Orsova—Castle of the Pass—Turkish Guard—Quarantaine Ground—Village of Tekia—Awkward Mistake—Pretty Woman—Gay Dress—A Visiter—Servian Cottagers—A Discovery—Departure—A Volunteer—Receiving House—A Forced March—The Grave-Yard—The Quarantaine—A Welcome to Captivity—A Verbal Coinage—Pleasant Quarters—M. le Directeur—The Restaurant—Pleasant Announcement—Paternal Care of the Austrian Authorities—The Health-Inventory—The Guardsman’s Sword—Medical Visits—Intellectual Amusements—A Friendly Warning.
Wereached Orsova after a drive of about three hours; and passed through the court of the castle that guards the pass on the Servian side, and which must have been of great strength when in repair. A buttressed tower, perforated from its base to its summit with loop-holes for musketry, occupies the side of the hill immediately above the fort; and the site of this stronghold is so cunningly chosen, that it is invisible from the Viennese side of the river until you come close upon it, owing to its being built in a gorge between two boldly-projecting rocks. A couple of Turks, armed to the teeth, were lounging at the outer gate, who uttered a courteous “Bouroum” as we passed the archway;while a man, stationed on the roof of the tower, gave out a wild shrill cry, evidently intended as a signal.
The town and fortress of Orsova occupy an island of considerable length, and have a very picturesque appearance; the gleaming minaret of the solitary mosque cutting against the party-coloured foliage that clothes the hills by which it is overshadowed; and the castellated and buttressed wall of the town reflecting itself in the river-tide. Much of this wall is now in ruin, although it may still be traced entirely along the bank. The island was fortified by the Austrians, but was afterwards ceded to the Turks, together with the fortress of Belgrade by the Emperor Leopold.
From this point we could distinguish the Quarantaine establishment, niched in at the foot of the Banût mountains, and distant from the town of Alt Orsova about a mile. But we were obliged to overshoot it by nearly half a league, from the fact of there being no boats for hire until we reached the village of Tekia, situated by the river side, whence the embarkations of the “condemned” universally take place.
As we had considerably out-travelled our companions who had remained with the luggage-waggons, we resolved to await them here; and, the gentlemen having discovered what they supposed to be a coffee-kiosk, I gladly availed myself of the cool, clean apartment to which they summoned me; and the more readily that I was welcomed on the threshold by one of the prettiest women imaginable. She must have been about eighteen; and she had all the bloom of youth, combined with all the grace of womanhood.
I have already remarked on the erect carriage of the Servian females; and our new acquaintance was no exception from the rest of her countrywomen. Her eyes and hair were dazzlingly dark and bright; and she had a lovely glow upon her cheek that told a tale of health and happiness. Her rich tresses were wound about her head above a small Smyrniote fèz, with a falling tassel of purple silk; and the smooth braids that pressed her fair young brow were partly shrouded beneath a painted muslin handkerchief. Her dress of violet silk was made precisely like those of the Constantinopolitan Jewesses, and girt about the waist by a girdle of pale yellow; and above it she wore a scarf of pink muslin embroidered with gold, crossed upon her bosom; and a jacket of wadded green sarsenet with wide sleeves; stockings she had none, but her feet were shrouded in purple slippers; and altogether she was as pleasant a specimen of Servian beauty as the eye could desire to look upon.
As we were self-deluded into the conviction that we were in a coffee-kiosk, and as we weresuffering severely from heat and thirst, we unhesitatingly ordered coffee and wine, which were instantly brought; and to which our pretty hostess added sweetmeats and water, presented by herself with a blush and a smile that quite verified the sentiment of the old song, which says:
“If woman be but fair,She has the gift to know it.”
“If woman be but fair,She has the gift to know it.”
“If woman be but fair,She has the gift to know it.”
“If woman be but fair,
She has the gift to know it.”
We were shortly joined by an important-looking personage, clad in a richly-furred and embroidered jacket and greaves of bright scarlet: who seated himself in the midst of us, called for wine, replenished his pipe, and made himself so thoroughly at home, that when the pretty hostess chanced to leave the kiosk, we inquired whether she were his daughter: expressing at the same time our admiration of her beauty. It was not without some surprise that we learnt from the plain middle-aged individual to whom we addressed ourselves, that the young beauty was his wife; and moreover the adopted daughter of Prince Milosch, who had bestowed her upon him in marriage, as a mark of his peculiar regard. He did not appear in the least annoyed by the glances of unequivocal admiration which the gentlemen, who had so long inhabited a land of lattices and yashmacs, could not refrain from turning on her as she moved among them busied in the offices of hospitality; but appeared totreat her rather as a spoiled child, than as the partner of his fortunes.
A tour of the village being proposed by one of the party, we started on an exploring expedition; but met with nothing particularly interesting. The peasantry were remarkably respectful and courteous, every one rising as we approached their cottage door, and saluting us with a smile of perfect good-humour; while we won the hearts of the mothers by dividing among the numerous children who were sporting on all sides, a collection of copper coins made during the journey, of which we knew neither the names nor the value. They were a plain race, coarsely formed, and universally disfigured by feet of an unwieldly size; but, nevertheless, the women all carried themselves like empresses; and their glittering head-dresses, and large silver earrings, rendered their appearance almost attractive.
When the rest of our caravan arrived, we discovered the error into which we had been betrayed by our ignorance of the locality; being informed by the agent who had accompanied us from Scala Glavoda, in order to deliver us up to the quarantaine authorities, that we were the guests of the chief man of the village; to whom it was utterly impossible that we could offer any remuneration for all the trouble that we had given in his house. Such being the case, wecould only overwhelm him with acknowledgements and compliments; with which he was so well satisfied, that he declared his intention of accompanying us down the river as far as the station at which we were to land, in order to proceed on foot to our temporary prison.
When the large flat-bottomed barge in which we were to be conveyed thither, was freighted with our packages, and that we were about to push off, we were detained for an instant by the declaration of the little Servian beauty that she had determined to be of the party; and on board she accordingly came, having flung over her house-costume a magnificent pelisse of grey cloth, edged with sable, and worked with gold.
