer of

destruction, our thunderbolt, whom the Greeks called Achilles, must be

known to the people of Horncastle. Well, Hunyadi and Corvinus are the

same.

_Myself_. Corvinus means the man of the crow, or raven. I suppose that

your John, when a boy, climbed up to a crow or a raven's nest, and stole

the young; a bold feat, well befitting a young hero.

_Hungarian_. By Isten, you are an acute guesser; a robbery there was,

but it was not Hunyadi who robbed the raven, but the raven who robbed

Hunyadi.

_Myself_. How was that?

_Hungarian_. In this manner: Hunyadi, according to tradition, was the

son of King Sigmond, by a peasant's daughter. The king saw and fell in

love with her, whilst marching against the vaivode of Wallachia. He had

some difficulty in persuading her to consent to his wishes, and she only

yielded at last, on the king making her a solemn promise that, in the

event of her becoming with child by him, he would handsomely provide for

her and the infant. The king proceeded on his expedition; and on his

returning in triumph from Wallachia, again saw the girl, who informed him

that she was enceinte by him; the king was delighted with the

intelligence, gave the girl money, and at the same time a ring,

requesting her, if she brought forth a son, to bring the ring to Buda

with the child, and present it to him. When her time was up, the

peasant's daughter brought forth a fair son, who was baptized by the name

of John. After some time the young woman communicated the whole affair

to her elder brother, whose name was Gaspar, and begged him to convey her

and the child to the king at Buda. The brother consented, and both set

out, taking the child with them. On their way, the woman, wanting to

wash her clothes, laid the child down, giving it the king's ring to play

with. A raven, who saw the glittering ring, came flying, and plucking it

out of the child's hand, carried it up into a tree; the child suddenly

began to cry, and the mother, hearing it, left her washing, and running

to the child, forthwith missed the ring, but hearing the raven croak in

the tree, she lifted up her eyes, and saw it with the ring in its beak.

The woman, in great terror, called her brother, and told him what had

happened, adding that she durst not approach the king if the raven took

away the ring. Gaspar, seizing his cross-bow and quiver, ran to the

tree, where the raven was yet with the ring, and discharged an arrow at

it, but, being in a great hurry, he missed it; with his second shot he

was more lucky, for he hit the raven in the breast, which, together with

the ring, fell to the ground. Taking up the ring, they went on their

way, and shortly arrived at Buda. One day, as the king was walking after

dinner in his outer hall, the woman appeared before him with the child,

and, showing him the ring, said, "Mighty lord! behold this token! and

take pity upon me and your own son." King Sigmond took the child and

kissed it, and, after a pause, said to the mother, "You have done right

in bringing me the boy; I will take care of you, and make him a

nobleman." The king was as good as his word, he provided for the mother;

caused the boy to be instructed in knightly exercises, and made him a

present of the town of Hunyad, in Transylvania, on which account he was

afterwards called Hunyadi, and gave him, as an armorial sign, a raven

bearing a ring in his beak.

Such, oh young man of Horncastle! is the popular account of the birth of

the great captain of Hungary, as related by Florentius of Buda. There

are other accounts of his birth, which is, indeed, involved in much

mystery, and of the reason of his being called Corvinus, but as this is

the most pleasing, and is, upon the whole, founded on quite as good

evidence as the others, I have selected it for recitation.

_Myself_. I heartily thank you; but you must tell me something more of

Hunyadi. You call him your great captain; what did he do?

_Hungarian_. Do! what no other man of his day could have done. He broke

the power of the Turk when he was coming to overwhelm Europe. From the

blows inflicted by Hunyadi, the Turk never thoroughly recovered; he has

been frequently worsted in latter times, but none but Hunyadi could have

routed the armies of Amurath and Mahomed the Second.

_Myself_. How was it that he had an opportunity of displaying his

military genius?

_Hungarian_. I can hardly tell you, but his valour soon made him famous;

King Albert made him Ban of Szorenyi. He became eventually waivode of

Transylvania, and governor of Hungary. His first grand action was the

defeat of Bashaw Isack; and though himself surprised and routed at St.

