Chapter VI

Domestic arrangements--Count Szechenyi--Milanosch--Works on the Danube--Picture of industry--Auberge--Vedran’s cave--Rocky scenery--Arrival at Orsova--My chamber and its ornaments--Bedroom utensils--Hungarian civilization--Quarantine adventure--Dinner at Count Szechenyi’s--Plans for the navigation of the Danube--Origin of the enterprise.

By seven o’clock on the following morning (October 1), I beheld the three male members of the family emerging from their spacious couch, while our hostess was busily engaged in preparing coffee for breakfast. My toilet was speedily despatched, and a loaf of capital brown bread, a brace of new-laid eggs, and a bowl of coffee, pretty well prepared me for the toils of the coming day. Dewar had taught his kind landlady English.

♦ DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS ♦

She was already as far advanced as “Good morning;” but, by some fatality or another, she constantly metamorphosed “Mr. Dewar,” into “My Dear;” which had a droll effect, especially in the presence of her goodnatured husband, who was as ignorant of the meaning of the expression as herself. The reader must not draw any scandalous conclusion from this habitual mistake, for Dewar, a very honest and honourable fellow, in his way, assured me that his pupil was, in every sense of the word, a pattern of domestic virtue. He added, that it was the general custom throughout that part of the country, to have only one sleeping-room for all the family, as well as their guests; and that this apparent laxity of discipline, caused by the necessity of the case, produced a sort of chivalrous feeling, which condemned to the deepest infamy any person guilty of the slightest disrespect towards the conjugal relations. He seemed strongly attached, not only to the family with which he resided, but to the people in general, amongst whom he was pursuing his avocations; he had never experienced so much friendship, he said, in any part of the world, as they showed him on every possible occasion; and nothing, he added, but the pleasure which he derived from that circumstance, could have induced him to remain where he was.

♦ COUNT SZECHENYI ♦

Dewar spoke also of the Count Szechenyi, in the most enthusiastic terms, describing him as a Hungarian magnate of ample fortune, who devoted himself exclusively to the regeneration of his country. It was with the sole view of collecting information, which he might afterwards apply to her benefit, that he had frequently visited England, France, and other parts of Europe. He was in the bloom of life; had served in the army; was a leading member of the diet, over which his talents, his superior acquirements, and his disinterested patriotism, gave him great influence; was constantly occupied in designing plans for the welfare of Hungary; remained a batchelor, in order that he might be more at liberty to travel about for the purpose of carrying those plans into execution; and was now actively engaged in superintending the works going on upon the Danube, which were entirely the result of his public spirit, and his indefatigable perseverance. I was delighted to hear that I should probably meet the Count at Orsova, where he possessed a temporary residence.

♦ MILANOSCH ♦

The boat, which had arrived in due time at Swinich, having been announced as ready for departure, I walked down towards the river-side, after making, through “My Dear,” a small present to our amiable hostess. But I had not proceeded many steps, when I was joined by her ladyship, dressed out in her holiday costume, including a gay silk cloak, after the London fashion, accompanied by her husband and her nephews, also in their best attire. They could not think, Dewar said, of allowing me to embark without accompanying me to the latest moment; and so we all proceeded together through the village. I was touched by their kind attentions, and felt that if I were a little longer among this simple-hearted, affectionate people, like Dewar, I should have cordially esteemed them. Our boat put away amidst their repeated adieus; Dewar looked quite downcast: nor did they quit the river-side as long as they could see my bark, which a bend in the river at length shut out from their view.

♦ WORKS ON THE DANUBE ♦

It was a lowering morning: but the neighbouring hills lifting their green heads above the surrounding vapours, seemed to promise a fine day. The new Servian village of Milanosch, on the right bank, nearly opposite to Swinich, looked picturesque through the veil of clouds in which it was arrayed. A rock on our left, that jutted boldly into the river, was crowned by the ruins of three massive round towers, which presented a striking resemblance to as many enormous sacks of corn. The Danube still preserved its course between ranges of lofty hills, wooded, and piled behind each other; some hooded in mist; while the summits and slopes of the higher ridges shone out in the beams of the morning sun. As we advanced, the green hills yielded to lofty and precipitous rocks, which rose from the waterside in a perpendicular direction, sometimes like ramparts, sometimes like huge columns of Cyclopean construction. Labourers were busily employed in blowing up these masses, whose detonations resounded far and wide, among the mountains.

