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Title: The Land Beyond the Forest - Facts, Figures, and Fancies from Transylvania
Author: Gerard, E. (Emily)
Language: English
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[Illustration: OLD TOWN GATE AT HERMANSTADT (ELIZABETH THOR).]
THE
LAND BEYOND THE FOREST
FACTS, FIGURES, AND FANCIES
FROM
TRANSYLVANIA
BY E. GERARD
AUTHOR OF
“REATA” “THE WATERS OF HERCULES” “BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOR” ETC.
_WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS_
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
1888
PREFACE.
In the spring of 1883 my husband was appointed to the command of the
cavalry brigade in Transylvania, composed of two hussar regiments,
stationed respectively at Hermanstadt and Kronstadt—a very welcome
nomination, as gratifying a long-cherished wish of mine to visit that
part of the Austrian empire known as the Land beyond the Forest.
The two years spent in Transylvania were among the most agreeable of
sixteen years’ acquaintance with Austrian military life; and I shall
always look back to this time as to something quaint and exceptional,
totally different from all previous and subsequent experiences.
Much interested in the wild beauty of the country, the strange
admixture of races by which it is peopled, and their curious and varied
folk-lore, I recorded some of my impressions in short, independent
papers, of which three were published in _Blackwood’s Magazine_, one in
the _Nineteenth Century_, and one in the _Contemporary Review_. It was
only after I had left the country that, being desirous of preserving
these sketches in more convenient form, I began rearranging the matter
for publication; but the task of retracing my Transylvanian experiences
was so pleasant that it led me on far beyond my original intention.
One reminiscence awoke another, one chapter gave rise to a second; and
so, instead of a small volume, as had been at first contemplated, my
manuscript almost unconsciously developed to its present dimensions.
When the work was completed, the idea of illustrating it occurred to
me: but this was a far more difficult matter; for, though offering a
perfect treasure-mine to artists, Transylvania has not as yet received
from them the attention it deserves; and had it not been for obliging
assistance from several quarters, I should have been debarred the
satisfaction of elucidating some of my descriptions by appropriate
sketches.
In this matter my thanks are greatly due to Herr Emil Sigerus, who was
good enough to place at my disposal the blocks of engravings designed
by himself, and belonging to the Transylvania Carpathian Society, of
which he is the secretary. Likewise to Madame Kamilla Asboth, for
permission to copy her life-like and characteristic photographs of
Saxons, Roumanians, and gypsies.
I would also at this place acknowledge the extreme courtesy with which
every question of mine regarding Transylvania people and customs has
been responded to by various kind acquaintances, and if some parts of
my work do not meet with their entire approval, let them here take the
assurance that my remarks were prompted by no unfriendly spirit, and
that in each and every case I have endeavored to judge impartially
according to my lights.
EMILY DE LASZOWSKA-GERARD.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. HISTORICAL 6
III. POLITICAL 11
IV. ARRIVAL IN TRANSYLVANIA—FIRST IMPRESSIONS 14
V. SAXON HISTORICAL FEAST—LEGEND 25
VI. THE SAXONS: CHARACTER—EDUCATION—RELIGION 31
VII. SAXON VILLAGES 39
VIII. SAXON INTERIORS—CHARACTER 50
IX. SAXON CHURCHES AND SIEGES 62
X. THE SAXON VILLAGE PASTOR 71
XI. THE SAXON BROTHERHOODS—NEIGHBORHOODS AND VILLAGE HANN 79
