Chapter II

Dinner--Languages of the party--English groom--State of the neighbourhood of Tolna--System of landowners--English farmers in requisition--Arrival at Tolna--Battle with dogs--Search for a bed--Billiards--Cottage delights--Night scene--Hungarian politics--Wood-boats--Village of Mohacs--Costume of the natives--Appearance of the streets--Industry of women--Hungarian ladies and their maids.

We sat down a large and merry party to the table. I must honestly confess that I enjoy a good dinner at all times, and in all places, but I fancy that I entertain a particular relish for the performance of my duties in that way on board a steam-boat. The air, the exercise, the novelty of the scene, the emulation kindled amongst a number of candidates for a participation in the spoil, and, perhaps, above all, the savoury odours of soups and stews, which mingle beforehand with the atmosphere of the deck, conspire to whet the appetite to a degree of keenness altogether unknown on _terra firma_.

♦ DINNER ♦

We commenced operations with rice soup, which was followed of course by _bouilli_; next came sundry dishes of roast fowl, and of fowl cooked as giblets, and well cooked too. By way of relaxation, we were then invited to admit a layer of bread pudding upon the said fowls, with a view to prevent them from finding fault with what was to come after--a prudent measure; the dinner was closed by capon, served up with plums in their own syrup for sauce. Upon the whole, notwithstanding the monotony of the entertainment, it went off, as the theatrical critics say, with _éclat_. We were not, however, fortunate in our wine: it was pale and sour, a degree or two beneath small beer. Hungary produces some of the most exquisite wines in Europe, but I must say that I never had the felicity to meet with them. Those which are found in ordinary use are truly detestable.

As soon as the edge of appetite was a little blunted, we became not only a merry but a noisy party. The Hungarian language prevailed by a considerable majority, but I happened to sit between a merchant from Trieste, who spoke a little English, and a medical gentleman from the Tyrol, who spoke French tolerably. The latter informed me that he had charge of the Tyrolese families on board, numbering in all nearly a hundred individuals, who were proceeding on their way to Transylvania, where they intended to settle, and work mines belonging to the Austrian government.

♦ LANGUAGES OF THE PARTY ♦

My mercantile neighbour was bound to Peterwardein, whence he was to journey into the interior, for the purpose of purchasing corn, to be shipped for Trieste. I was the only Englishman in a party of about forty persons, and I soon found that I was an object of general attention. All wondered whither I was going--what were my pursuits--what had brought me so far from home; and when it became pretty well whispered about that I was on my way to Constantinople, where the plague was raging at that moment, according to a thousand reports, in a most formidable manner, I became not only an object of attention but of sympathy. As I was altogether unacquainted with the Hungarian language, and my Hungarian friends knew no other except Latin, I was obliged to turn out from the recesses of my memory, all that still remained there of Lilly and Erasmus, in order to answer the questions that were put to me. We were consequently all speedily arranged upon a footing of agreeable intercourse, the ladies and myself only excepted, for very much to my chagrin, they spoke no dialect save their own Hungarian. Even the little elegant countess was ignorant of French and Italian; but I afterwards found that the education of the fair sex in Hungary, had been hitherto, at least, wholly neglected.

I was much pleased with my new companions. They exhibited towards each other, and towards myself, so much good nature, they were so frank in their discourse, so cheerful, so full of anecdote, so easily provoked to laughter, in which they indulged with all the heartiness of children, that I felt the greatest interest in poring over this new page of the volume of society. Even when I did not understand the language in which their conversation was carried on, I could collect its general meaning from the tone, the look, the animated gestures by which it was accompanied. After coffee our “house” adjourned.

♦ ENGLISH GROOM ♦

The engineer of the boat, a skilful, active, goodhumoured young man, from Birmingham, named Pearce, made my acquaintance in the course of the evening, and pointed out to me, among the crowd before the mast, another Englishman, near whom was sitting a very pretty German young woman, whom he had just brought from Vienna as his wife. I went forward and spoke to this man, whom I found remarkably intelligent for his station. He was on his way home, his home for the present being the village of Tolna, where we were likely to arrive about sunset. He had lived for some time with the Count Tedische, a Hungarian nobleman of extensive possessions in that part of the country, who, like most of his “order,” made a point of having an English groom to take care of his stud. From this post, however, the newly-married exile was about to be elevated to the rank of the count’s bailiff, or steward. The account which he gave me of the state of the district in which he lived, was not much calculated to encourage emigration thither from England.