♦ PICTURE OF INDUSTRY ♦

Being desirous of witnessing more closely the mode in which the men carried on their operations, I directed our patron to put me ashore, where all seemed animation and industry. The noise of the mallet and punch, the pickaxe and chisel, was heard in all directions. Where the rock was perpendicular to the river, a roadway was excavated through it only to the height of eighteen or twenty feet, leaving the upper strata undisturbed. I confess I did not enter some of these causeways, magnificent though they were, without feeling that if any of the tremendous piles, which rose in most irregular array above my head, had been loosened by the explosions going on on all sides, and had obeyed a locomotive fancy, I might have been reduced to powder with the greatest possible expedition. Where the face of the rock slanted rapidly from the river, the labour of excavation was comparatively limited. In those occasional ravines which sunk beneath the general level of the road, bridges or terraces were erected in a solid and, at the same time, an ornamental style, which reminded me of old Roman enterprise.

A whole village of wooden huts occupied a glen, in which the families of the artisans and workmen, and the officers superintending the operations on the part of the Austrian government were located. Every body seemed employed--washing, drying linen, spinning wool, weaving, preparing meat, fowls, vegetables for dinner, baking bread, scouring furniture, or building additional habitations. I was delighted by this lively picture of industry, so little resembling any thing I had seen since my departure from Vienna. An immense eagle, which had been shot the day before, was displayed upon a post, with his wings extended; measuring, from tip to tip, full seven feet. Two other eagles were on a perch, to which they were chained. One of these expanding his noble wings, looked up wistfully and proudly at the mountains above him, as if to say, “There is my native and proper home--behold, I have the means of ascending thither, but am without any crime detained here a prisoner.” They were truly regal birds. I should have very much preferred to have seen them soaring in the clouds; never, I think, having felt before with so much acuteness the extent of that injustice of which men are guilty, when they destroy or fetter, without any useful purpose, the most beautiful specimens of creation.

♦ AUBERGE ♦

One of the Austrian officers, who spoke French, very civilly conducted me over the works, and introduced me to the auberge of the colony, which occupied a large natural cavern in the rock. The roof of the cave was curiously composed of several slabs which met in the centre, springing, like the parts of an artificial arch, from the circumference. This solid construction seemed absolutely necessary to sustain the pile of rocks, which, above the cavern, towered into the heavens, tossed into all sorts of fantastic shapes, and threatening every moment to overwhelm the busy people at their feet, who, as compared with them, looked like so many insects.

♦ VEDRAN’S CAVE ♦

The masses on the opposite side of the river seemed to have been thrown into similar confusion, some shooting upwards as straight as an arrow, some in a sloping, others in a horizontal position. Wherever I looked around me, it appeared as if I had found a mystic portion of the globe, which, like the face of Satan, “deep scars of thunder had intrenched;” where Chaos still held her reign, and none save the Titans of elder time could hope to dwell in security. But my terrors were reproved by some young saplings which burst forth from amidst the rocks, spreading their graceful branches in the air. Here and there a wild flower, too, displayed its blue or coral bell; the bee murmured quietly along, the sparrow twittered, the yellow butterfly wandered about, and the spider floated by in his gossamer balloon.

♦ ROCKY SCENERY ♦

By this time my Moldavian and Servian friends had joined me, and pointed out a path by the river-side leading to a very remarkable cave, which had been converted into an impregnable fortification by the Austrian General Vedran, during the last war of the emperor against the Turks. He greatly enlarged the original cavern, which was a natural one, by burning the stone and then throwing water upon it, when it easily came away as lime. The cavity was divided into several apartments, one of which was the general’s room, another the powder-magazine, a third was for provisions, and a fourth ample enough to afford accommodation to at least a thousand men. The ruins still remain of the redoubts which had been thrown up in front of this cavern during the war. We found several names of the brave soldiers who had occupied this singular garrison cut in the walls of the cavern inside; among them that of the chivalrous Vedran himself, who is said to have sustained his position in the presence of a whole host of artillery brought to bear against him from the opposite bank of the Danube. While we were within the cavern, a series of explosions followed each other in rapid and regular order, so strongly resembling the fire of contending armies, that one might without any difficulty have imagined that the war between the crescent and the cross had not yet concluded.

♦ ORSOVA ♦

Returning to our bark we still moved on amidst scenery of the most magnificent character, formed by gigantic rocks disposed in the most irregular manner, exhibiting an infinite variety of shapes, strange and sometimes terrific in their appearance, such as might meetly combine for the creation of a region of enchantment. On the summit of one of these craggy mountains an immense isolated pile, bleached by the winds and rains of many a winter, looked precisely like a Druidical chapel. The dry bed of a torrent led from the river-side along the heights towards the temple, and groups of hooded pilgrims were seen winding their way upwards at each side of the channel in regular procession, while here and there scattered figures were emerging from among green shrubs, bound for the same destination. But temple, penitents and all seemed as if they had been miraculously petrified in the midst of the solemnities in which they were engaged.