XII. THE SAXONS: DRESS—SPINNING AND DANCING 85
XIII. THE SAXONS: BETROTHAL 94
XIV. THE SAXONS: MARRIAGE 101
XV. THE SAXONS: BIRTH AND INFANCY 111
XVI. THE SAXONS: DEATH AND BURIAL 117
XVII. THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR ORIGIN 122
XVIII. THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR RELIGION, POPAS, AND CHURCHES 125
XIX. THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR CHARACTER 132
XX. ROUMANIAN LIFE 139
XXI. ROUMANIAN MARRIAGE AND MORALITY 146
XXII. THE ROUMANIANS: DANCING, SONGS, MUSIC, STORIES,
AND PROVERBS 151
XXIII. ROUMANIAN POETRY 158
XXIV. THE ROUMANIANS: NATIONALITY AND ATROCITIES 173
XXV. THE ROUMANIANS: DEATH AND BURIAL—VAMPIRES AND WERE-WOLVES 180
XXVI. ROUMANIAN SUPERSTITION: DAYS AND HOURS 188
XXVII. ROUMANIAN SUPERSTITION—CONTINUED: ANIMALS, WEATHER,
MIXED SUPERSTITIONS, SPIRITS, SHADOWS, ETC. 196
XXVIII. SAXON SUPERSTITION: REMEDIES, WITCHES, WEATHER-MAKERS 207
XXIX. SAXON SUPERSTITION—CONTINUED: ANIMALS, PLANTS, DAYS 212
XXX. SAXON CUSTOMS AND DRAMAS 218
XXXI. BURIED TREASURES 229
XXXII. THE TZIGANES: LISZT AND LENAU 236
XXXIII. THE TZIGANES: THEIR LIFE AND OCCUPATIONS 242
XXXIV. THE TZIGANES: HUMOR, PROVERBS, RELIGION, AND MORALITY 253
XXXV. THE GYPSY FORTUNE-TELLER 260
XXXVI. THE TZIGANE MUSICIAN 265
XXXVII. GYPSY POETRY 273
XXXVIII. THE SZEKLERS AND ARMENIANS 279
XXXIX. FRONTIER REGIMENTS 288
XL. WOLVES, BEARS, AND OTHER ANIMALS 292
XLI. A ROUMANIAN VILLAGE 299
XLII. A GYPSY CAMP 306
XLIII. THE BRUCKENTHALS 309
XLIV. STILL-LIFE AT HERMANSTADT—A TRANSYLVANIAN CRANFORD 317
XLV. FIRE AND BLOOD—THE HERMANSTADT MURDER 326
XLVI. THE KLAUSENBURG CARNIVAL 331
XLVII. JOURNEY FROM HERMANSTADT TO KRONSTADT 339
XLVIII. KRONSTADT 348
XLIX. SINAÏA 357
L. UP THE MOUNTAINS 364
LI. THE BULEA SEE 372
LII. THE WIENERWALD—A DIGRESSION 377
LIII. A WEEK IN THE PINE REGION 380
LIV. LA DUS AND BISTRA 388
LV. A NIGHT IN THE STINA 394
LVI. FAREWELL TO TRANSYLVANIA—THE ENCHANTED GARDEN 399
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Old Town Gate at Hermanstadt (Elisabeth Thor) _Frontispiece_
Saxon Burgher in Olden Times 9
The Thorda Spalt 19
Old Fortress-tower on the Ramparts at Hermanstadt 23
Mounted Peasants, from the Historical Procession 28
Saxon Peasant House 40
Old Town Gate at Hermanstadt (on the Heltau side) 43
Michelsberg 47
Saxon Peasant at Home 51
Saxon Embroidery 53
Saxon Embroidery and Pottery 55
Fortified Saxon Church 63
Ruined Abbey of Kerz 70
Saxon Pastor in Full Dress 73
Saxon Peasant going to Work 84
Dressing for the Dance 93
Saxon Betrothed Couple 97
Archbishop Schaguna 131
Roumanian Costumes 141
Roumanian Women 143
Saxon Girl in Full Dress 221
Gypsy Type 237
A Gypsy Tinker 245
Basket-maker 247
Bear-driver 249
Gypsy Girl 258
Gypsy Mother and Child 261
Gypsy Musicians 269
Szekler Peasant 279
The Rothenthurm Pass 291
The Bruckenthal Palace 310
Baron Samuel Bruckenthal 315
Street at Hermanstadt 319
Schässburg 341
Castle of Törzburg 347
King Matthias Corvinus 355
Castle Pelesch at Sinaïa 359
The Negoi 365
The Pine Valley 381
The Cavern Convent, Skit la Jalomitza 399
Castle Vajda Hunyad before its restoration 401
MAP OF TRANSYLVANIA _At end_
THE LAND BEYOND THE FOREST.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Leaving Transylvania after a two years’ residence, I felt somewhat
like Robinson Crusoe unexpectedly restored to the world from his
desert island. Despite the evidence of my own senses, and in flat
contradiction to the atlas, I cannot wholly divest myself of the idea
that it is in truth an island I have left behind me—an island peopled
with strange and incongruous companions, from whom I part with a
mixture of regret and relief difficult to explain even to myself.