In half an hour we reached a long wooden shed, built as a receiving house for the quarantaine; and here we were detained until our patience was fairly outworn, and that our hunger had become positively painful. A double partition of wood parted us from the authorities, who graciously welcomed us to the horrors of incarceration; and we were obliged to seat ourselves on the luggage, and await the arrival of the bullock-carriages that were to convey our travelling-gear to its destination.
All was at last accomplished; and after taking leave of our pretty Servian companion, who laughed heartily at my pressing invitation to her to share our imprisonment; we followed thetrain of waggons; the rear of the party being brought up by an Austrian soldier, armed with a loaded musket, and a fixed bayonet. We were, however, in no mood to yield to gloomy ideas or feelings. We had a blue sky above us, a fine turf beneath our feet, and the prospect of another half hour of comparative liberty; and we were straggling gaily about the plain, laughing and speculating on our approaching imprisonment, when we were called to order by the guard; and compelled to keep to the high road, lest we should contaminate the grass and thistles among which we were wandering.
Before we reached the quarantaine-ground, we passed the grave-yard destined to receive those who die of plague during their incarceration. It was closely fenced; and rendered still more gloomy by a tall crucifix, painted red, and supporting a most revolting effigy of Our Lord.
On ringing a bell the great gates of the establishment were flung “hospitably” back, and we were requested to allow the waggons to enter before us, lest we should contaminate the oxen by our contact; and, after passing through a couple of walled yards, surrounded by warehouses for receiving merchandize, we entered a third enclosure wherein we were met by the governor and surgeon; who, keeping at a respectful distance, invited us to enter a dark,whitewashed, iron-grated cell, in order to have our passports examined.
A wooden lattice separated us from our new hosts; and the peasant who had conducted us from the river side, stood in front of a small opening made for the purpose, and held at arm’s length the papers which were demanded. Much bowing and scraping ensued between M. le Directeur, the foreign Noblemen, and the Hungarian Chevalier; and we had reason to congratulate ourselves on their companionship, as it produced a visible increase of courtesy on the part of the local authorities: a courtesy which did not, however, exempt us from the “locks, bolts, and bars” of the Lazaretto. As I was only the second lady who had been unfortunate enough to come under his keeping, the Governor very politely resolved to commence his arrangements by providing me with as good a cell as he had then vacant—not that he called the space into which he was about to consign me, acachot—by no means—the word “cell” being somewhat grating, another term has been invented; and the dens of the Lazaretto of Orsova are designatedcolleves, which signifies—nothing.
But before we could take possession of our prison, another gate had yet to be unlocked; which admitted us into a large space enclosed within a high wall, and containing theéliteofthe accommodations. The cells, like those of a madhouse in Turkey, were built round the four sides of a garden; and each had a small entrance-court, paved with stone. As none of the buildings were capacious enough to contain our whole party, it was at length arranged that five of us should take one of them, in which we might make such arrangements as we preferred; and that the three others should be accommodated as near to us as possible. Upon which understanding M. le Directeur, a plump, good-natured-looking little old man, with a bit of soiled red ribbon displayed in the button-hole of a threadbare gray frock-coat, a ruffled shirt, and the funniest of all forage-caps, led the way to cell, or I should rather saycolleve, No. 2: and when one of his followers had unlocked the yellow and black gate of the court, he bowed ceremoniously to me, as he pointed to two melancholy-looking trees, which had contrived to exist amid the rude paving, and exclaimed with a tone and gesture perfectly dramatic: “Soyez la bien-venue, Madame; voyez les beaux arbres que vous avez!”
It was extremely fortunate that the day chanced to be one of cloudless sunshine, and that we consequently saw every thing under its most favourable aspect; for there was nothing particularly exhilarating in the interior of the buildings. Windows both barred and grated; walls whitewashed and weather-stained; chairs,tables, and sofa all of wood, which is a “nonconductor,” and whitewashed like the walls; were the only objects that met our eyes. But as we were all both tired and hungry, we welcomed even these; and only begged to learn where we must address ourselves, in order to procure some food with as little delay as possible.
This brought us to the second feature of our position; for a window whose shutter was padlocked up, was unfastened; a bell was rung, and at a casement grated like our own appeared the Restaurateur of the Lazaretto to receive his instructions. Dinner was instantly ordered; bread and wine were speedily procured; and we were waited upon by a very gaily-dressed, conceited individual, who announced himself to be “our keeper;” a piece of intelligence which once more carried back my thoughts to theTimerhazès, or madhouses of Constantinople; and I began half to apprehend that we had indeed intruded into one of those melancholy establishments. At five o’clock we were furnished with a very bad dinner; bedding was brought in; and at sunset we were locked up.
On the morrow we were somewhat disconcerted to learn that the court of thecollevewas to be our boundary during the ten days of our imprisonment; and our officious “keeper” very carefully locked the gate every time that hethought proper to make his escape. But this was a trifling annoyance to that by which it was succeeded; and which consisted of an announcement that at mid-day the Surgeon of the Lazaretto, and the Examining Officer, would visit us, in order to take an inventory of every thing in our possession. Each trunk, portmanteau, and basket was to be unpacked; in short, we were even to declare the contents of our purses!
We were already aware that the Austrian was the most paternal of all Governments; taking an interest in the private affairs, not only of its own subjects, but also in those of strangers; yet I confess that for such a proceeding as the present we were totally unprepared.
There was, however, no remedy: and the “secret recesses” of every package were laid bare before the “authorities.” The reason given for this inconvenient and revolting stretch of power, is the desire of the Government that, in the event of a decease, the friends of the dead person may receive every part of his property upon demand; the inventory held by the proper officers effectually preventing the keeper of thecollevefrom plundering the trunks; but certain little circumstances which we remarked during the investigation rather tended to weaken our faith in the disinterestedness of the arrangement.
When the possession of any Turkish articlewas mentioned, there was a visible excitement. Even a lantern exhibited by my father was entered on the list; and the number of chibouk-tubes, of tobacco purses, and other trifles, which could have been of no value to the survivors of a deceased person, were registered with equal exactness.
In my own case they were peculiarly inquisitive; counting my rings, and recording my bracelets and necklaces. Not a pocket-handkerchief, nor a waist-ribbon escaped; and I was more than once asked if I had really exhibited the whole of my wardrobe. My books and drawings were seized without ceremony, and carried off to be examined by the proper officer; and the worthy functionaries at length departed in full possession of all which related to our peripatetic properties.