Imre, he speedily regained his prestige by defeating the Turks, with

enormous slaughter, killing their leader, Mezerbeg; and subsequently, at

the battle of the Iron Gates, he destroyed ninety thousand Turks, sent by

Amurath to avenge the late disgrace. It was then that the Greeks called

him Achilles.

_Myself_. He was not always successful.

_Hungarian_. Who could be always successful against the early Turk? He

was defeated in the battle in which King Vladislaus lost his life, but

his victories outnumbered his defeats three-fold. His grandest

victory--perhaps the grandest ever achieved by man--was over the terrible

Mahomed the Second; who, after the taking of Constantinople in 1453,

said, "One God in Heaven--one king on earth;" and marched to besiege

Belgrade at the head of one hundred, and fifty thousand men; swearing by

the beard of the prophet, "That he would sup within it ere two months

were elapsed." He brought with him dogs, to eat the bodies of the

Christians whom he should take or slay; so says Florentius; hear what he

also says: The Turk sat down before the town towards the end of June,

1454, covering the Dunau and Szava with ships: and on the 4th of July he

began to cannonade Belgrade with cannons twenty-five feet long, whose

roar could be heard at Szeged, a distance of twenty-four leagues, at

which place Hunyadi had assembled his forces. Hunyadi had been able to

raise only fifteen thousand of well-armed and disciplined men, though he

had with him vast bands of people, who called themselves Soldiers of the

Cross, but who consisted of inexperienced lads from school, peasants, and

hermits, armed with swords, slings, and clubs. Hunyadi, undismayed by

the great disparity between his forces and those of the Turk, advanced to

relieve Belgrade, and encamped at Szalankemen with his army. There he

saw at once, that his first step must be to attack the flotilla; he

therefore privately informed Szilagy, his wife's brother, who at that

time defended Belgrade, that it was his intention to attack the ships of

the Turks on the 14th day of July in front, and requested his

co-operation in the rear. On the 14th came on the commencement of the

great battle of Belgrade, between Hunyadi and the Turk. Many days it

lasted.

_Myself_. Describe it.

_Hungarian_. I cannot. One has described it well--Florentius of Buda. I

can only repeat a few of his words:--"On the appointed day, Hunyadi, with

two hundred vessels, attacked the Turkish flotilla in front, whilst

Szilagy, with forty vessels, filled with the men of Belgrade, assailed it

in the rear; striving for the same object, they sunk many of the Turkish

vessels, captured seventy-four, burnt many, and utterly annihilated the

whole fleet. After this victory, Hunyadi, with his army, entered

Belgrade, to the great joy of the Magyars. But though the force of

Mahomed upon the water was destroyed, that upon the land remained entire;

and with this, during six days and nights, he attacked the city without

intermission, destroying its walls in many parts. His last and most

desperate assault was made on the 21st day of July. Twice did the Turks

gain possession of the outer town, and twice was it retaken with

indescribable slaughter. The next day the combat raged without ceasing

till mid-day, when the Turks were again beaten out of the town, and

pursued by the Magyars to their camp. There the combat was renewed, both

sides displaying the greatest obstinacy, until Mahomed received a great

wound over his left eye. The Turks then, turning their faces, fled,

leaving behind them three hundred cannon in the hands of the Christians,

and more than twenty-four thousand slain on the field of battle."

_Myself_. After that battle, I suppose Hunyadi enjoyed his triumphs in

peace?

_Hungarian_. In the deepest, for he shortly died. His great soul

quitted his body, which was exhausted by almost superhuman exertions, on

the 11th of August, 1456. Shortly before he died, according to

Florentius, a comet appeared, sent, as it would seem, to announce his

coming end. The whole Christian world mourned his loss. The Pope

ordered the cardinals to perform a funeral ceremony at Rome in his

honour. His great enemy himself grieved for him, and pronounced his

finest eulogium. When Mahomed the Second heard of his death, he struck

his head for some time against the ground without speaking. Suddenly he

broke silence with these words, "Notwithstanding he was my enemy, yet do

I bewail his loss; since the sun has shone in heaven, no Prince had ever

yet such a man."

_Myself_. What was the name of his Prince?