Just as Robinson Crusoe, getting attached to his parrots and his
palm-trees, his gourds and his goats, continued to yearn for them after
his return to Europe, so I found myself gradually succumbing to the
indolent charm and the drowsy poetry of this secluded land. A very few
years more of unbroken residence here would no doubt suffice to efface
all memory of the world we had left behind and the century in which we
live.
I remember reading in some fairy tale, long ago, of a youthful
princess who, stolen by the gnomes and carried off into gnomeland, was
restored to her parents after a lapse of years. Their joy was great at
recovering their child, but it turned to grief when they discovered
that she had grown estranged from them, and had lost all interest in
the actual world. The sun was too bright, she said, it hurt her eyes,
and the voices of men were too loud, they scorched her ears; and
she could never feel at home again amid the restless glitter of her
surroundings.
I do not recollect how the story concludes—whether the young lady
became in time reconciled to her father’s brilliant court, or whether
she ran away and married a gnome; but this tale somehow reminded me of
my own experiences, and I caught myself wondering whether a few years
hence, perhaps, the summons to return to the world might not have come
too late.
Parrots and palm-trees are all very well, no doubt, to fill up the life
of a stranded mariner, but it is questionable whether it be wise to
let such things absorb the mind to the extent of destroying all taste
for wider interests. Life in an island is apt to consist too entirely
of foreground—the breadth of a panorama and the comprehensiveness of
a bird’s-eye view, only gained by constant friction with the bustling,
pushing outer world, being mostly here wanting.
Luckily, or unluckily, as one may choose to view it, the spirit of
the nineteenth century is a ghost very difficult to be laid. A steady
course of narcotics may lull it to rest for a time; but the spirit is
but stupefied, not dead; its vitality is great, and it will start up
again to life at the first trumpet-blast which reaches from without,
eager to exchange a peaceful dream for the movement of the arena and
the renewed clank of arms.
Some such feelings were mine as I beheld the signal waving from the
ship which was to carry me back to a world I had almost forgotten; and
though I heaved a sigh of regret, and possibly may have dropped a tear
or two in secret for the peaceful and familiar scenes I was leaving,
yet I would not have steered round the vessel to return to my island.
* * * * *
Not the mere distance which separates Transylvania from Western Europe
gives to it this feeling of strange isolation. Other countries as far
or farther off are infinitely more familiar even to those who have
never visited them. We know all about Turkey, and Greece is no more
strange to us than Italy or Switzerland. But no one ever comes to
Transylvania in cold blood, unless it be some very rabid sportsman
eager for the embrace of a shaggy bear; and as for those rushing
travellers, bound for the Black Sea, who sometimes traverse the country
in hot-headed haste, they mostly resemble the superficial swallow which
skims the surface of a placid lake, without guessing the secrets of the
blue depths below.
Situated by nature within a formidable rampart of snow-tipped
mountains, and shielded by heavy curtains of shrouding forests
against the noise and turmoil of the outer world, the very name of
Transylvania tells us that it was formerly regarded as something
apart, something out of reach, whose existence even for a time was
enveloped in mystery. In olden times these gloomy forest gorges were
tenanted only by the solitary bear or packs of famished wolves,
while the mistrustful lynx looked down from the giddy heights, and
the chamois leaped unchecked from rock to rock. The people who lived
westward of this mountain rampart, knowing but little or nothing of the
country on the other side, designated it as Transylvania, or the land
beyond the forest, just as we sometimes talk of the “land beyond the
clouds.”
Nothing, however, can remain undiscovered on the face of our globe.
That enterprising creature man, who is even now attempting, with some
show of success, to probe the country beyond the clouds, has likewise
discovered the way to this secluded nook. The dense forests, once
forming such impenetrable barriers against the outer world, have in
great part disappeared; another voice is heard besides that of the
wild beasts of the wood; another breath comes mingled along with the
mountain vapors—it is the breath of that nineteenth-century monster,
the steam-engine.
This benefactor of the age, this harbinger of civilization, which
is as truly the destroyer of romance, and poetry’s deadly foe, will
undoubtedly succeed in robbing this country of the old-world charm
which yet lingers about it. Transylvania will in time become as
civilized and cultivated, and likewise as stereotyped and conventional,
as the best known parts of our first European States—it will
even one day cease to be an island; but as yet the advent of the
nineteenth-century monster is of too recent a date to have tainted the
atmosphere by its breath, and the old-world charm still lingers around
and about many things. It is floating everywhere and anywhere—in
the forests and on the mountains, in mediæval churches and ruined
watch-towers, in mysterious caverns and in ancient gold-mines, in the
songs of the people and the legends they tell. Like a subtle perfume
evaporating under the rays of a burning sun, it is growing daily
fainter and fainter, and all lovers of the past should hasten to
collect this fleeting fragrance ere it be gone forever. This is what I
have endeavored to do, to some small extent, since fate for a time cast
my lines in those parts.
