My first expedition to the Tokay district was in the winter; I was then the guest of Baron V——, who has a charming château, surrounded by an English garden, in this celebrated place of vineyards.
In the winter there is a very fair amount of good sport in this part of Hungary. Sometimes one is enabled to go out hare-shooting in sledges; of course the horses' bells are removed on these occasions. Hares are not preserved in the Tokay district, but they are pretty numerous. I myself shot fifty-four in the space of a few weeks, which is nothing compared to an English battue of a single day; but then this is sport, and there is immense pleasure in dashing right across country behind a pair of fleet horses, thinking yourself well repaid if you bag a couple or three hares in the afternoon's scamper. For wolf and wild-boar hunting one must penetrate into the forests which extend in therear of the southern slopes of this Tokay range of hills.
During my stay at G—— a party was got up for a few days' shooting in the interior. On this occasion we were to shoot in Baron Beust's forests, which extend over an area of about forty miles square; as it may be supposed, the sport is not the easy affair it is in the well-stocked parks of Bohemia.
There was not snow enough for sledging, so we drove to the rendezvous on wheels, using the springless carts of the country, the roads being far too rough for ordinary carriages. Wrapped in ourbundas, we were proof against the cold. The wolf-skin collar turned up rises above the head and forms a capital protection; and very necessary it was on this occasion, for there was a keen cutting wind the day we started.
I carried a smooth-bore breechloader charged with the largest buck-shot in one barrel and with a bullet in the other. In Hungary the forests are usually so thick that one scarcely ever fires at a long range, and heavy shot at a short distance in a thicket is better than a bullet. After driving in a break-neck fashion for about two hours we arrived at the river Bodrog, a tributary of the Theiss. Nearly every winter the country hereabouts is under water; I remember once seeing it when therewas all the appearance of an extensive inland sea. Sometimes the inundations are disastrous, but the ordinary flood is an accepted event, and no damage accrues beyond the prevalence of marsh fever in April and May, when the water recedes. This part of the country offers first-rate wildfowl-shooting in the season.
Everywhere in Hungary the different races are strangely mixed up together: the Tokay Hegyalia, it is true, is chiefly peopled by Magyars, and the language is said to be the purest Magyar spoken anywhere; but there are Slavs and Jews amongst them, and our drive of twenty miles brought us into an area where the Slavs predominate. The difference of these races is very marked: the one, fair complexioned and blue eyed; the Magyar, dark, almost swarthy amongst the lower classes. At Olasz-Liszka, a small town within the Tokay district, there is an Italian colony, as the name Olasz (Italian) would imply. As long ago as the days of Bela II. this place was peopled by Italian immigrants from the neighbourhood of Venice, invited hither by the king, who greatly encouraged the cultivation of the vine.
Go where you will in this country, there is a Babel of tongues. In this instance our special coachman was a Bohemian, speaking his ownlanguage—a very different dialect from the Slovacks who were the "beaters" for our hunt. The gamekeepers, or rather the foresters (for the game is of secondary consideration), were all Magyars. Their language, as we know, bears no affinity to any of the rest. The marvel is that the world gets on at all down here. The gentlemen of our party spoke together indifferently German, French, and English.
It is curious to hear the peasant come out with, "Why the Tartar are you doing this?" for an angry expletive. It is a relic of the old troubled times when the country suffered from the frequent depredations of Turks and Tartars. The Tokay district, say the chronicles, was fearfully harassed by the Turks as late as 1678.
It is worth while recalling a contemporaneous fact. In 1529 the crescent had been substituted for the cross on the Cathedral of Vienna to propitiate the Turks, and it was not till 1683 that the symbol of the dreaded Moslem was removed. When the Hungarians ceased to fear the Turk, they ceased to hate him; and since 1848 they remember only the generous hospitality of the Porte, and the cruel aggressions and treachery of the Russians. The Slav has a longer memory, for to this day he repeats the saying, "Where the Turk comes, there no grass grows."
When we arrived at our destination our appetites were far too keenly set to think about the Eastern Question, and right glad were we to see active preparations for supper. The national dishes, thegulyas husand thepaprika handl, were produced amongst a number of other good things, such as roast hare. You get to like thepaprika, or red pepper, very much. I wonder it is not introduced into English cookery, it makes such a pretty-coloured gravy. If the traveller finds himself attacked by marsh fever, and should chance to be without quinine (a great mistake, by the way), let him substitute a spoonful ofpaprikamixed with a little red wine, repeating the dose every four hours if necessary. While smoking our peace-pipes after supper, one of the keepers came in to announce the welcome fact that it was snowing hard; fresh-lain snow would materially increase our chances of tracking the wild-boar.