_Hungarian_. Laszlo the Fifth; who, though under infinite obligations to

Hunyadi, was anything but grateful to him; for he once consented to a

plan which was laid to assassinate him, contrived by his mortal enemy

Ulrik, Count of Cilejia; and after Hunyadi's death, caused his eldest

son, Hunyadi Laszlo, to be executed on a false accusation, and imprisoned

his younger son, Matyas, who, on the death of Laszlo, was elected by the

Magyars to be their king, on the 24th of January, 1458.

_Myself_. Was this Matyas a good king?

_Hungarian_. Was Matyas Corvinus a good king? O young man of

Horncastle! he was the best and greatest that ever Hungary possessed,

and, after his father, the most renowned warrior,--some of our best laws

were framed by him. It was he who organized the Hussar force, and it was

he who took Vienna. Why does your Government always send fools to

represent it at Vienna?

_Myself_. I really cannot say; but with respect to the Hussar force, is

it of Hungarian origin?

_Hungarian_. Its name shows its origin. Huz, in Hungarian, is twenty

and the Hussar force is so called because it is formed of twentieths. A

law was issued by which it was ordered that every Hungarian nobleman, out

of every twenty dependents, should produce a well-equipped horseman, and

with him proceed to the field of battle.

_Myself_. Why did Matyas capture Venna?

_Hungarian_. Because the Emperor Frederick took part against him with

the King of Poland, who claimed the kingdom of Hungary for his son, and

had also assisted the Turk. He captured it in the year 1487, but did not

survive his triumph long, expiring there in the year 1490. He was so

veracious a man, that it was said of him, after his death, "Truth died

with Matyas." It might be added that the glory of Hungary departed with

him. I wish to say nothing more connected with Hungarian history.

_Myself_. Another word. Did Matyas leave a son?

_Hungarian_. A natural son, Hunyadi John, called so after the great man.

He would have been universally acknowledged as King of Hungary but for

the illegitimacy of his birth. As it was, Ulaszlo, the son of the King

of Poland, afterwards called Ulaszlo the Second, who claimed Hungary as

being descended from Albert, was nominated king by a great majority of

the Magyar electors. Hunyadi John for some time disputed the throne with

him; there was some bloodshed, but Hunyadi John eventually submitted, and

became the faithful captain of Ulaszlo, notwithstanding that the Turk

offered to assist him with an army of two hundred thousand men.

_Myself_. Go on.

_Hungarian_. To what? Tche Drak, to the Mohacs Veszedelem. Ulaszlo

left a son, Lajos the Second, born without skin, as it is said, certainly

without a head. He, contrary to the advice of all his wise

counsellors,--and amongst them was Batory Stephen, who became eventually

King of Poland--engaged, with twenty-five thousand men, at Mohacs,

Soliman the Turk, who had an army of two hundred thousand. Drak! the

Magyars were annihilated, King Lajos disappeared with his heavy horse and

armour in a bog. We call that battle, which was fought on the 29th of

August, 1526, the destruction of Mohacs, but it was the destruction of

Hungary.

_Myself_. You have twice used the word drak, what is the meaning of it?

Is it Hungarian?

_Hungarian_. No! it belongs to the mad Wallacks. They are a nation of

madmen on the other side of Transylvania. Their country was formerly a

fief of Hungary, like Moldavia, which is inhabited by the same race, who

speak the same language and are equally mad.

_Myself_. What language do they speak?

_Hungarian_. A strange mixture of Latin and Sclavonian--they themselves

being a mixed race of Romans and Sclavonians. Trajan sent certain

legions to form military colonies in Dacia; and the present Wallacks and

Moldavians are, to a certain extent, the descendants of the Roman

soldiers, who married the women of the country. I say to a certain

extent, for the Sclavonian element both in blood and language seems to

prevail.

_Myself_. And what is drak?

_Hungarian_. Dragon; which the Wallacks use for "devil." The term is

curious, as it shows that the old Romans looked upon the dragon as an

infernal being.

_Myself_. You have been in Wallachia?

_Hungarian_. I have, and glad I was to get out of it. I hate the mad

Wallacks.