And first and foremost let me here explain that my intentions in
compiling this work are nowise of an ambitious or lofty nature. I
desire to instruct no one, to influence no one, to enlist no one’s
sympathies in favor of any particular social question or political
doctrine. Even had such been my intention, I have been therein amply
forestalled by others; nor do I delude myself into the belief that it
is my proud vocation to correct the errors of all former writers by
giving to the world the only correct and trustworthy description of
Transylvania which has yet appeared. I have not lived long enough in
the country to feel myself justified in taking up the gauntlet against
the assertions of older inhabitants of the soil, but have lived there
too long to rival that admirable self-possession which induces the
average tourist to classify, condemn, ticket, and tie up every fact
which comes within his notice, never demeaning himself to grovel or
analyze, nor being disturbed by any doubts of the reliability of his
own unerring judgment.
Whoever wishes to study the history of Transylvania in its past,
present, and future aspects, who wants to understand its geological
formation or system of agriculture, who would thoroughly penetrate into
the inextricable net-work of conflicting political interests which
divide its interior, must seek his information elsewhere.
Do you wish, for instance, to see Transylvania as it was some forty
years ago? If so, I can confidently advise you to read the valuable
work of Mr. Paget and the spirited descriptions of Monsieur de Gérando.
Do you want to gain insight into the geological resources of the
country, or the farming system of the Saxon peasant? Then take up
Charles Boner’s comprehensive work on Transylvania. And would you
see these Saxons as they love to behold themselves, then turn to Dr.
Teutsch’s learned work on “Die Siebenbürger Sachsen;” while if politics
be your special hobby, you cannot better indulge it than by selecting
Mr. Patterson’s most interesting work on Hungary and Transylvania.
If, moreover, you care to study the country “contrariwise,” and would
know what the Roumanians are utterly unlike, read the description of
them in the aforementioned book of Mr. Boner; while for generally
incorrect information on almost every available subject connected with
the country, I am told that the German work of Rudolf Bergner cannot be
too highly recommended.
Recognizing, therefore, the superiority of the many learned
predecessors who each in their respective lines have so thoroughly
worked out the subject in hand, I would merely forewarn the reader
that no such completeness of outline can be looked for here. Neither
is my book intended to be of the guide-book species—no sort of
ornamental Bradshaw or idealized Murray. I fail to see the use of
minutely describing several scores of towns and villages which the
English reader is never likely to set eyes upon. If you think of
travelling this way, good and well, then buy the genuine article for
yourself—Murray or Bradshaw—unadulterated by me; or, better still,
the excellent German hand-book of Professor Bielz; while if you stay
at home, can you really care to know if such and such a town have five
churches or fifty? or whether the proportion of carbonate of magnesia
exceed that of chloride of potassium in some particular spring of whose
waters you will never taste?
All that I have attempted here to do is to seize the general color
and atmosphere of the land, and to fix—as much for my own private
satisfaction as for any other reason—certain impressions of people
and places I should be loath to forget. I have written only of those
things which happened to excite my interest, and have described figures
and scenery, such as they appeared to me. For some of the details
contained in these pages I am indebted to the following writers: Liszt,
Slavici, Fronius, Müller, and Schwicker—all competent authorities
well acquainted with their subject. Some things have found no place
here because I did not consider myself competent to speak of them,
others because they did not chance to be congenial; and although not
absolutely scorning serious information whenever it has come in my
way, I have taken more pleasure in chronicling fancies than facts, and
superstitions rather than statistics.
More than one error has doubtless crept unawares into this work; so
in order to place myself quite on the safe side with regard to stern
critics, I had better hasten to say that I decline to pledge my word
for the veracity of anything contained in these pages. I only lay
claim to having used my eyes and ears to the best of my ability; and
where I have failed to see or hear aright, the fault must be set down
to some inherent color-blindness, or radical defect in my tympanum.
Nor do I pretend to have seen everything, even in a small country like
Transylvania, and every spot I have failed to visit, from lack of time
or opportunity, is not only to me a source of poignant regret, but
likewise a chapter missing from this book.