♦ STATE OF TOLNA ♦

“In former times,” said he, and I give very nearly his own words, “it was the custom for the emperor to give a title of nobility to every person who in battle killed his man. These titles unfortunately became hereditary; the consequence of which is, that almost every second man you meet in Hungary either is really noble or affects to be so. The great mass of this kind of aristocracy are wretchedly poor. They are too proud to work, and having no property they live by plunder. They go, sir--you coming fresh from England will hardly believe it--these fellows go in the noonday to a field of Indian corn, the best they can find in the neighbourhood, with horses and waggons, which they have begged or seized for their purpose; they cut down as much of the corn as they please, and then carry it away openly, as if it had been the regular produce of their own industry; the poor farmer looking on all the time, perhaps, from a distance, afraid even to be seen, for it would be as much as his life is worth to offer the slightest resistance to their proceedings! For this robbery there is no redress. This is not all. These marauders choose to fall out with a man--they do so easily enough for they are dreadfully quarrelsome--they attack him, and kill him. For such a crime there is no punishment; whereas, if one of themselves happen to be killed in the fray, they obtain redress immediately. They give themselves the name of Aidelmen, which seems to be a passport of impunity for every species of wickedness.”

♦ SYSTEM OF LANDOWNERS ♦

“These Aidelmen are in some degree imitated by a still more desperate set of vagabonds, who prowl in bands all over the country. Six or seven of these ruffians come into your house of a night, and live upon you as long as it may suit their convenience. If you do not receive them hospitably as guests, give them abundance to eat, drink with them, talk with them, and make them welcome in every way, they will most probably, after consuming all your store of provisions, beat you to a mummy before they go. They then elude pursuit by hiding in the woods.”

♦ ENGLISH FARMERS ♦

“I must admit, at the same time, that the Hungarians who do not belong to either of these two classes of plunderers, are in general a very good sort of people, as the world goes. To be sure, they will cheat in bargaining if they can; but in other respects they are friendly, goodnatured, and trustworthy. They are for the most part engaged in agriculture. The system of the landowner is this: He sends round the neighbourhood, by beat of drum, to proclaim that he has a certain portion of land to let. The peasants who are willing to take this land in shares, enter into an agreement to that effect; they cultivate their tenements, and deposit the produce in the landlord’s granary: each tenant is entitled to half the produce of his labour. Upon the same plan all agricultural work is done. Those who thresh or tread out the corn, for instance, receive a fifth in kind. The clergy have for the most part portions of land settled on themselves, but tithes are still payable in some places to the landlord.”

♦ ARRIVAL AT TOLNA ♦

“This simple custom works generally very well--indeed I do not know how it could be altered, seeing that there is so little money current in any part of Hungary. At the same time, I believe the landowners in general, and the count in particular, would be extremely glad to get over some English farmers here, if such a thing was possible, which I think it is not, for few of my countrymen would long endure the Aidelmen. As for myself, I have at present very little land, though I hope to have more. I am now getting used to the thing, and begin to bear it with some degree of indifference; but I assure you, sir, if I had a livelihood in old England, I should be very glad to be back there again. To be sure, I am looked up to at Tolna by my neighbours, and respected by the count’s friends, on account of the great success which his horses generally meet with at our races--for we have, I assure you, very fair meetings of that kind, which have tended very much to improve the breed throughout the country.”

My intelligent informant’s discourse was here broken off, as we had just arrived (half-past six o’clock) at Tolna, where we cast anchor for the night. The idea of stopping here until the morning was to me incomprehensible, as the moon, though on the wane, would soon in this climate turn the night almost into day. But the sandbanks!--at that awful sound the captain shook his head, and so we had no alternative. No chart of the river had yet been engraved; but it was understood that one was in progress, of which future passengers might profit perhaps. Our fate was sealed against the slightest chance of any thing like a nocturnal expedition.