♦ ORSOVA ♦

About three o’clock in the afternoon we reluctantly bade adieu to these magical regions of the Danube, and came in sight of Orsova, which, with its neat white houses, its church and spire, looked extremely well at a distance. Several Servian fishing-boats were moored near the opposite bank. On landing at Orsova we were met by Mr. Popovicz, the agent of the Steam Navigation Company, and four or five gentlemen, amongst whom I soon distinguished, from the respect that was paid to him, the Count Szechenyi. He very kindly inquired of me, in excellent English, what sort of a voyage we had had; adding, that he feared it must have been an unpleasant one in many respects. I frankly answered that I had not found it at all so. Although we had certainly been detained beyond our time, nevertheless I had been prepared, in truth, considering the novelty and difficulties of the enterprise, for much greater inconvenience than I had actually met with. The Count seemed much gratified that I had made allowance for the incompleteness of the undertaking, and engaged me to dine with him on the following day at two o’clock, after which, he said, he would take me in his carriage to Gladova, where the steam-boat was waiting. He added that it was his intention to proceed as far as Rutchstuk, and that he would be happy to have my company on the voyage. As the Count, with his friends, was stepping into a boat to cross the river, in order to pay his respects to Prince Milosch, the Prince of Servia, who was expected to arrive in the course of the evening at the opposite village (also called Orsova), he directed his groom, who spoke English, to see me to the inn, and to take care that I should be well attended to in every respect.

♦ MY CHAMBER ♦

It will be easily believed that these very friendly attentions on the part of an individual, whom I had never seen before, made a strong impression on my feelings; the more especially, as the sincere and cordial tone in which the Count expressed himself, was rendered still more engaging by that perfect simplicity of manner which bespeaks at once the man of the world. The hotel to which his servant conducted me was a very decent one. I dined satisfactorily on stewed fowl, a favourite dish, it seems, in that country, and although my room was quite primeval in its appearance and furniture, my bed was unobjectionable.

♦ BEDROOM UTENSILS ♦

Early the next morning (October 2), the Count sent to inform me, that as the carriages and other portions of the steam-boat cargo destined for the lower towns on the Danube had not yet arrived from Moldava, we should not quit Orsova till the following day. I had, therefore, ample time to survey my new “domain.” My chamber consisted of four very plain whitewashed walls, on the ground-floor, looking through a window which could boast neither of curtain, blind, or shutter, into a large courtyard, at the back of the inn. The floor was of deal plank, loosely put together, and unhonoured by rug, mat, or carpet, of any description. A looking-glass, hoary with age, and cobwebbed, was suspended in the oldfashioned slanting position, between two coloured old Jack Tar prints of Juno in her car, drawn by swans, with a rainbow in the distance, and of Cybele in her chariot, to which a lion and a panther were yoked. Beneath the wheels a rabbit, a rat, and a mouse, were gambolling; and behind her a great camel was star-gazing. Her ladyship was about to drive over a pyramid. An oldfashioned German stove, a large, deal, square table, three leather-cushioned chairs, the backs and seats of which were bound together by great bands of iron, a rough, square washhand-stand, in which there was a baking-dish for a basin, completed the decorations. The door was large enough, in every way, to admit a horse, and the planks of which it was composed appeared so hostile to any thing like coalition, that the daylight played through every part of it.

I asked for some warm water to shave with. The waiter brought it to me _in a dinner-plate_! I could not help laughing at this extraordinary novelty, and he then brought me the kettle.

♦ HUNGARIAN CIVILIZATION ♦

I compromised the matter at last for a tumbler, which was rather an improvement on the steam-boat, where I never could succeed in getting hot water except in a tea-pot! Another un-nameable utensil seems rather scarce in those parts. The only one of which the steam-boat could boast was used for keeping pickles!

This reminds me of an anecdote which the Count tells with the most ludicrous effect, as a proof of the barbarism in which his country is yet enveloped. An old lady, a friend of his, received a present of porcelain from England, including cups, saucers, plates, dishes, and basins of every kind, among the rest a bidet. When the latter article was examined nobody belonging to her household could at all make out for what purpose it was destined; but as it was a handsome piece of manufacture they were resolved that it should not be thrown by in a corner. One day the good dame invited, as the custom is in Hungary, a very large party to dinner, at which the Count and some other noblemen who had visited foreign countries were present. To the ordinary luxuries of the table was added a roast pig, which, to the great amusement of the civilized part of the company, was served up in the bidet!