It required a couple of hours to soften down the “chafed humours” of the gentlemen of the party; which were not rendered more gentle by the demand of the keeper, that they should deliver up all their arms, of whatever description they might be; on the understanding that they were to be restored to them on the day of their own delivery. But the request did not meet with the ready acquiescence which had been anticipated. Colonel——had travelled with the whole of his uniform; and when our attendant advanced to lay sacrilegious hands upon his sword, whichwas hanging over a chair, all the quick sense of honour of the British soldier was roused at once; and, as the indignant blood rushed to his brow, he vowed that he would fell to the earth the first man who dared to meddle with his side-arms. In vain did the keeper insist, and the Chevalier explain; the English heart beat too high to heed either the one, or the other: and the pistol-laden functionary was obliged to depart without the sword of the gallant Guardsman. Of course he made his report to the Governor; but the worthy little old gentleman had too much good sense to persist in the demand; and no allusion was afterwards made to the subject.
Twice each day we were visited by the medical officer, who just popped his head in at the door, and smiled forth: “Ah! quite well, quite well, I see—impossible to be better—good morning,” and away he went, without affording us time to complain had we been so inclined. M. le Directeur also paid us several visits, always carefully pointing his cane before him, as a warning to us not to approach him too closely: and never failing to commence the conversation by the ejaculation of, “Madame, je vous salue—ha! les beaux arbres que vous avez!” It was really worse than ludicrous.
As a signal mark of favour, we were occasionally permitted to walk, under the charge ofthe keeper, from the gate of our owncolleve-court to that of our friends, and to receive their visits in return, when we had always a very laughable interview; the incarcerated individuals amusing themselves by rocking to and fro behind the bars of their prison-gates, and roaring like wild beasts in a menagerie.
There are two descriptions of persons to whom I would particularly recommend an avoidance of the Quarantaine at Orsova—Theennuyéand thebon vivant. For the first there is no refuge save sleep, and the few doggrel attempts at poetry which may be partially traced through the whitewash; the outpourings of an impatient spirit weary of its thrall; with the occasional society of the “keeper,” who is as cold and as impracticable as his own keys. The very books of which the wanderer has made his travelling companions; and some of which would bear a second perusal, at all events in a quarantaine cell, are carried off and sealed up, as though every volume were redolent of high treason; and he is left to his own resources as ruthlessly as if he were indeed “the last man;” and that he had done with the world, and the world with him.
To the second I need only hint that therestaurantis a Government monopoly, where you are provided for at a fixed sum per day; and fed upon whatever it may please the Comptroller ofthe Kitchen to serve up. Nor can you procure any wine save the sour and unpalatablevin du pays, however liberally you may be disposed to pay for it.
Those travellers are fortunate who, like ourselves, can meet the captivity of quarantaine with pleasant companions, light hearts, and unfailing spirits; finding food for mirth in their very miseries; and forgetting the annoyance of present detention in the anticipation of future freedom.
The Last Day of Captivity—Quarantaine Enclosure—Baths of Mahadia—Landscape Scenery—Peasantry of Hungary—Their Costume—Trajan’s Road—Hungarian Village—The Mountain Pass—The Baths—A Disappointment—The Health-Inventory—Inland Journey—New Road.
Thelast day of our captivity was the most tedious portion of the whole, for the prospect of speedy emancipation kept us in a constant state of irritation. Our luggage was collected and arranged with a haste which by no means added to its comfort or convenience, and which only left us an additional hour of unoccupied restlessness; while the servants were urged to a continual commotion that robbed us even of the tranquillity which might have made our prison-house somewhat more endurable.
The morning of the fifteenth of October was that of our release. We were all ready to depart at daybreak; and after the necessary ceremonies had been gone through, we assembled in a large grassy space, bounded on one side by the Danube, and skirted on the other by the Quarantaine buildings. This enclosure was crowded with oxen, waggons, and bales of merchandize;and about fifty peasants were employed in lading such goods as were admitted topratique, after their period of purification had been accomplished. Here we also found carriages for hire, two of which we immediately engaged to convey some of our party to the celebrated Baths of Mahadia; which, being situated off our road, we were anxious to reach as speedily as possible, in order to enable us to secure our passage on board the Steam Packet, that was to leave Drinkova at daybreak the following morning.
Three of the party accordingly took possession of a Calèche, drawn by a trio of wiry-looking little chesnut ponies, harnessed in the most inartificial way in the world, with bridles, traces, and reins of stout cord; while the others mounted one of the country waggons, filled with hay, and dragged by a couple of wild-looking horses.
Never was there a more sincere exhibition of self-gratulation than that with which we passed the boundary gate of the Quarantaine ground; and found ourselves beside the tall stone cross that is erected on its outskirt, as if to claim the thanksgiving of the newly-liberated. We had majestic hills rising before, and beside us, clothed with forest-timber, now rich in the thousand hues of autumn—The river-tide running rippling—would, for the sake of my landscape sketch, that I could saysparkling—in the sunshine; but, alas! the lordly Danube throughout its entire length looks like diluted dirt; and the beam must be full and fierce indeed which can lend a brightness to its waters.—The vapours that had during the night been pillowed on the hill-tops, or had cinctured them with a fleecy girdle, were just beginning to roll back beneath the influence of the sun, which was rising like a golden globe into a horizon of the faintest pink; and as the halo widened round its disk, deepening the clouds to amber.
The hardy Hungarian peasantry were all astir; and very picturesque they looked as they drove forth their flocks to the green and goodly pastures on the mountain-side; or yoked the docile oxen to their light waggons of wicker-work, which resemble huge baskets raised on wheels. To us everything was delightful; for like long-caged birds suddenly set free, we were pruning our wings for a fresh flight. Ten days of happiness go by like an Eastern twilight, or the down of the thistle; but ten days of Quarantaine—ten days of wood and whitewash—of locks and bolts—of walls and weariness!—No one who has not passed ten days in acolleve, and its narrow court can understand all the delight of the first bound back to freedom.