_Myself_. Why do you call them mad?

_Hungarian_. They are always drinking or talking. I never saw a

Wallachian eating or silent. They talk like madmen, and drink like

madmen. In drinking they use small phials, the contents of which they

pour down their throats. When I first went amongst them I thought the

whole nation was under a course of physic, but the terrible jabber of

their tongues soon undeceived me. Drak was the first word I heard on

entering Dacia, and the last when I left it. The Moldaves, if possible,

drink more, and talk more than the Wallachians.

_Myself_. It is singular enough that the only Moldavian I have known

could not speak. I suppose he was born dumb.

_Hungarian_. A Moldavian born dumb! Excuse me, the thing is

impossible,--all Moldavians are born talking! I have known a Moldavian

who could not speak, but he was not born dumb. His master, an Armenian,

snipped off part of his tongue at Adrianople. He drove him mad with his

jabber. He is now in London, where his master has a house. I have

letters of credit on the house: the clerk paid me money in London, the

master was absent; the money which you received for the horse belonged to

that house.

_Myself_. Another word with respect to Hungarian history.

_Hungarian_. Drak! I wish to say nothing more about Hungarian history.

_Myself_. The Turk, I suppose, after Mohacs, got possession of Hungary?

_Hungarian_. Not exactly. The Turk, upon the whole, showed great

moderation; not so the Austrian. Ferdinand the First claimed the crown

of Hungary as being the cousin of Maria, widow of Lajos; he found too

many disposed to support him. His claim, however, was resisted by

Zapolya John, a Hungarian magnate, who caused himself to be elected king.

Hungary was for a long time devastated by wars between the partisans of

Zapolya and Ferdinand. At last Zapolya called in the Turk. Soliman

behaved generously to him, and after his death befriended his young son,

and Isabella his queen; eventually the Turks became masters of

Transylvania and the greater part of Hungary. They were not bad masters,

and had many friends in Hungary, especially amongst those of the reformed

faith, to which I have myself the honour of belonging; those of the

reformed faith found the Mufti more tolerant than the Pope. Many

Hungarians went with the Turks to the siege of Vienna, whilst Tekeli and

his horsemen guarded Hungary for them. A gallant enterprise that siege

of Vienna, the last great effort of the Turk; it failed, and he speedily

lost Hungary, but he did not sneak from Hungary like a frightened hound.

His defence of Buda will not be soon forgotten, where Apty Basha, the

governor, died fighting like a lion in the breach. There's many a

Hungarian would prefer Stamboul to Vienna. Why does your Government

always send fools to represent it at Vienna?

_Myself_. I have already told you that I cannot say. What became of

Tekeli?

_Hungarian_. When Hungary was lost he retired with the Turks into

Turkey. Count Renoncourt, in his Memoirs, mentions having seen him at

Adrianople. The Sultan, in consideration of the services which he had

rendered to the Moslem in Hungary, made over the revenues of certain

towns and districts for his subsistence. The count says that he always

went armed to the teeth, and was always attended by a young female

dressed in male attire, who had followed him in his wars, and had more

than once saved his life. His end is wrapped in mystery, I--whose

greatest boast, next to being a Hungarian, is to be of his blood--know

nothing of his end.

_Myself_. Allow me to ask who you are?

_Hungarian_. Egy szegeny Magyar Nemes ember, a poor Hungarian nobleman,

son of one yet poorer. I was born in Transylvania, not far to the west

of good Coloscvar. I served some time in the Austrian army as a noble

Hussar, but am now equerry to a great nobleman, to whom I am distantly

related. In his service I have travelled far and wide, buying horses. I

have been in Russia and in Turkey, and am now at Horncastle, where I have

had the satisfaction to meet with you, and to buy your horse, which is,

in truth, a noble brute.

_Myself_. For a soldier and equerry you seem to know a great deal of the

history of your country.