CHAPTER II.
HISTORICAL.
Transylvania is interesting not only on account of its geographical
position, but likewise with regard to the several races which inhabit
it, and the peculiar conditions under which part of these have obtained
possession of the soil.
Situated between 45° 16’ and 48° 42’ latitude, and 40° to 44° of
longitude (Ferro), the land covers a space of 54,000 square kilometres,
which are inhabited by a population of some 2,170,000 heads.
Of these the proportion of different races may be assumed to be pretty
nearly as follows:
Roumanians 1,200,400
Hungarians 652,221
Saxons 211,490
Gypsies 79,000
Jews 24,848
Armenians 8,430
Some one has rather aptly defined Transylvania as a vast storehouse
of different nationalities; and in order to account for the _raison
d’être_ of so many different races living side by side in one small
country, a few words of explanation are absolutely necessary to render
intelligible the circumstances of daily life in Transylvania, since it
is to be presumed that to many English readers the country is still
virtually a “land beyond the forest.”
Not being, however, of that ferocious disposition which loves to
inflict needless information upon an unoffending public, I pass over
in considerate silence such very superfluous races as the Agathyrsi,
the Gepidæ, the Getæ, and yet others who successively inhabited these
regions. Let it suffice to say that in the centuries immediately
preceding the Christian era the land belonged to the Dacians, who were
in course of time subjugated by Trajan, Transylvania becoming a Roman
province in the year 105 A.D. It remained under the Roman eagle for
something over a century and a half; but about the year 274 the Emperor
Aurelian was compelled to remove his legions from the countries over
the Danube and abandon the land to the all-ravaging Goths.
I have only here insisted on the Dacian and Roman occupation of
Transylvania, because one or other or both of these peoples are
supposed to be the ancestors of the present Roumanian race. The
Roumanians themselves like to think they are descended directly from
the Romans; while Germans are fond of denying this origin, and maintain
this people to have appeared in these regions at a much later period.
According to the most reliable authorities, however, the truth would
seem to lie between these two opposite statements, and the Roumanians
to be the offspring of a cross-breed between the conqueror and the
conquered—between Romans and Dacians.
After the Roman evacuation the country changed hands oftener than can
be recorded, and the rolling waves of the _Völkerwanderung_ passed
over the land, each nation leaving its impress more or less upon
the surface, till finally the Magyars began to gain something of a
permanent hold, towards the eleventh century. This hold, however, was
anything but a firm one, for the Hungarian king had alike outward
enemies and inward traitors to guard against, and was in continual
fear lest some affectionate relation should rob him of one of his
crown-jewels.
To add to this, the province of Transylvania was but thinly peopled,
and ill qualified to resist attacks from without. In view, therefore,
of all these circumstances, King Geisa II. bethought himself of
inviting Germans to come and establish colonies in this scantily
peopled land, promising them certain privileges in return for the
services he expected. Hungarian heralds began, consequently, to appear
in German towns, proclaiming aloud in street and on market-place the
words of their royal master. Their voices found a ready echo among the
people, for this promised land was not absolutely unknown to the German
yeomen, who many of them had passed through it on their way to and from
the Crusades; besides, this was the time when feudal rights weighed
most oppressively on unfortunate vassals, and no doubt many were glad
to purchase freedom even at the price of expatriation.
As a German poet sings:
“When castles crowned each craggy height
Along the banks of Rhine,
And ’neath the mailèd warriors’ might
Did simple burghers pine;
“When bowed the common herd of men,
Serfs to a lord’s commanding,
The holy Roman Empire then
For free men had no standing.
“Then off broke many and away,
Another country questing;
‘We’ll found another home,’ said they—
‘A house on freedom resting.
“‘Hungarian forests, wild and free,
Are refuge for us keeping;
From home and home’s dear ties will we
Emancipate us, weeping.’”
Or in the words of another:
“We’ll ride away to the east,
Away to the east we go—
O’er meadows away,
O’er meadows so gay;
It will be better so.
“And when we came to the east,
’Neath the lofty house came we,
They called us in,
O’er meadows so gay,
And bade us welcome be.”
In thus summoning German colonists to the country, the Hungarian
monarch showed wisdom and policy far in advance of his century, as the
result has proved. It was a bargain by which both parties were equally
benefited, and thereby induced to keep the mutual compact. The Germans
obtained freedom, which they could not have had in their own country,
while their presence was a guarantee to the monarch that this province
would not be torn from his crown.