There is one of Sir Walter Scott’s ballads which from my earliest girlhood I have alwaysloved; it first touched my heart by its plaintiveness, but in the quarantaine of Orsovar I learned to value it still more for its surpassing nature—its masterly delineation of the feelings of the human mind under captivity; the captivity, not of despair, but of impatience—the wail of the bounding spirit held back—and often, very often, as I paced up and down the paved court of our plague-prison, did I murmur out my own irritation in the words of the Mighty One of Song:
“My hawk is tired of perch and hood,My idle greyhound loathes his food,My horse is weary of his stall,And I am sick of captive thrall.”
“My hawk is tired of perch and hood,My idle greyhound loathes his food,My horse is weary of his stall,And I am sick of captive thrall.”
“My hawk is tired of perch and hood,My idle greyhound loathes his food,My horse is weary of his stall,And I am sick of captive thrall.”
“My hawk is tired of perch and hood,
My idle greyhound loathes his food,
My horse is weary of his stall,
And I am sick of captive thrall.”
But even had we looked on the peasantry of Hungary at a less joyous moment, we could not have failed to be struck with their extremely picturesque costume. The men were dressed like those of Servia, even to the ungainly sandal of untanned leather, laced above a short stocking of checked worsted; though many among them had discarded the rude conical cap of sheepskin, for one neatly made of white flannel, and bound with black ribbon, which had a very cleanly and smart appearance; but the women were in a costume which would have produced its effect at a fancy ball. Like the maidens of Scotland, the young girls wore their hair simplybound by a silken snood, into which they had stuck marigolds or wild roses; while the matrons covered their heads with a handkerchief placed very backward, and secured by bodkins, flowers, and coins, to a cushion worn low in the neck, and concealed by a thick plait of hair. A band of linen, a couple of inches in width, was fastened round the brow, and completed the head-dress; and many of these were elegantly wrought with beads and coloured worsteds; I also remarked one which was decorated with small white cowries.
Herein alone existed any distinction of dress between the oldest matron and the youngest maiden; the garments varying only in the richness of their material. A chemisette of white linen reaching to the throat, where it was confined by a band worked with coloured worsteds, continued down the front of the bosom, and along the tops of the large, full sleeves, was girt about the waist with two woollen aprons worn like those of Servia, but falling only to the knee; where they terminated in a deep fringe of the same colours as the apron, that descended to the ancle. Some few made use of the same unsightly sandals as those of the men, but they were principally barefooted.
The Hungarian peasantry are all soldiers when their services are required, but resume their agricultural and domestic duties immediately that the necessity has ceased to exist; hence they are all erect, and smart-looking; and as they are a remarkably fine race of men, their appearance is very striking. Of the women I cannot in candour say so much, as they are, generally speaking, very plain; with flat features, and expressionless countenances. There were, however, several startling exceptions; and I know not whether in such cases it be actually the intrinsic degree of beauty possessed by the individual, and that in a land of plain women, Nature lavishes on the few all that she has withheld from the many; or that the dearth of good looks in the many may lead a stranger involuntarily to heighten to himself those of the few; but it is certain that I saw in Hungary, as I thought at the time, half a dozen of the loveliest girls imaginable.
We had left Orsova only a few miles behind us, when, descending a short but precipitous declivity, we entered upon a road skirting the mountain ridge on the one hand, and bounded on the other by the bed of a torrent; whose waters, now in a state of comparative repose, brawled over the masses of rock with which their own violence had cumbered the channel during the winter storms; and ran dancing in the light, as their course was further impeded by the fishing-dams of the peasantry; and, after forming a thousand pigmy cascades, fell flashingback into the depths of the ravine, to form a mirror for the overhanging hills.
Another hour of rapid travelling brought us to the ruins of Trajan’s road. Six of the arches, built against the solid rock, still remain nearly perfect; and hence this stupendous work may be traced for several miles, as well as the massy fragments of a bridge across the torrent.
A lovely valley succeeded, hemmed in by hills, and dotted over with little villages, seated on the banks of the mountain stream; looking, from the peculiar formation of their small reed-thatched huts, like gigantic apiaries. Every narrow shelf of rock that could be redeemed from the forest, for such the whole line of heights, (gigantic as they were), may literally be called, was in a high state of cultivation. Patches of Indian corn, flourishing vineyards, green pasture lands, and thriving orchards, were to be seen on all sides; while the effects of the flitting light upon the autumn-touched timber were so magical, so various, and so brilliant, that words are inadequate to paint them. Here and there, among stretches of foliage, varying from the faint silvery green of the river-willow, and the white lining of the aspen-leaf, to the bright gold of the decaying beech, and the rich brown of the withering oak, stood out a huge mass of bare calcareous rock; looking like a giant portal closed upon the hidden treasures of the mountain’s heart. And amid all these glorious hills, this jewel-like foliage, and these flashing waters, we travelled on with the speed of lightning, through an avenue of fruit-trees several miles in length.
A second stretch of the mountain-road conducted us to a spot where a descent had been made to the bed of the torrent; and here, leaving the direct line to the town of Mahadia, we forded the stream, and struck into a byway, which, traversing a dense wood, led immediately to the Baths. It was but an exchange of beauty. And, as we entered the gorge of two stately mountains draped in forest-foliage, and lifting to the sky their high and leafy heads; and saw the eagles planing above them in majestic security, while flowers bloomed beside our path, and small birds twittered among the branches; while the sound of the shepherd’s reed-pipe came sweeping down into the valley from the giddy heights on which his flock were browsing; and the luxurious cattle standing mid-way in the stream, lowed out their enjoyment to their fellows, as if to lure them from the mountain glades amid which they were wandering; I thought that I had never traversed a country so lovely as this corner of Hungary. I would not have missed that morning landscape for another term of quarantaine!
We were quite unprepared for the scene thatawaited us at the Baths. The gorge in which they are built is so narrow that the rocks on either side almost overhang the houses; and the torrent rushes brawling along at their base, fed by continual springs. The establishment, which is becoming every year more popular, is on a very large and handsome scale; and the whole aspect of the place is so enchanting, so bright, so calm, and so delightful, that, could we have woven the web of our day to a week’s duration, I am quite sure that not one of our party would have wearied of it.
The Baths are of Roman origin; and in the wall of one of the principal apartments a stone is imbedded which still bears most legibly the following inscription: “To Venus, Mercury, and Hercules, these springs, conducive to Beauty, Activity, and Strength, are dedicated.” They are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and produce on a first trial extreme and almost painful exhaustion; but they are considered to be so very efficacious, particularly in chronic diseases, that the government have erected an Invalid Hospital and Bathing House at the extremity of the mountain, for the use of the troops.