Next morning when we started the weather had somewhat cleared, which was just as well, seeing we had to walk two or three miles to our first battue. Arrived at the rendezvous, we found the "beaters" waiting for us. They were a wild-looking crew were those Slovacks, with shaggy coats of black sheepskin, and in their hands the usual long staff with the axe at one end. Notwithstanding their uncouth appearance, later experience has shown me that the Slovacks, as a rule, are patient, hard-working people.
The forest where we were consisted entirely of beech and oak. The acorns attract the wild-boar, which have increased in a very remarkable manner in this locality. I was told that twenty years ago there were no wild-boar in these forests, while now there are hundreds. This seems odd, for the oak-trees are pretty well as old as the hills, and offered the same temptation in the way of food formerly as now. In fact the increase of the wild-boar is a serious nuisance to the vine-grower, for they tramp across to the southern hill-slopes, and occasionally make raids on the vineyards, devouring the grapes with unparalleled greediness, and what is still worse, they will sometimes plough up and destroy a whole plot of carefully-tended vineyard.
Formerly there were many deer in these forests, but now there are only a few roedeer. We saw no traces of wolves on this occasion, but there are plenty in this part of the country.
We were only ten guns, and were soon posted each man in his proper position waiting for theschwarzwild, as the Germans say; but, alas! nothing appeared till the beaters themselves came in sight. So we had to organise battue number two. Thebeaters walk quietly forward, tapping the trees now and then. This is quite noise enough for the purpose of rousing the game; if they shouted or made too much row, the game would get wild and scared.
In the next battue I had hardly been five minutes at my post when I heard from behind the breaking of dead branches, as of some animal advancing slowly. It was a fine buck which made his appearance, but he scented me and made off. Again about a hundred yards off I got a glimpse of him between the trees. I fired with effect. We found him afterwards about two hundred yards farther on, where he had fallen. It was very provoking; up to lunch-time we sighted no wild-boar, though we saw by the snow that they must have been about the hillside during the night. We had soon a good fire blazing, at which robber-steak was nicely cooked. I never enjoyed anything more. We washed down our repast with good Tokay.
After luncheon we commenced work again. By this time we had advanced into the very heart of the forest. The smooth boles of the tall beech-trees looked grand in their winter nakedness, rising like columns from the white frost-bespangled ground. I took up my stand, gun in readiness, waiting for the tramp, the snort, or the grizzly dark form of thewild-boar, but nothing came to disturb the utter solitude of the scene.
But hark! I hear shots fired repeatedly in the lower valley. I, too, begin to look out with quickened pulse, peering into the misty depths of the forest, and with ear alert for every sound, but all to no purpose. Nothing comes my way, though again I hear two more shots echo sharply in the narrow valley nearer to me than before. After the lapse of a few minutes the beaters came up, breaking through the dead branches of undercover. I knew now that my own chance was gone, but I was curious to know what had happened, and joining two of my friends whose "stand" had been near mine, we hurried down the valley to see what sport had turned up for the other guns. On inquiry it appeared that at least seventy wild-boars had passed close to one of our party, but the sight of so many at once had made his aim unsteady, and he only succeeded in wounding one of the number. The animal had dashed into the half-frozen stream at the bottom of the valley, and our friend had to reload and give him his final shot there.
We formed one more battue, but nothing came of it, and it was already high time to return to our quarters, for the whole scene was growing dim in the wintry twilight. Some of the party, myselfincluded, went by arrangement to the house of one of the foresters. The good people, in their desire to be hospitable, gave us a warm reception. They had heated the rooms to such an extent that we were almost baked alive.
The next morning we resumed our sport. During the first battue eight wild-boars were sighted. One was shot instantly; the others broke through the line of beaters, but in doing so a very unusual thing happened, for one of the foresters succeeded in killing a boar by a tremendous blow from his axe. We were very much surprised that the animal had come near enough, for as a rule they will not approach human beings except when wounded, and then they are most formidable assailants. I regret to say that one of our dogs was ripped up by one of this herd of eight.