♦ BATTLE WITH DOGS ♦

“Well, at all events,” thought I, “I shall go into the village, and find a bed, if such a thing there be;” for I would have gladly avoided, if I could, the necessity of “roughing it” on a bench in the cabin. Accordingly, after all the passengers who were bound for Tolna had landed, together with nearly the whole of our Tyrolese, men, women, and children, I stepped on shore, having been recommended by the “bailiff” to put up at the “Black Eagle.” As he was necessarily engaged himself in debarking some furniture for his new house, he called a sprightly lad of his acquaintance from amidst a group on the bank, and directed him to marshal me the way to the inn. This lad not only came himself, but brought with him a whole “tail” of his companions, some of whom ran before, some beside, others behind me, along the sandy pathway leading to the village, which was nearly a mile distant. It was rather fortunate that I had this _posse comitatus_ in my service, as, upon approaching the “Black Eagle,” we were met by such a numerous troop of fierce dogs, which seemed to have assembled from all parts of Tolna, as if to dispute our entrance, that we were obliged to come to a regular engagement. Victory having declared on our side, we proceeded onward until we arrived at the inn gate, where my escort disappeared in an instant, scampering off in all directions, as the dogs were rapidly rallying once more for action, barking as if they meant to assail even the “Black Eagle” itself. I took good care to close the gate after me, and directed my steps at once to the kitchen, where a prodigal fire was blazing, and the landlady, as well as her whole household, were running about in an indescribable hurry.

♦ SEARCH FOR A BED ♦

Upon presenting myself to the presidentess of the “Black Eagle,” I signified to her, as well as I could, that I wanted a bed; but she was so entirely preoccupied in cutting up a quarter of a calf for a variety of parties who were clamouring for supper, she had so many orders to give her maids, and had so many pots and pans stewing on the hearth, that, after repeated exertions, I gave up the toil of soliciting her attention. I stepped forth, therefore, upon an expedition of discovery for myself, resolved, if I could find a chamber disengaged, to establish my proper person therein, without further ceremony. My first attempt was rather unfortunate; for, on opening a door, I happened to light upon a woman just stepping into bed, her husband being about halfway towards the same enviable destination. My second effort was not more successful; for the room I opened was apparently a receptacle for stores of every description--grapes, flour, oats, onions, casks of wine, hay, and broken chairs. Courageously persevering in my tour of the house, I next found myself in the presence of a nurse and three or four children, all of whom were strenuously engaged in the duty of squalling as loud as they could. Finding, upon a further examination, that I had no chance of attaining my object, I resolved to wait awhile until the business of supper was over, when I thought madame might be able to think of me for a moment; but, on entering the public room, I had the gratification to observe that it was full of the Tyrolese families, who, having procured some milk, were distributing it with paternal and maternal assiduity among their infant generations. Some of the men were drinking wine, some were eating supper, others were trying to sleep on a table, or on the floor, amidst the cries of children, the scolding of mothers, songs, shouting, dancing, and other peaceable amusements.

♦ BILLIARDS ♦ ♦ COTTAGE DELIGHTS ♦

Not yet despairing of fortune, I proceeded to a neighbouring apartment, which turned out to be a billiard-room crowded with Austrian officers, who were playing at billiards, or standing round the table enveloped in an atmosphere of vapour arising from Hungarian tobacco--the most potent, and to a non-smoker the most offensive, I believe, that has yet been manufactured. Not being in a mood for suffocation, I speedily effected my escape, and had the consolation to behold myself once more in the yard of the Black Eagle, in one corner of which a butcher was engaged in skinning a newly killed sheep by the light of a lamp which a swarthy peasant, in an immense hat and a blanket cloak, was holding up for him. Having at length very reluctantly resolved that my expedition was an entire failure, hearing no more of the dogs, and presuming that they were by this time all asleep, I set out upon my return to the steam-boat. As I passed along through the village, I could not help looking in at a window where a light was glimmering: the room within was decently furnished, and a pretty young mother was playing with a baby in its nightclothes, before putting it to bed. The smiles of the little angel, and the exuberant joy of the parent, afforded a spectacle of perfect happiness, which made me forget my late disappointment, and I resumed my way in good humour with all the world.