_Hungarian_. All I know is derived from Florentius of Buda, whom we call

Budai Ferentz. He was professor of Greek and Latin at the Reformed

College of Debreczen, where I was educated; he wrote a work entitled

"Magyar Polgari Lexicon," Lives of Great Hungarian Citizens. He was dead

before I was born, but I found his book, when I was a child, in the

solitary home of my father, which stood on the confines of a puszta, or

wilderness, and that book I used to devour in winter nights when the

winds were whistling around the house. Oh! how my blood used to glow at

the descriptions of Magyar valour, and likewise of Turkish; for

Florentius has always done justice to the Turk. Many a passage similar

to this have I got by heart; it is connected with a battle on the plain

of Rigo, which Hunyadi lost:--"The next day, which was Friday, as the two

armies were drawn up in battle array, a Magyar hero riding forth,

galloped up and down, challenging the Turks to single combat. Then came

out to meet him the son of a renowned bashaw of Asia; rushing upon each

other, both broke their lances, but the Magyar hero and his horse rolled

over upon the ground, for the Turks had always the best horses." O young

man of Horncastle! if ever you learn Hungarian--and learn it assuredly

you will after what I have told you--read the book of Florentius of Buda,

even if you go to Hungary to get it, for you will scarcely find it

elsewhere, and even there with difficulty, for the book has been long out

of print. It describes the actions of the great men of Hungary down to

the middle of the sixteenth century; and besides being written in the

purest Hungarian, has the merit of having for its author a professor of

the Reformed College of Debreczen.

_Myself_. I will go to Hungary rather than not read it. I am glad that

the Turk beat the Magyar. When I used to read the ballads of Spain I

always sided with the Moor against the Christian.

_Hungarian_. It was a drawn fight after all, for the terrible horse of

the Turk presently flung his own master, whereupon the two champions

returned to their respective armies; but in the grand conflict which

ensued, the Turks beat the Magyars, pursuing them till night, and

striking them on the necks with their scymetars. The Turk is a noble

fellow; I should wish to be a Turk, were I not a Magyar.

_Myself_. The Turk always keeps his word, I am told.

_Hungarian_. Which the Christian very seldom does, and even the

Hungarian does not always. In 1444 Ulaszlo made, at Szeged, peace with

Amurath for ten years, which he swore with an oath to keep, but at the

instigation of the Pope Julian he broke it, and induced his great

captain, Hunyadi John, to share in the perjury. The consequence was the

battle of Varna, of the 10th of November, in which Hunyadi was routed,

and Ulaszlo slain. Did you ever hear his epitaph? it is both solemn and

edifying:--

Romulidae Cannas ego Varnam clade notavi;

Discite mortales non temerare fidem:

Me nisi Pontifices jussissent rumpere foedus

Non ferret Scythicum Pannonis ora jugum."

"Halloo!" said the jockey, starting up from a doze in which he had been

indulging for the last hour, his head leaning upon his breast, "what is

that? That's not high Dutch; I bargained for high Dutch, and I left you

speaking high Dutch, as it sounded very much like the language of horses,

as I have been told high Dutch does; but as for what you are speaking

now, whatever you may call it, it sounds more like the language of

another kind of animal. I suppose you want to insult me, because I was

once a dicky-boy."

"Nothing of the kind," said I; "the gentleman was making a quotation in

Latin."

"Latin, was it?" said the jockey; "that alters the case. Latin is

genteel, and I have sent my eldest boy to an academy to learn it. Come,

let us hear you fire away in Latin," he continued, proceeding to re-light

his pipe, which, before going to sleep, he had laid on the table.

"If you wish to follow the discourse in Latin," said the Hungarian, in

very bad English, "I can oblige you; I learned to speak very good Latin

in the college of Debreczen."

"That's more," said I, "than I have done in the colleges where I have

been; in any little conversation which we may yet have, I wish you would

use German."

"Well," said the jockey, taking a whiff, "make your conversation as short

as possible, whether in Latin or Dutch, for, to tell you the truth, I am

rather tired of merely playing listener."

"You were saying you had been in Russia," said I; "I believe the Russians

are part of the Sclavonian race."

_Hungarian_. Yes, part of the great Sclavonian family; one of the most

numerous races in the world. The Russians themselves are very numerous;

would that the Magyars could boast of the fifth part of their number!

_Myself_. What is the number of the Magyars?