This was the beginning and end of our sport for the day. Our indifferent luck was to be accounted for from the fact of there being, comparatively speaking, not much snow.
The vintage is the season of all others for Tokay; in former days it was a very gay affair, for then every noble family in Hungary, especially the bishops, had vineyards in the Hegyalia, and the magnates came to the vintage with large retinues of servants and horses; and feasting and hospitality were the order of the day. In the good old times every important event in the family was celebrated by much drinking of Tokay, but in those degenerate days other fashions prevail. Before their kingdom was dismembered the Poles were the best customers for Tokay wine, but they are too poor now to have such luxuries; added to this, Russia has for nearly a century past laid an almost prohibitive duty on Hungarian wine. The fiscal impositions of Austria have also weighed heavily on Hungary's productions. At present North Germany and Scandinavia areamongst the most ready purchasers of Tokay; and England is beginning to appreciate the "Szamarodni" or "dry Tokay," remarkable for the absence of all deleterious sweetness.
In good years the vintage of Tokay may be estimated at something like 150,000eimers, aneimerbeing about two and a half gallons; but a really good year is the exception, not the rule. For three years (since 1874) the vintages have all been below the average. The season of 1876 was a complete failure; a disastrous frost on the 19th of May in that year completely destroyed the hopes and prospects of the vine-grower. Indeed he has a trying life of it, for his hopes go up and down with the barometer. If his vines escape the much-dreaded May frosts, there is a risk that the summer may be too wet for the grapes, which love sunshine. Then, again, in the hottest summers there are violent hail-storms, and in half an hour he may see his promising crop beaten to the ground. It has been well remarked that "the weather seems to have no control over itself in Hungary."
The vine-grower's troubles do not end when the vintage is successfully over. Tokay is a troublesome wine in respect to fermentation; it requires three years before it can travel, and even when these critical years are over, the wine will sometimes get"sick" in the spring—at the identical time when the sap rises in the living plant.
The unique quality of the Tokay is due to the soil, and perhaps to some other conditions; but not to the peculiarity of the grape, for, as a matter of fact, they grow a variety of sorts. The cultivation of the vine appears to be of great antiquity in this part of the world. The introduction of the plant is attributed to the inevitable Phœnician; but, treading on more assured historic ground, we find that King Bela IV., in the thirteenth century, caused new kinds of grapes to be imported from Italy, and brought about an improvement generally in the culture of the vine.
But to return to the question of the soil. The Tokay Eperies group of hills is one of several well-defined groups of volcanic rocks that exist in Hungary and Transylvania. In the Tokay district the formations are partly eruptive, partly sedimentary, but nowhere older than the Tertiary period, say the geologists. The Hegyalia (which means "mountain-slopes" in the Magyar tongue) forms the southern spur of the extended volcanic region, composed of trachyte and rhyolithe, beginning at Eperies and terminating in the conical hill of Tokay, which protrudes itself so singularly into the Alföld, or plain.
But the vine-growing district does not end atTokay; it continues on the eastern slopes of the mountain range as far as Uihely, forming two sides of an irregular triangle, and the total length, say from Szanto in the west to Tokay, and from Tokay to Uihely, being about thirty-eight miles.
As a matter of fact, Tokay, which gives its name to the wine, does not produce the best vintage; other localities are more esteemed. Tállya, for example, situated a few miles east of Szanto, has long been renowned. As early as the sixteenth century the excellence of the wine from this district was acknowledged by infallible authority. It appears that during the sitting of the Council of Trent, wines were produced from all parts for the delectation of the holy fathers. George Draskovics, the Bishop of Fünfkirchen, brought some of his celebrated vintage, and presenting a glass of it to the Pope, observed that it wasTállyawine. Whereupon his Holiness pronounced it to be nectar, surpassing all other wines, exclaiming with ready wit, "Summum Pontificumtaliavina decent." This place, so happily distinguished by Papal wit, is pleasantly situated on the side of the hill; it possesses about 2100 acres of vineyards.
The places in the Hegyalia are all called towns, though in reality they are not much more than large villages. Tokay has 4000 inhabitants; it isat the foot of the hill, close to the junction of the Theiss and the Bodrog; a ruined castle forms a picturesque object in the foreground, and beyond is the far-stretching plain. Professor Judd says[24]that at one period of their history "the volcanic islands of Hungary must have been very similar in appearance to those of the Grecian Archipelago." Looking at the conical-shaped hill of Tokay, and the other configurations of the range, it is quite easy to take in the idea, and under certain atmospheric conditions the great plain very closely resembles an inland sea.