♦ NIGHT SCENE ♦

The stars were shining in the blue ocean of the sky like so many islands of fire. The moon had just risen above the margin of the horizon between two of those beauteous worlds, and, though divested of half her light, flung a long pathway of silver on the surface of the Danube. The Lyre was peculiarly brilliant, a constellation which I had many an hour admired and endeavoured to explore from my own garden at home, accompanied by her who shares in all my thoughts and feelings. Though wandering alone in a foreign land, I thus found familiar friends every where in nature around me. The silence of the scene, disturbed only now and then by the bark of a village cur; the low soothing murmur of the broad river, the recollections which its celebrated name kindled in my memory, detained me loitering on the shore until a chorus, sung by a group of Tyrolese, who were returning to our vessel, reminded me that it was time to follow their example.

♦ HUNGARIAN POLITICS ♦

Finding my companions at supper I was very glad to join them. They were in the midst of Hungarian politics, two of them being deputies on their way home from the diet. I have seldom met a more engaging person than the Count P----, who appeared to have taken an active part in the business of the legislature. He was inexhaustible in anecdotes about his fellow-deputies, and the mode in which the national affairs were carried on. Eloquent, cheerful, offhand, and thoroughly conversant with human nature, he often placed the most serious things in a ridiculous point of view, which kept the table in roars of laughter. His features beamed with benevolence, and I was not surprised afterwards to learn, that in his own county of Presburg, where he has ample possessions, he is universally beloved. He had frequently the goodness to explain to me in Latin the political parts of his conversation. He said that the diet was the mere image of what it ought to be according to the ancient constitution of the country. Many of the deputies were determined on eventually effecting a reform, but from motives of personal respect for the then reigning emperor, they would take no steps during his lifetime. Under a new sovereign, however, they would certainly insist upon the restoration of the Hungarian constitution. I had more than once occasion to remark, that politics were by no means forbidden topics in this country: they are in fact as freely spoken of as in France or England. No notice is ever taken by the authorities of this liberty of speech; I have heard even the authorities themselves discuss public questions without the slightest reserve. The freedom thus generally enjoyed must be founded not only on custom, which cannot be changed, but upon a sense of inherent strength with which it might be dangerous to tamper.

♦ WOOD-BOATS ♦

We set off the next morning from Tolna at half-past four o’clock, and again passed by a number of those picturesque-looking mills already mentioned. The bank on our right ran along the edge of a vast forest. I should have liked to sketch some peasants, who were waiting by the river-side for a boat to convey to one of the mills several sacks of wheat, which they had brought to be ground. The morning being rather cold they were wrapped up in their great cloaks, their large hats pressed low over their brows. They were accompanied by two or three women, and near them were several wicker cars, which appear to be generally used in Hungary. A wood-boat, as it is called, was making its way down the river. It consists, in fact, of four boats which are lashed together for the purpose of carrying the long timber, that is found in great abundance and of pretty good quality in the neighbouring forest. Its cabin is a very frugal affair, being composed only of half-a-dozen boards raised near the prow in a slanting direction from side to side. Beneath this shade the operations of cooking and sleeping went on.

♦ MOHACS ♦

We passed in the course of the day by several long straggling villages, near which I observed some apparently fine vineyards. Certainly the grapes with which our table was served were among the most delicious I had ever tasted, and I cannot but think that the inferiority of the Hungarian wine, in general is to be attributed to the mode in which it is manufactured. If the process were improved, and more attention bestowed upon the quality than upon the quantity produced, I have no doubt that the wines of Hungary would rival even those of Spain, which I take to be the best in Europe.