We partook of an excellent dinner at the Table d’Hôte on leaving the Baths; and, greatly to our regret, were then compelled to retrace our steps in order to reach Orsova before dusk. But we had already lingered too long; and, onarriving in the court of the hotel where the post-waggons were awaiting us, we were met by the declaration of the drivers that they would not stir until daylight; the road to Drinkova being cut along the brink of the mountain precipices, and so slightly protected as to be even dangerous at noon-day.
We were, one and all, extremely annoyed at their decision, not knowing if we could afford a loss of time on which we had not calculated; and we almost began to ask ourselves whether the more incurious portion of the party, who had quietly mounted the luggage-waggons at the quarantaine-gate, and pursued their direct road to the steam-station, had not been also the most prudent. For myself, despite the fatigue that I had undergone during the day, and the enervating effect of the sulphuric bath, I had so nerved myself for the night-journey, that I was sincerely disappointed when assured that it was quite impracticable; but, as there was no alternative, we resolved on retiring early to our apartments, whose cleanliness and comfort were enhanced tenfold in our eyes by our recent endurance of the disarray and desolation of the quarantaine cells.
We were, however, obliged, ere we parted for the night, to receive the Agent of the Steam-Company, and two officers of the Austrian Customs; who, for “a consideration,” returned ourbooks carefully sewed up in linen, and sealed with this government-stamp in lead, accompanied by an injunction not to remove it until we had passed the Austrian frontier. We next paid a duty for the Turkish articles we had brought with us, and which they did not trouble us to enumerate; as, thanks to the “Health-Inventory” taken at the Lazaretto, they were thoroughly acquainted with the extent of our possessions.
The official train had no sooner departed, than we busied ourselves in superintending the arrangement of the provisions that were to accompany us on the morrow’s journey; nothing edible, save Indian corn bread, being purchaseable between the town of Orsova, and the station of the steam-boat.
Few circumstances can be more provoking than the necessity which exists of abandoning the course of the river at this particular point; as the scenery for several successive miles is of the most majestic and striking description. Piles of rock hem in the current, and almost overhang it; caverns, hollowed by some fearful convulsion of nature, tempt the venturous foot of the curious traveller; and far-spreading forests, sweeping away into the distance, fringe the summits of the mountains, and cast their deep shadows over the river tide.
Superadded to this disappointment, is the increase of fatigue consequent on the compulsatorydétour; the distance occupied by the shoal being more than doubled by the overland journey that is made across the loftiest of the Banût mountains, and performed in the country carriages (the basket-work waggons already mentioned); which, although so lightly constructed as to travel very rapidly, yet, being without springs, are extremely fatiguing.
To obviate this inconvenience, the Steam Company have commenced the construction of a road at the foot of the mountain-chain, the whole length of the shoal; and it was progressing rapidly at the period of our visit, under the auspices of the Austrian Government.11The necessary outlay was said to be very great, owing to the difficult nature of the locality, and the labour of penetrating the living rock. An entire mile of this singular undertaking was already completed; and really afforded an extraordinary proof of the effects produceable by human ingenuity and perseverance. In particular spots it is entirely artificial; and is a solid stretch of masonry based on the bed of the river—in others, it hangs on the side of the mountain like a goat-path—and at others, again it is a tunnel, walledand roofed with rock, and torn from the heart of the mighty mass by blasting.
This road is intended to facilitate the passage of travellers and merchandize, from one steam-vessel to the other, by means of flat-bottomed boats, to be towed by horses along the hitherto impassable portion of the river—an arrangement which will supersede the necessity of abandoning the direct line; and save the traveller the expense, fatigue, and inconvenience of the inland journey.
Departure from Orsova—Daybreak—The Mountain-pass—Village of Plauwischewitza—Austrian Engineers—Literary Popularity—The Rapids—Sunday in Hungary—Drinkova—Holyday Groups—Alibec—Voilovitch—Panchova—River-Shoals—Wild Fowl—Semlin—Fortress of Belgrade—Streets of Semlin—Greek Church—Castle of Hunyady—Imperial Barge—Agreeable Escort—Yusuf Pacha—Belgrade—Prince Milosch—Plague-Preventers—General Milosch—Servian Ladies—Turk-Town—Ruined Dwellings—The Fortress—Osman Bey—Gate of the Tower—Fearless Tower—Rapid Decay of the Fortifications—Sclavonian Garden—Vintage-Feast—Sclavonian Vintage-Song.
Atfour o’clock the following morning we left Orsova, lighted by a perfect galaxy of stars; but shivering from the damp vapours which were hanging in dense folds about the Danube. The light was just breaking as we reached the foot of the mountains, and began to ascend a precipitous road, slightly guarded on the outer edge by a wooden railing; whence we looked down into rifts and chasms filled with the most profuse foliage; at whose bottom rippled along the pigmy streams which in the winter season swell to torrents, and awake the depths of the forest-fastnesses with their brawling voices.
It is impossible to give the faintest picture of this mountain-pass, with its bridges of rudetimber flung over almost unfathomable gulfs—its bold, overhanging paths, along which the narrow wheels have scarcely space to pass—its dense masses of forest foliage, linked together by the graceful wreaths of the wild vine with its blood red leaves, and the clinging tendrils of the wild cotton plant with its snowy tufts of down—its herds of cattle—its flocks of goats—and its green grassy glades, laughing in the sunshine—its ever-recurring effects of light and shade—its mysterious silence—and its surpassing majesty.
As we travelled on, the day-beam grew brighter in the heavens, and the horizon became one rich canopy of pink and violet. There were moments when I was breathless with awe as we traversed that leafy solitude. I never thought of danger; even when the half wild animals that drew us were galloping at their greatest speed down the mountain-side, with a shelf of rock walling us up on the one hand, and a deep precipice yawning over against us on the other. I had not an instant to spare to the possible peril of our position; I saw only, I felt only, the glory which surrounded me. I could at that moment fully understand why the mountaineer clung to liberty as to existence—how he who had once breathed the pure air of heaven from the rocky brow on which the clouds of night were wont to rest, and the sunshine of day to sport, must pineamid the gloom of the valley, and the monotony of the plain. And when we once more descended to the river’s edge, where all was safe and level, I only felt regret that I could not call back the mystery and the magnificence of the rock-seated forests, even although there might be peril in their paths.