At Tokay the Theiss becomes navigable for steamers, but the circuitous course of the river prevents much traffic, more especially since the extension of railways. The next place is Tarczal, and here the Emperor of Austria has some fine vineyards. Some people have an idea that all the wine grown in the whole district is Imperial Tokay, and that the vineyards themselves, one and all, are imperial property. This is very far from being the case; in fact, since 1848, the peasant proprietors hold more largely than any other class. The easy transfer of land facilitates the purchase of small lots, and the result is that every peasant in the Hegyalia tries to possess himself of an acre or two, oreven half an acre of vineyard. The cultivation seems to pay them well; but a succession of bad seasons must be very trying, for the vineyards cannot be neglected be the year good or bad.
At Zombar, a village in this locality, there is a good instance of what can be got out of reclaimed land; it was formerly under water for the greater portion of the year. The soil is so rich in decayed vegetable matter as to be almost black, and now grows excellent crops of tobacco and Indian corn. The country north-east of Tokay is certainly the most picturesque side, there is more foliage, and there is also water.
The first time I drove through Bodrog-Keresztur, which is on this side, I thought that, notwithstanding the pretty country, I had never seen so desolate a place. The town was once famed for its markets, but the railways have changed all this; almost every other house is a ruin, and large trees may be seen growing between the walls.
In the last century a company of Russian soldiers were stationed here for the purpose of buying Tokay wine for the Russian Court.
One of the prettiest little places in the Hegyalia is Erdö-Benye; it is off the main road, right in amongst the hills. It boasts the largest wine-cellar in the whole district; it has twenty-two ramifications at two different levels, the whole being cut out of the solid rock; it is more like a subterranean labyrinth than a cellar. This place was formerly the property of the renowned family of Rákoczy, who played no mean part in Hungarian history. Not far from Erdö-Benye are mineral-water baths, romantically situated in the oak-forest.
Sáros Patak and Uihely are the two most noteworthy towns in the north-eastern side of the Tokay triangle. The first named has a Calvinist college of some considerable reputation, a library of 24,000 volumes, a printing-press, and a botanical garden. Uihely is the county town of Zemplin. An agricultural show was held here last spring (1877), which I attended. Our English-made agricultural implements were very much to the fore on this occasion. Some people complain of these machines on the score of their getting out of order rather easily, and of the immense difficulty of having them repaired in the country. This objection, I have heard, does not apply alike to all the English makers. At this show there were some new kinds of wine-presses which attracted a good deal of attention; before long no doubt not a few changes will be effected in the process of wine-making in Tokay. Considering that Hungary holds the third rank in Europe as a wine-producing country, thewhole question of the manipulation of wine is a very important one for her.
Amongst the live stock at this show I noticed some very fine merino sheep. In Hungary the wool-producing quality is everything in sheep, as mutton has hardly any value. This was only a country show, and the horses, from an Englishman's point of view, were not worth looking at; but there are plenty of fine horses in Hungary. The Government has been at immense pains to improve the breed by introducing English and Arabian sires. For practical purposes the native breed must not be decried; the Hungarian horse, though small, has many excellent qualities. For ordinary animals the prices are very low, which fact does not encourage the peasants to take much care of the foals. On this occasion I bought a couple of horses for farming purposes; the two only cost me about £11.
With regard to farming, our English notions of "high farming" will not do in Hungary; what is called the "extensive system" pays best. For instance, if I were already farming, and had some disposable capital at hand, I should find it pay me better to invest in buying more land than in trying to increase the produce of what I had already in hand. After some practical experience in the country, I have no hesitation in saying that Hungaryoffers a good field for the employment of English capital.