In the midst of a population of serfs, and side by side with proud
and overbearing nobles, these German immigrants occupied a totally
different and neutral position. Without being noble, they were free
men every one of them, enjoying rights and privileges hitherto unknown
in the country. Depending directly from the King, they had no other
master, and were only obliged to go to war when the monarch in person
commanded the expedition. For this reason the country inhabited by the
Germans was often termed the Königsboden, or Kingsland, and on their
official seal were engraved the words, “Ad retinendam coronam.”
The exact date of the arrival of these German colonists in Transylvania
is unknown, but appears to have been between 1141 and 1161. That they
did not all come at the same time is almost certain. Probably they
arrived in successive batches at different periods; for, as we see by
history, all did not enjoy exactly the same privileges and rights, but
different colonies had been formed under different conditions.
[Illustration: SAXON BURGHER IN OLDEN TIMES.]
Also the question of what precise part of the German father-land was
the home of these outwanderers is enveloped in some obscurity. They
have retained no certain traditions to guide us to a conclusion, and
German chronicles of that time make no mention of their departure.
The Crusades, which at that epoch engrossed every mind, must have
caused these emigrations to pass comparatively unnoticed. Only a sort
of vague floating tradition is preserved to this day in some of the
Transylvania villages, where on winter evenings some old grandam,
shrivelled and bent, ensconced behind the blue-tiled stove, will relate
to the listening bairns crowding around her knees how, many, many
hundred years ago, their ancestors once dwelt on the sea-shore, near
to the month of four rivers, which all flowed out of a yet larger and
mightier river. In this shadowy description probably the river Rhine
may be recognized, the more so that in the year 1195 these German
colonists are, in a yet existing document, alluded to as _Flanderers_.
The name of _Sachsen_ (Saxons), as they now call themselves, was, much
later, used only as their general designation; and it is more than
probable, from certain differences in language, customs, and features,
that different colonies proceeded from widely different parts of the
original mother-country.
Although the Hungarian kings generally kept their given word right
nobly to the immigrants, yet these had much to suffer, both from
Hungarian nobles jealous of the privileges they enjoyed, and from
the older inhabitants of the soil, the Wallachians, who, living in a
thoroughly barbaric state up in the mountains, used to make frequent
raids down into the valleys and plains, there to pillage, burn, and
murder whatever came into their hands. If we add to this the frequent
invasions of Turks and Tartars, it seems a marvel how this little
handful of Germans, brought into a strange country and surrounded
by enemies on all sides, should have maintained their independence
and preserved their identity under such combination of adverse
circumstances. They built churches and fortresses, they formed schools
and guilds, they made their own laws and elected their own judges; and
in an age when Hungarian nobles could scarcely read or write, these
little German colonies were so many havens of civilization in the midst
of a howling wilderness of ignorance and barbarism.
The German name of Transylvania—Siebenbürgen, or Seven Forts—was
long supposed to have been derived from the seven principal fortresses
erected at that time. Some recent historians are, however, of opinion
that this name may be traced to _Cibinburg_, a fortress built near the
river Cibin, from which the surrounding province, and finally the whole
country, was called the land of the Cibinburg—of which, therefore,
Siebenbürgen is merely a corruption.
Transylvania remained under the dependence of the Magyars till the year
1526, when, after the battle of Mohacs, which ended so disastrously for
the Hungarians, Hungary was annexed to Austria, and Transylvania became
an independent duchy, choosing its own regents, but paying, for the
most part, a yearly tribute to Turkey.[1]
After something more than a century and a half of independence,
Transylvania began to feel its position as an independent State to be
an untenable one, and that its ultimate choice lay between complete
subjection to either Turkey or Austria. Making, therefore, a virtue of
necessity, and hoping thereby to escape the degradation of a conquered
province, Transylvania offered itself to Austria, and was by special
treaty enrolled in the Crown lands of that empire in 1691.
Finally, in 1867, when the present emperor, Francis Joseph, was crowned
at Pesth, Transylvania was once more formally united to Hungary, and,
like the rest of the kingdom, divided into _komitats_, or counties.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Turkish sway does not seem to have been a very oppressive one,
if we are to believe this account of how the Turkish tax-collector used
to gather his tithes:
“In a cart harnessed with four horses, the Turkish tax-collector used
to drive round the villages in Transylvania; and when he cracked his
whip the people came running out and threw, each according to his
means, a piece of money into the vat. Sometimes it was but a groat,
sometimes even less, for there was but little money in the land at that
time; but the Turk was satisfied with what he got, and drove on without
further ado.”