_Hungarian_. Barely four millions. We came a tribe of Tartars into

Europe, and settled down amongst Sclavonians, whom we conquered, but who

never coalesced with us. The Austrian at present plays in Pannonia the

Sclavonian against us, and us against the Sclavonian; but the downfall of

the Austrian is at hand; they, like us, are not a numerous people.

_Myself_. Who will bring about his downfall?

_Hungarian_. The Russians. The Rysckie Tsar will lead his people forth,

all the Sclavonians will join him, he will conquer all before him.

_Myself_. Are the Russians good soldiers?

_Hungarian_. They are stubborn and unflinching to an astonishing degree,

and their fidelity to their Tsar is quite admirable. See how the

Russians behaved at Plescova, in Livonia, in the old time, against our

great Batory Stephen; they defended the place till it was a heap of

rubbish, and mark how they behaved after they had been made prisoners.

Stephen offered them two alternatives:--to enter into his service, in

which they would have good pay, clothing, and fair treatment; or to be

allowed to return to Russia. Without the slightest hesitation they, to a

man, chose the latter, though well aware that their beloved Tsar, the

cruel Ivan Basilowits, would put them all to death, amidst tortures the

most horrible, for not doing what was impossible--preserving the town.

_Myself_. You speak Russian?

_Hungarian_. A little. I was born in the vicinity of a Sclavonian

tribe; the servants of our house were Sclavonians, and I early acquired

something of their language, which differs not much from that of Russia;

when in that country I quickly understood what was said.

_Myself_. Have the Russians any literature?

_Hungarian_. Doubtless; but I am not acquainted with it, as I do not

read their language; but I know something of their popular tales, to

which I used to listen in their izbushkas; a principal personage in these

is a creation quite original--called Baba Yaga.

_Myself_. Who is the Baba Yaga?

_Hungarian_. A female phantom, who is described as hurrying along the

puszta, or steppe, in a mortar, pounding with a pestle at a tremendous

rate, and leaving a long trace on the ground behind her with her tongue,

which is three yards long, and with which she seizes any men and horses

coming in her way, swallowing them down into her capacious belly. She

has several daughters, very handsome, and with plenty of money; happy the

young Mujik who catches and marries one of them, for they make excellent

wives.

"Many thanks," said I, "for the information you have afforded me: this is

rather poor wine," I observed, as I poured out a glass--"I suppose you

have better wine in Hungary?"

"Yes, we have better wine in Hungary. First of all there is Tokay, the

most celebrated in the world, though I confess I prefer the wine of

Eger--Tokay is too sweet."

"Have you ever been at Tokay?"

"I have," said the Hungarian.

"What kind of place is Tokay?"

"A small town situated on the Tyzza, a rapid river descending from the

north; the Tokay Mountain is just behind the town, which stands on the

right bank. The top of the mountain is called Kopacs Teto, or the bald

tip; the hill is so steep that during thunder-storms pieces frequently

fall down upon the roofs of the houses. It was planted with vines by

King Lajos, who ascended the throne in 1342. The best wine called Tokay

is, however, not made at Tokay, but at Kassau, two leagues farther into

the Carpathians, of which Tokay is a spur. If you wish to drink the best

Tokay, you must go to Vienna, to which place all the prime is sent. For

the third time I ask you, O young man of Horncastle! why does your

Government always send fools to represent it at Vienna?"

"And for the third time I tell you, O son of Almus! that I cannot say;

perhaps, however, to drink the sweet Tokay wine; fools, you know, always

like sweet things."

"Good," said the Hungarian; "it must be so, and when I return to Hungary,

I will state to my countrymen your explanation of a circumstance which

has frequently caused them great perplexity. Oh! the English are a

clever people, and have a deep meaning in all they do. What a vision of

deep policy opens itself to my view! they do not send their fool to

Vienna in order to gape at processions, and to bow and scrape at a base

Papist court, but to drink at the great dinners the celebrated Tokay of

Hungary, which the Hungarians, though they do not drink it, are very

proud of, and by doing so to intimate the sympathy which the English

entertain for their fellow religionists of Hungary. Oh! the English are

a deep people."