Vineyards, on the other hand, can only be worked "intensively." Nothing requires more care and attention. To begin with, the aspect of the vine garden influences the quality of the wine immensely. Then there is the soil. The best is the plastic clay (nyirok), which appears to be the product of the direct chemical decomposition of volcanic rock. This clay absorbs water but very slowly, and is, in short, the most favourable to the growth of the vine. As the vines are mostly on the steep hillsides, low walls are built to prevent the earth from being washed away. In the early spring one of the first things to be done is to repair the inevitable damage done by the winter rain or snow to these walls, and to clear the ditches, which are carefully constructed to carry off the excess of water. I should observe that in the autumn, soon after the vintage, the earth is heaped up round the vines to protect them from the intense cold which prevails here, and directly the spring comes, one must open up the vines again. In Tokay the vines are never trellised, they are disposed irregularly, not even in rows—the better to escape the denudation of their roots by rain. Each vine is supported by an oak stick, which, removed in autumn, isreplaced in spring after the process of pruning. When the young shoots are long enough they are bound to these sticks, and are not allowed to grow beyond them.
No less than three times during the summer the earth should be dug up round the roots of the vine, and it is very desirable to get the second digging over before the harvest, for when harvest has once commenced it is impossible to get labourers at any price. The harvest operations generally begin at the end of June, and last six weeks. In the part of Hungary of which I am now speaking the labourer gets a certain proportion of the harvest. In this district he has every eleventh stack of corn, and as they are fed as well during the time, a man and his wife can generally earn enough corn for the whole year. The summers are intensely hot, and the work in consequence very fatiguing. The poor fellows are often stricken with fever, the result, in some cases, of their own imprudence in eating water-melons to excess.
It is not till the third or fourth week in October that the vintage is to be looked for. It is not the abundance of grapes that makes a good year; the test is the amount of dried grapes, for it is to these brown withered-looking berries that the uniquecharacter of the-wine is due. If the season is favourable, the over-ripe grapes crack in September, when the watery particles evaporate, leaving the rasin-like grape with its undissipated saccharine matter.
In order to make "Essenz," these dry grapes are separated from the rest, placed in tubs with holes perforated at the bottom. The juice is allowed to squeeze out by the mere weight of the fruit into a vessel placed beneath. After several years' keeping this liquid becomes a drinkable wine, but of course it is always very costly. This is really only a liqueur. The wine locally called "Ausbruch" is the more generally known sweet Tokay, a delicious wine, but also very expensive. It is said to possess wonderfully restorative properties in sickness and in advanced age.
Another quality, differently treated, but of the same vintage, is called "Szamarodni," now known in the English market as "dry Tokay." This dry wine preserves the bouquet and strength of the ordinary Tokay, but it is absolutely without any appreciable "sweetness." In order to produce Szamarodni the dry grapes must not be separated from the others. The proportion of alcohol is from twelve to fifteen per cent.
When first I saw the vintage in the Tokay district,I was greatly interested in the novelty of the whole scene. It is well worth the stranger's while to turn aside from the beaten track and join for once in this characteristic Hungarian festivity, for nowhere is the Magyar more at home than in the vine-growing Hegyalia.
Map of the BANAT and TRANSYLVANIA with Mr. Crosse's Route
FOOTNOTES:[1]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.[2]Hungary and the Lower Danube, by Professor Hull, F.R.S., in Dublin University Magazine, March 1874.[3]Extract of a private letter, dated Buda-Pest, June 28th, from Mr Landor Crosse, which appeared in the 'Daily News,' July 6, 1875: "We have had one of the most dreadful storms that has happened here in the memory of man. I must tell you that on Saturday evening I was taking my coffee and cigar in the beautiful gardens of the Isle St Marguerite, opposite Buda-Pest, when a little after six o'clock a fearful hurricane arose very suddenly, sweeping over us with terrific force. Branches of trees were carried along like feathers. After this came a dreadful thunderstorm, accompanied by rain and hail, the hail breaking windows right and left, even those that were made of plate-glass. The hailstones were on an average the size of walnuts, and some very much larger. Two trees were struck by lightning within thirty yards of me. I had a narrow escape, for these large trees were shattered, and the fragments dispersed by the hurricane; it was an awful moment, and I shall never forget it as long as I live."Yesterday I went over to the Buda side, where twenty houses have been entirely washed away. Nearly the whole of the