♦ QUARANTINE ADVENTURE ♦

After breakfasting on coffee and some remarkably fine grapes, I walked out to explore the beauties of Orsova, and as fate would have it, my steps were in the first instance directed to the mart, where, under a shed divided by a partition breast high, the business of traffic was carried on between the Hungarians and the Servians, neither being allowed by the laws of quarantine to come in contact with the other. Even the money which passed from the Servian side was taken in a pair of tongs, and steeped in a cup of vinegar before it reached a Hungarian pocket. From the mart I passed on, apparently without having attracted the attention of the guard, but when I had gone to a distance of about five hundred yards, walking along the bank of the Danube, a soldier armed with his firelock, with fixed bayonet, was despatched after me. Assuming, for what reason I know not, that I had belonged to the Servian party, he ordered me back, keeping however as wide as possible of his game. I went up to inquire the reason of his interference with my perambulations, but he pointed his bayonet in a way not to be mistaken, which only augmented my surprise. Upon returning to the guardhouse, my friend, assisted by his officer, endeavoured to make me understand that I must take my place among the Servians, whereupon the Jew who happened to come into the mart, explained their error, and I acquired my liberty. Had they succeeded, by their blundering, in compelling me to pass the quarantine boundary, I should have had to spend ten days in the Lazaretto at Orsova before I could proceed further on my journey.

♦ DINNER AT COUNT SZECHENYI’S ♦

At two o’clock I went to dine with the Count. A rude sort of a gate opened to a courtyard through which I passed to a staircase, or rather a wide step-ladder, and so on to a gallery leading to a suite of rooms genteelly furnished. On the table in the Count’s sitting apartment I recognised as old friends the _Edinburgh_ and _Quarterly Reviews_, several of our “Annuals,” and other English and French periodical publications. Besides the Count, a Hungarian magnate of considerable property, was present, who coincides in most of the prudent views which the Count entertains with reference to the civilization of Hungary. Mr. Popovicz was also of the party, as well as a sensible young barrister from Pesth, named Tasner, who accompanied the Count as his secretary. We had an excellent dinner of vermicelli soup, bouilli, haricot mutton, beef ragout, roast fowl, and pudding, followed by a dessert of sweet cake and grapes. The wines were champagne and the ordinary white vintage of the country, the best I had yet tasted in Hungary. Our conversation at dinner turned chiefly on the enterprise in which the Count was engaged, and in which all his faculties seemed to have been absorbed.

♦ NAVIGATION OF THE DANUBE ♦

I collected from what was said that it was intended to construct a road wide enough for carriages, along the whole of the left bank of the Danube, and that canals were to be formed in the rapids and other rocky passages, where the river was liable to be reduced much below its ordinary level during the summer and autumn. These works necessarily required a large expenditure, which the returns of the Steam Navigation Company were not expected to repay. The Austrian government, therefore, actuated by an impulse of public spirit which it too rarely acknowledges on other subjects, has taken upon itself the entire outlay which these undertakings will require, and has, moreover, with peculiar propriety, intrusted to Count Szechenyi the superintendence of the whole, as well as an unlimited supply of funds, for which he accounts directly to the emperor. It is especially understood that a certain per centage is secured by the Austrian government to the navigation company upon its capital, provided the returns should fall below a stated amount: in point of fact the returns have for some time exceeded the amount agreed upon, so that the government is not likely to have any further responsibility in that respect.

♦ ORIGIN OF THE ENTERPRISE ♦

The enterprise was originated by the Count, who, at an early period of his life (he is at present about forty-four years of age), plainly perceived the great advantages that would accrue to Hungary, if it were rendered navigable for steam-boats to the Black Sea. Adopting the English system for procuring a large capital in small shares, he formed a list of subscribers at Presburg, consisting of magnates, members of the lower chamber of the diet, bankers, and merchants, which he brought over to this country. Here, also, he obtained a few distinguished names, and made himself master of all the details of steam navigation. Having ordered the engines for three boats to be sent from Birmingham to Trieste, he had the vessels built in that port, and then a petition was presented to the diet, on behalf of the subscribers, praying its sanction to the undertaking. This was the first instance in which the diet was called upon to take into its consideration a measure peculiar to Hungary in its national character, and involving, therefore, consequences of vast political as well as commercial tendency. If the diet took this enterprise under its auspices, the popularity and the sense of independence which the assembly would thus acquire, might lead to other measures still more conducive to the re-establishment of the Hungarian nation. Prince Metternich immediately sent for Count Szechenyi, whose brother is married to a sister of the prince’s wife, and sought explanations of this treasonable proceeding! The Count’s answer was very simple and unequivocal.--“If you have no wish that the diet should adopt the petition and act upon it, do the thing yourselves, for the Danube at all events cannot be long without steam-boats.” The hint was taken, the petition was cushioned, the plans of the Count were not only accepted but improved upon a most magnificent scale, and given back to himself for execution. The Count is the most distinguished leader of the opposition party in the diet, but he took care to have it thoroughly understood, that though, for the benefit of Hungary, he charged himself with the commission offered to him by Prince Metternich, he was still free to follow up his political principles in every way that he thought advantageous to his country.