The road into which we passed at the foot of the mountain-chain led us along fields of Indian corn, to the village of Plauwischewitza; where we were compelled to remain a couple of hours, in order to rest the horses. It was nine o’clock when we reached it; and as the little hamlet boasted no wine-house, at which we could satisfy the keen appetite that we had acquired by four hours of rapid travelling among the mountains, we were preparing to breakfast in one of the waggons; when the Chevalier Peitrich was recognized by an Officer of Austrian Engineers, who immediately invited us to a very comfortable house that had been built for himself and his brother-officers, during their superintendence of the road to which I have already alluded.
We availed ourselves of his politeness most readily, and were received with the greatest courtesy by the whole party; who showed and explained to us several beautifully-coloured plans of the Danube, and the projected roads and canals. In their bookcase I found Bulwer’s “England and the English,” and Marryat’s“Naval Officer;” both published by Baudry of Paris. It was like meeting old friends in a strange land, to turn over the leaves of these well-remembered volumes in an obscure Hungarian village!
At eleven o’clock we resumed our journey, which lay along the bank of the river, but at a considerable height above the water. In one or two places we wound round the base of rocks that jutted into the bed of the stream, and which were rent and riven in an extraordinary manner; one mass resting upon another, and so apparently insecure as to appear ready to loosen their hold with the next blast of wind. By this picturesque route we passed the rapids called Izlas; a singular ridge of rock extending nearly across the river, at a spot where the shores are extremely bold and beautiful; and at three o’clock in the afternoon we again halted in another small hamlet.
The scene was a very cheerful one, as, owing to its being Sunday, all the peasants were in their holyday garb; and were clustered at the doors of their cottages, enjoying the pure air and the genial sunshine. I was much amused at the method adopted by the Hungarian mothers of nursing their infants; they carry a small box, in shape not unlike a coffin, slung over their shoulders, in which the child lies upon a mattress; and when the little being requirestheir care, they sit down upon the first stone, or piece of timber in their path, swing the box to their knees, and quietly attend to the wants of their nursling; the suspended cradle is then restored to its original position, and their own occupations are resumed.
On our arrival at the steam station at Drinkova, which is simply a large block of building containing apartments for the resident agent and stores for the housing of merchandize, we learnt that, owing to the long drought, the water had become so low in the Danube that the vessel could not descend beyond Alibec, the next station; and consequently, fatigued as we were with a journey of sixty-five miles in rough carriages over steep roads, we were compelled to continue our route at all speed; and in about twenty minutes we reached the pretty and extensive village of Drinkova, in which we found an Austrian regiment, occupying a commodious barrack in the principal street. We remained here an hour, in order to rest the unfortunate horses, which we were obliged to take on, as there were no means of procuring others; and we started again just as the sun was setting, and throwing fairy lights upon the mountain crests.
Many a gay group did we encounter as we pursued our way, hurrying home to the village after a day of recreation among the hills; and we even passed one party who had lingered solong that the blaze of the fire that they had kindled in the woods streamed across our path.
At nine o’clock we reached Alibec by the light of a bright young moon, which just disappeared behind the hills as we were hailed from the vessel. At daylight the next morning we were under weigh; and about noon the Francis I. was abreast of the extensive monastery and dependencies of Voilovitch on the Hungarian side of the river; and shortly afterwards we passed the town of Panchova, seated on the Temes, which here empties itself into the Danube. About a mile and a half beyond Panchova, we entered a shoal, and the steam was almost entirely stopped, while we glided over the treacherous surface of the stream; the boat scarcely appeared to make any way; but there was a slight tremulous motion that seemed as though her heart still beat, while her progress was impeded.
These shoals, which are by no means without danger even by daylight, are not, however, the only impediment to night-travelling on the Danube—the violence of the current, particularly after a gale at sea, frequently carrying away immense masses of the light sandy soil of the islands that are scattered along the whole line of the river; and with them enormous trees, which come sweeping down the stream, with their wide branches spreading on all sides, andchoking the passage. We encountered at least a dozen of these uprooted forest giants during our voyage.
In the course of the afternoon we were off Semendri, an extensive Turkish fortress, occupying a very commanding position on the Servian shore, at the junction of the Jesava with the Danube; and defended by twenty-seven towers, of which twenty-three were square, two round, and two hexagonal; but extremely exposed on all sides, and apparently not in the best state of repair.
At sunset we passed a group of islands thickly wooded, principally by river-willows; and surrounded by long narrow necks of land, from which the approach of the vessel aroused such a cloud of aquatic birds as I never beheld before in my life. They must have amounted to several thousands; and being wild swans, geese, ducks, and plover, they filled the air with a discord, to which the monotonous beat of the steam-paddles was music. During the whole day we were earnestly talking of Belgrade—the far-famed fortress of Belgrade—which we were anxious to reach before dusk. It was, however, eight o’clock before we were abreast of this last stronghold of the Turks in Europe; and in half an hour more we anchored at Semlin; where we were to remain the whole of the next day to take in coals, and to embark passengers and merchandize.
On the following morning immediately after breakfast, we went on shore to see the town; but previously to landing we stood awhile on deck contemplating the interesting scene around us. The Save, which here empties itself into the Danube, forms the boundary between the possessions of the Moslem, and those of the Christian. On one side its ripple reflects the belfried towers and tall crosses, the walls and dwellings, of the Christian population of Semlin—on the other it mirrors the slender minarets and bristling fortifications of the followers of Mahomet. Barges, filled with water-patroles, passed and repassed the vessel; all was activity along the shore of Semlin; while a dead stillness hung over the dark outworks of the opposite bank.
A walk of ten minutes brought us to the gate of Semlin, which terminates a long, wide, clean-looking street, forming the main artery of the town. The tide of life was, however, flowing through it sluggishly; a few knots of military, belonging to the Italian regiment by which it was garrisoned, were grouped at distances, or lounged idly along, gazing into the shop windows; but we did not meet half a dozen peasants; a circumstance that was afterwards explained by the fact of our having made our incursion on the day of a great annual market, which had attracted nearly all the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding country to an extensivesquare at the back of the main street; where we found a dense crowd of horses, waggons, merchandize, busy men, and plain women.