town is flooded, and every street converted into a river five or six feet in depth. It is estimated that more than two hundred people have been drowned.... On Sunday morning I saw the Danube bearing swiftly away the terrible wreckage of the storm. There were large articles of furniture, the bodies of men, women, and children, together with horses and cows, all floating on the whirling waters.... It rained a waterspout for nearly five hours, and in consequence the small valleys leading down from the mountain were in some places thirty feet deep, for a time, in rushing water.... The tramways in some places are destroyed; the mountain railway wrecked; the vineyards on the hillside simply ruined.... You will scarcely credit me when I tell you that a house situated at the bottom of the valley and near the railway station was literally battered in by adriftof hailstones. The doors and windows were burst in before the inmates could escape, and they were actually buried alive in ice. When I saw the house twenty-two hours afterwards it was still four feet deep in hailstones, though they had been clearing them away with spades. Just as I got there they recovered the body of a poor woman who had perished. From this spot, and for about a mile up the valley, no less than fifty-seven bodies were found."[4]Letters and Works, edited by Lord Wharncliffe, 1837, p. 351, 359.[5]The robbers were subsequently taken and executed.[6]Hungary and Transylvania, 1839.[7]'Geographical Aspect of the Eastern Question,' Fortnightly Review, January 1877.[8]Transylvania: its Products and People.[9]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania.[10]'Report on the Agriculture of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.[11]The Ibis, vol. v., 1875. The Birds of Transylvania. By Messrs. Danford and Brown.[12]Martin Diosy, Esq.[13]Vol. v., The Birds of Transylvania.[14]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania, p. 242.[15]See The History of Protestantism, by Rev. J.A. Wylie, Part 29.[16]The Magyars; their Country and Institutions.[17]Boner's Transylvania, p. 624.[18]A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes, by C. Daubeny, p. 133. 1848.[19]'On the Ancient Volcano of the District of Schemnitz, Hungary,' Quarterly Journal, Geo. Soc., August 1876.[20]'Hungarian Finances,' the Times, October 31, 1877.[21]The waters of Borsék are much taken as an "after-cure."[22]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.[23]Journal of Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.[24]Ancient Volcanoes of Hungary.
[1]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.
[1]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.
[2]Hungary and the Lower Danube, by Professor Hull, F.R.S., in Dublin University Magazine, March 1874.
[2]Hungary and the Lower Danube, by Professor Hull, F.R.S., in Dublin University Magazine, March 1874.
[3]Extract of a private letter, dated Buda-Pest, June 28th, from Mr Landor Crosse, which appeared in the 'Daily News,' July 6, 1875: "We have had one of the most dreadful storms that has happened here in the memory of man. I must tell you that on Saturday evening I was taking my coffee and cigar in the beautiful gardens of the Isle St Marguerite, opposite Buda-Pest, when a little after six o'clock a fearful hurricane arose very suddenly, sweeping over us with terrific force. Branches of trees were carried along like feathers. After this came a dreadful thunderstorm, accompanied by rain and hail, the hail breaking windows right and left, even those that were made of plate-glass. The hailstones were on an average the size of walnuts, and some very much larger. Two trees were struck by lightning within thirty yards of me. I had a narrow escape, for these large trees were shattered, and the fragments dispersed by the hurricane; it was an awful moment, and I shall never forget it as long as I live."Yesterday I went over to the Buda side, where twenty houses have been entirely washed away. Nearly the whole of the town is flooded, and every street converted into a river five or six feet in depth. It is estimated that more than two hundred people have been drowned.... On Sunday morning I saw the Danube bearing swiftly away the terrible wreckage of the storm. There were large articles of furniture, the bodies of men, women, and children, together with horses and cows, all floating on the whirling waters.... It rained a waterspout for nearly five hours, and in consequence the small valleys leading down from the mountain were in some places thirty feet deep, for a time, in rushing water.... The tramways in some places are destroyed; the mountain railway wrecked; the vineyards on the hillside simply ruined.... You will scarcely credit me when I tell you that a house situated at the bottom of the valley and near the railway station was literally battered in by adriftof hailstones. The doors and windows were burst in before the inmates could escape, and they were actually buried alive in ice. When I saw the house twenty-two hours afterwards it was still four feet deep in hailstones, though they had been clearing them away with spades. Just as I got there they recovered the body of a poor woman who had perished. From this spot, and for about a mile up the valley, no less than fifty-seven bodies were found."