At noon we stopped at Mohacs to take in wood and coals. This latter valuable article is found at a short distance in the interior of the country: the coals are small and stony, but they form a strong fire when mingled with wood. The operation of getting them on board being a very tedious one, we all went on shore to take a stroll through the town. A large and highly respectable-looking family were waiting in a handsome phaeton on the bank for the Count P----, who met them in the most affectionate manner. They were attended by a troop of “followers,” as an Irishman would say, who kissed the count’s hand, and seemed delighted to have him once more among them. A decent elderly woman, who must have been his nurse, wept for joy. She, and one or two fine youths who seemed to be entitled to higher privileges, kissed not his hand but his arm! I looked on at this meeting with great interest, and when the carriage drove away with the count, I felt, under the impression that he was not to return, as if I had lost a friend whom I had long known.

♦ NATIVE COSTUME ♦

The bank was soon crowded with groups of peasantry, men and women, extremely well-looking, who had assembled chiefly to gaze on the wonders of the steam-boat. The former were loosely clothed in shirts, waistcoats, and loose trousers, all made of coarse canvass. The trousers were so wide that at a distance they looked like petticoats. Their hats were of the usual Hungarian dimensions, and they generally wore sandals without stockings. The head-dress of the women consisted for the most part simply of a blue handkerchief, which was tied under the chin. They wore neither stockings nor sandals. Their gowns were of ordinary calico, blue, red, green, plainly printed, I presume of German manufacture. Some twenty of these women, the younger of whom were decorated with a profusion of different coloured necklaces of glass or coral beads, were seated in a semicircle selling fruit. Their baskets were heaped with walnuts, magnificent grapes, and apples. A wicker car was also speedily in attendance, laden with some of the finest melons and plums I ever saw. The latter were of a deep red colour, and of the most tempting ripeness. When the Tyrolese began to market with these fruit-venders, an artist might have found in the scene a picturesque variety of character and costume.

♦ APPEARANCE OF THE STREETS ♦

Though the Hungarians call Mohacs a town I should rather say that it is a large village, built with the most rustic simplicity. The houses generally consist of mud walls, roofed with long reeds, each being surrounded by a high wicker fence, which encloses a considerable space of ground, including a farm-yard, a well, with the primitive lever for raising the bucket, and sometimes a garden. Rows of these detached houses form several irregular streets, which are planted with shady trees, on each side. Cocks were crowing in all directions, otherwise one would scarcely have thought that the place had been inhabited, such was the silence that prevailed. Even the dogs were mute, sleeping, perhaps, through the noonday heat. The gable ends of the cottages generally faced the street, the roof being carried a foot or two beyond the walls, on which, or upon the window-sills, were strung in the sun, quantities of a rich-looking green and ruby fruit, here called the golden apple, and resembling our girkin in form. It is preserved for pickling, is full of seeds, and even before being pickled is not disagreeable to the taste. I tried to get into the two churches which belong to the village, but they were locked. Their external appearance was decent.

♦ INDUSTRY OF WOMEN ♦

The coals and wood were carried to our boat in wheelbarrows by a number of muscular, active, hardworking girls; hundreds of men were loitering on the bank, not one of whom could be prevailed upon to assist in the labour, through sheer laziness. We were consequently detained more than three hours by an operation, which ought to have been completed within less than half the time, as the depôt was within twenty yards of the river. For their industry on this occasion these poor girls, who went through the work with indefatigable cheerfulness, received only portions of flax, respectively equivalent to about two or three pence of our money.

♦ HUNGARIAN LADIES ♦

While these girls were engaged in their task, the first crowd of spectators gradually dispersed, and left the scene open to some more respectable groups, who came to gratify their curiosity. Several young ladies appeared in their hair, which was tastefully arranged, protected from the sun by parasols, and in other respects attired in the English style. They were attended by their maids, who also displayed their ringlets, and but for the smart white aprons by which they were distinguished, might have been mistaken for their mistresses. These attractions had the usual effect of summoning also to the general rendezvous, the beaux of the neighbourhood who were for the most part apparelled in black velvet vests, and white trousers: a short white cloak decorated at the collar with red worsted lace, and conspicuously exhibiting a red cross in front, being carelessly thrown over the left shoulder.