Among its public buildings, Semlin boasts a Quarantaine Establishment, considerably more extensive than that of Orsova; and also, as we were informed, infinitely preferable in point of comfort and convenience. Our curiosity, however, did not tend in that direction; and we were quite satisfied with a view of the exterior walls.
In our stroll through the airy and well-kept streets, we visited the Greek Church, which was handsomely fitted up. The door was opened to us by a magnificent-looking priest, who did the honours with great politeness; save that he would not admit me into the Sanctuary to examine the enamelled bible which he displayed with great pride to the gentlemen; little imagining, holy man! that I had penetrated behind the veil of the church at the Fanar; and seen the most costly of all their copies of the Sacred Writings in the thrice blessed hands of the Patriarch himself!
From the Church we ascended a height above the town, to explore the ruins of the celebrated Castle of Hunyady, the father of Matteas Corvinus; the most renowned of all Hungarian heroes. It is now rapidly passing away, to be numbered with the things that were, and arenot. It is a square erection, with a round tower at each angle; and is no where left standing more than ten feet from the level of the earth; but the walls are extremely massive, measuring nearly eighteen feet in thickness; and the situation is commanding, as the acclivity on which it is built sweeps the river to a considerable distance on both sides.
Having sauntered through the town, and made a few purchases, in order to recall to us hereafter our first ramble in Sclavonia, we returned on board to a mid-day dinner; the Chevalier having assured us that he possessed sufficient interest with the General commanding at Semlin, to secure to us the permission to visit Belgrade; which, being a Turkish fort, was unapproachable to the Quarantaine-cleansed, without special authority. He had calculated justly; and in the course of the afternoon an Imperial barge put off, with the plague-flag flying at her stern, and took us on board, attended by two keepers from the Quarantaine Establishment, and a Custom-house officer. Under this cheerful escort we departed for Belgrade; the last minareted town in Europe, and the residence of Yusuf Pasha; who, in the event of hostilities, will probably acquit himself at Belgrade as honourably as he did at Varna.
The position of this extensive fortress is most imposing; seated as it is upon the banks of twonoble rivers: its walls being washed on two sides by the Danube, and on a third by the Save. Its appearance is very formidable, and had it been bestowed upon an European power, it must have proved a dangerous present; but its noble outworks and stately walls are crumbling to decay; and in its present state it is scarcely more than a colossal feature in the landscape.
On the first cession of the Fortress of Belgrade to the Turks by the Emperor Leopold, the occupation of the town was reserved exclusively to the Servians, whose Prince, Milosch, has a handsome residence in the principal street; but since the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, the Osmanlis have poured into the town; and, as the natives resisted the innovation, have formed themselves into a distinct colony which may be called Turk-town, where they live with the Jews in tolerable harmony; a circumstance that to a person conversant with the Musselmaun prejudice against the outcasts of Israel, is altogether inexplicable. The two people have a population of eight thousand souls; while the Servians average about twelve thousand.
Nothing could be more irksome than our passage through the streets of Belgrade! We landed beside the New Custom-house, a large and rather handsome building; and thence passed the gate of the town, which was guarded by asentinel who could have been barely fourteen years of age. Just within the barrier stood the guard-house, where an officer sat smoking his chibouk, and talking with his men, with all thebon-hommieand laxity of discipline, common to the Turks.
It must have been a comedy to see us pass along, all crowded together, and flanked and followed by our vigilant guardians; who with their long canes threw aside every fragment of linen, woollen, or paper, that chanced to lie in our path, as well as chasing thence every passenger who happened to cross it. The Turks smiled a quiet smile as we passed them, for they believe all Europeans to be impregnable to the plague, and consequently consider their precautions as the mere result of a love of excitement and bustle; and I confess that to me the extreme watchfulness of our attendants was so irritating, that, although it amused me for a time, and that I smiled with the Turks at the pains taken to prevent our contact with the inhabitants of a town in which no plague-case had happened during the season, and who had therefore more reason to avoid our own proximity, it finished by making me perfectly nervous.
Thus guarded, and rendered sensible that it is sometimes more troublesome to be out of quarantaine than to be in it, we made our way to the residence of the Austrian Consul, withwhom our friend the Chevalier was acquainted; and who joined our party at a respectful distance, having sent his dragoman to request the Pasha’s permission for us to visit the interior of the fortress. While we awaited his reply we determined on accompanying our new and courteous acquaintance to pay a visit to General Milosch, the brother of the Prince, who is a resident in Servia. By the way he pointed out to us the house of the Prince’s daughter, who is married to a wealthy brewer; and to whom he gave a herd of ten thousand oxen as a marriage portion. And, what was infinitely more interesting, the dwelling of Cerny George; a single-storied building of some extent, but of most unpretending appearance.
A servant having been despatched to apprise the General of our intended visit, he received us most politely at the door of his house, and conducted us up stairs to a marble hall; being kept at arm’s length during the ascent by our plague-preventing keepers; who, having themselves placed a line of chairs for us along one side of the hall, graciously permitted us to be seated. The General, attended by two or three servants, then took possession of a green silk fauteuil at the other extremity of the apartment; and the lady of the house shortly afterwards made her appearance, followed by her eldest daughter; a remarkably fine girl, with a noble forehead, andfull dark eyes. The costume of these ladies was extremely elegant and picturesque; confirming an opinion which I had often expressed, that the Greek dress, if carefully arranged, and judiciously chosen as to colours, must be one of the most becoming and effective in the world. Here I saw the realization of my idea; for the small fèz, confined by the dark tress of hair, and fastened with a diamond clasp; the pelisse of pale blue satin, lined and edged with sables; and the full robe of silk, delicately embroidered on the bosom and wrists with gold, were all Greek; while the extremetenueand taste of their arrangement, the slight waist, and carefulchaussure, were essentially Servian.
Nothing could exceed the courteous attention of the whole family. Coffee, pipes, and sweetmeats were served; and our trusty guardians, satisfied with handing them to us themselves, and thus heroically incurring the risk of becoming the medium of contagion in their own proper persons, allowed us to make use of the silver spoons, although we had been obliged to deliver up our money in the quarantaine, in order that it might be washed by the keeper—Metals being voted plague-conductors at Orsova, though they were admitted topratiqueat Belgrade!