[3]Extract of a private letter, dated Buda-Pest, June 28th, from Mr Landor Crosse, which appeared in the 'Daily News,' July 6, 1875: "We have had one of the most dreadful storms that has happened here in the memory of man. I must tell you that on Saturday evening I was taking my coffee and cigar in the beautiful gardens of the Isle St Marguerite, opposite Buda-Pest, when a little after six o'clock a fearful hurricane arose very suddenly, sweeping over us with terrific force. Branches of trees were carried along like feathers. After this came a dreadful thunderstorm, accompanied by rain and hail, the hail breaking windows right and left, even those that were made of plate-glass. The hailstones were on an average the size of walnuts, and some very much larger. Two trees were struck by lightning within thirty yards of me. I had a narrow escape, for these large trees were shattered, and the fragments dispersed by the hurricane; it was an awful moment, and I shall never forget it as long as I live.
"Yesterday I went over to the Buda side, where twenty houses have been entirely washed away. Nearly the whole of the town is flooded, and every street converted into a river five or six feet in depth. It is estimated that more than two hundred people have been drowned.... On Sunday morning I saw the Danube bearing swiftly away the terrible wreckage of the storm. There were large articles of furniture, the bodies of men, women, and children, together with horses and cows, all floating on the whirling waters.... It rained a waterspout for nearly five hours, and in consequence the small valleys leading down from the mountain were in some places thirty feet deep, for a time, in rushing water.... The tramways in some places are destroyed; the mountain railway wrecked; the vineyards on the hillside simply ruined.... You will scarcely credit me when I tell you that a house situated at the bottom of the valley and near the railway station was literally battered in by adriftof hailstones. The doors and windows were burst in before the inmates could escape, and they were actually buried alive in ice. When I saw the house twenty-two hours afterwards it was still four feet deep in hailstones, though they had been clearing them away with spades. Just as I got there they recovered the body of a poor woman who had perished. From this spot, and for about a mile up the valley, no less than fifty-seven bodies were found."
[4]Letters and Works, edited by Lord Wharncliffe, 1837, p. 351, 359.
[4]Letters and Works, edited by Lord Wharncliffe, 1837, p. 351, 359.
[5]The robbers were subsequently taken and executed.
[5]The robbers were subsequently taken and executed.
[6]Hungary and Transylvania, 1839.
[6]Hungary and Transylvania, 1839.
[7]'Geographical Aspect of the Eastern Question,' Fortnightly Review, January 1877.
[7]'Geographical Aspect of the Eastern Question,' Fortnightly Review, January 1877.
[8]Transylvania: its Products and People.
[8]Transylvania: its Products and People.
[9]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania.
[9]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania.
[10]'Report on the Agriculture of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.
[10]'Report on the Agriculture of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.
[11]The Ibis, vol. v., 1875. The Birds of Transylvania. By Messrs. Danford and Brown.
[11]The Ibis, vol. v., 1875. The Birds of Transylvania. By Messrs. Danford and Brown.
[12]Martin Diosy, Esq.
[12]Martin Diosy, Esq.
[13]Vol. v., The Birds of Transylvania.
[13]Vol. v., The Birds of Transylvania.
[14]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania, p. 242.
[14]A Short Trip in Hungary and Transylvania, p. 242.
[15]See The History of Protestantism, by Rev. J.A. Wylie, Part 29.
[15]See The History of Protestantism, by Rev. J.A. Wylie, Part 29.
[16]The Magyars; their Country and Institutions.
[16]The Magyars; their Country and Institutions.
[17]Boner's Transylvania, p. 624.
[17]Boner's Transylvania, p. 624.
[18]A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes, by C. Daubeny, p. 133. 1848.
[18]A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanoes, by C. Daubeny, p. 133. 1848.
[19]'On the Ancient Volcano of the District of Schemnitz, Hungary,' Quarterly Journal, Geo. Soc., August 1876.
[19]'On the Ancient Volcano of the District of Schemnitz, Hungary,' Quarterly Journal, Geo. Soc., August 1876.
[20]'Hungarian Finances,' the Times, October 31, 1877.
[20]'Hungarian Finances,' the Times, October 31, 1877.
[21]The waters of Borsék are much taken as an "after-cure."
[21]The waters of Borsék are much taken as an "after-cure."
[22]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.
[22]The Danube at Buda-Pest. Report addressed to Count Andrassy by J.J. Révy, C.E. 1876.
[23]Journal of Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.
[23]Journal of Agricultural Society, vol. x. Part xi. No. xx.
[24]Ancient Volcanoes of Hungary.
[24]Ancient Volcanoes of Hungary.