The permission of the Pasha to our entrance into the fortress was not so readily accorded ashad been anticipated; and we were accordingly detained nearly an hour ere it arrived. It came, however, at last; and, after taking leave of the interesting family who had so hospitably received us, we once more set forth, traversing a considerable portion of the Servian town, in order to reach the glacis; when, diverging a little from our direct route, we ascended one of the outworks, in order to look down upon the Turk quarter, and the shores of the river.
Hence we had a lovely view of Semlin, and of a portion of the extensive Hungarian plain, which, studded with villages, and masses of forest timber, extends for a distance of six and thirty leagues. In Turk-town the Consul pointed out to us the ruins of several fine buildings erected by the Austrians; and, amongst others, the remains of the residence of Prince Eugene.
Descending the outwork, whence we had a perfect insight into the dilapidated state of the exterior walls and bastions of the once lordly fortress; we proceeded to the gate, and, having passed it, were obliged to progress for a considerable distance along the palisade, ere we reached the bridge by which we were to enter the fort. The palisades were in melancholy keeping with the rest of the defences; and traces of fire were perceptible on the few that still remained erect.
The interior of this celebrated stronghold didnot belie its promise from without. Aci-devantbarrack had a stunted minaret built against its wall, and was converted into a very dilapidated-looking mosque. The citadel, now denominated the Palace of the Pasha, had much the appearance of a barn, weather-stained and neglected, with broken windows and swinging shutters. The kiosk of the harem was a temporary wooden building; pitched, and repaired with unpainted timber. And, had I been on my waytoConstantinople, instead offromit, my pre-conceived and highly-wrought ideas of Oriental splendour would have inevitably suffered utter prostration at the sight of this “princely” establishment.
The Fortress of Belgrade, which is the most extensive, as well as the strongest military position possessed by the Turks, is garrisoned only by four hundred men, or rather men and boys, for a portion of them are mere youths; and when to this fact is added another still more startling, that since it passed into the hands of its present masters, all the cisterns have been suffered to fall into utter decay; and that the whole of the water necessary for the supply of the inhabitants is carried into the fort daily in carts, it will be seen at once that a future “Siege of Belgrade” would be a bloodless one; as the garrison must inevitably be starved out by drought.
I must not, however, omit to mention that the gentlemen of our party were much struck by the very soldier-like and efficient manner in which the troops (if thus I may be permitted to designate the mere handful of men collected in the drilling-ground) were performing their exercise; and whom they declared to excel in precision of movement, and cleanliness of appearance any Turkish regiment that they had seen in the capital; and to do great credit to the military talent of Osman Bey, their Lieutenant-Colonel; who, as well as Ismaèl Bey, a subaltern officer in the same corps, is a son of the Pasha.
Osman Bey, who is rather a fine-looking man, greeted us very politely as we crossed the exercise-ground, in order to leave the fortress by a handsome gate, above whose massy columns are still emblazoned, inalto relievo, the arms of Austria, in a shield surrounded by military emblems, and supported by two colossal suits of armour.
Beside the moat that protects this gate, stands an hexagonal tower, built by the Turks, and called the “Fearless Tower,” from the pertinacity with which they defended it during a siege; and the heroic actions performed in its immediate vicinity by one of their Pashas. This tower, and two or three rude bridges of timber over the moat; a couple of ill-proportioned minarets, and the wooden kiosk attached to thecitadel, are the only Turkish erections perceptible. Ruin is rapidly progressing on all sides; the walls are giving way; the ditches are in many places cumbered with the fallen rubbish; the covered ways are laid open; and the guns that yet remain within the weed-grown embrasures are so ill-mounted, as to be perfectly innoxious.
Such is, at this moment, the condition of the far-famed Fortress of Belgrade—the boundary-fort of Servia—the last spot of European land subject to the sway of the Moslem—And here, as we re-entered our barge to pass to the opposite bank of the Save, whence we were to return to Semlin in the carriage of a friend of the Chevalier’s, we looked our last on the graceful minarets which indicate the religion of Mahomet, and form so elegant a feature in the Oriental landscape.
Ere we returned on board, we drove to the garden of the Austrian dragoman, whence you are said to command the finest view in the neighbourhood of Semlin; and although the river-vapours effectually prevented us, on this occasion, from seeing a hundred yards beyond the spot where we stood, we were amply repaid for the détour that we had been induced to make, by the opportunity which it afforded to us of spending half an hour in one of the most charming and well-kept gardens imaginable; agreat treat at all times, but doubly agreeable to individuals like ourselves, who had been so long wanderers on the waters. The walks ran through avenues of vines, whose purple clusters did not invite our touch in vain; and so neatly trained as to form the greenest and most level hedges that can be imagined; while not a weed nor an unsightly object was to be seen from one end of the enclosure to the other. The Sclavonians are, indeed, considered such proficient gardeners, that forty-five out of fifty of those employed in Constantinople are of that nation; and we had consequently been curious to see a gentleman’s grounds in their own land, and laid out entirely in their own manner.
We were about to re-enter the carriage, in order to return to the vessel, when a flight of rockets ran shimmering along the sky; and immediately afterwards we were overtaken by a procession of peasants, celebrating the last day of the vintage.
It was one of the prettiest sights that I ever remember to have seen. The train was headed by about thirty youths dressed in white garments, and wearing large flapping hats of black felt, nearly similar to thesombrerosof Spain, into whose narrow bands they had wreathed bunches of wild-flowers; each carrying across his shoulder a long pliant pole, with a basket piled with grapes at each extremity. Thesewere followed by as many young girls, in the usual picturesque costume of the country, with a profusion of marigolds fastened among their dark tresses; walking two and two, and bearing baskets of grapes between them. And the procession terminated with a crowd of children waving in their little hands long branches of the vine; and lending their clear and joyous voices to the wild chorus of the vintage-song that their elders were pealing out; and which ran, as nearly as I can render it from the hurried and imperfect translation given to me as we journeyed on, somewhat in the following manner:—
THE SCLAVONIAN VINTAGE-SONG.