CHAPTER III.
POLITICAL.
It is not possible, even in the most cursory account of life and
manners in Hungary, to escape all mention of the conflicting political
interests which are making of Austro-Hungary one of the most curious
ethnographical problems ever presented by history. Taking even
Transylvania alone, we should find quite enough to fill a whole volume
merely by describing the respective relations of the different races
peopling the country. In addition to various minor nationalities, we
find here no less than three principal races diametrically opposed
to each other in origin, language, habits, and religion—to wit, the
Magyars, the Saxons, and the Roumanians, whose exact numbers I have
given on a preceding page. The gypsies, whose numbers figure next in
the list after the Saxons, need not here be taken into consideration,
being absolutely devoid of all political character; but of the other
three races, each has its individual aspirations and interests,
and each a political object in view which it pursues with dogged
persistency.
The Hungarians are at present the masters of the position, having
wealth and nobility on their side, besides the reins of government.
Since the year 1867, when Hungary, having regained her former
independence with extended rights and privileges, re-established a
purely Hungarian ministry and an independent Hungarian militia, the
progress achieved in the country, both intellectually and commercially,
has been remarkable, affording brilliant proof of what can be done by
a handful of energetic and intelligent men against a vast majority of
other races.
The total population of Hungary, rated at fifteen millions, counts
four millions only of purely Hungarian individuals; the rest of the
population is made up of Serbs, Croatians, Roumanians, Slovacks,
and Germans, all of which (if we except the Germans, whose numbers
are insignificant) are far inferior to the Magyars in point of
civilization; and here, as elsewhere, when intelligence and wealth are
supported by energy, the right of might belonged to the Hungarians,
who have always been able to produce skilful and efficient statesmen,
knowing their own minds, and clear-sighted as to the country’s
requirements.
Those now at the helm have had the discernment from the very outset to
foresee the danger likely to arise from the ever-increasing spirit of
nationality gaining ground among the non-Hungarian inhabitants of the
soil. Two courses were here open to them: either seeking to conciliate
the various nationalities by concessions to their pretensions; or
else, by pursuance of an inflexible policy, to sacrifice all alien
considerations to purely Hungarian interests, and impose their own
nationality on all without exception.
This latter course was the one adopted by Hungary, who for the last ten
years, introducing measures as practical as they are far-sighted, has
pursued this object with undeviating consistency.
First of all, the Hungarian tongue was everywhere established as the
official language. In all schools, whether of Serbs, Roumanians,
or Germans, it became compulsory to teach Hungarian; without a
thorough knowledge of the language no one was competent to aspire
to any official position; the courts of justice, even in completely
non-Hungarian districts, are held in Hungarian, and Hungarian likewise
is the word of command throughout the Honved army. Such are the means
by which the Government hopes to effect the Magyarization of all its
subjects.
But within the last few years we have beheld two new kingdoms spring
up at Hungary’s very door, Roumania and Serbia—incentive enough to
induce all Roumanians and Serbs living in Hungary strenuously to resist
this Magyarizing influence, and inspire them with the hope of being
one day amalgamated with their more independent countrymen. In Croatia
the case is more or less the same, for, being united by similarities
of language, custom, and religion to their Serbian neighbors, the
Croats far rather incline to assimilate with these than with the
tyrannical Magyars; while the Slovacks, continually stirred up by
Russian, Ruthenian, and Bohemian agitators, have likewise their reasons
for resistance. Add to this that the German colonies, which, far more
isolated than the races aforenamed, can never have a serious chance of
independent existence, are yet infatuated enough to harbor impossible
visions of a union with their father-land, and have consequently ranged
themselves among the most vehement opposers of Hungarian rule, and it
will be seen that the task which the Magyars have set themselves, of
bending all these conflicting interests to their own ends, is indeed
a stupendous one. But Hungary, in self-preservation, could not have
acted otherwise: it was for her a question of life or death; and having
the choice of becoming the hammer or the anvil, who can blame her for
choosing the former?
Whether this portentous struggle will outlast our generation, or find
its issue within the next few years, will depend upon outward political
constellations. So much, however, is certain, that should the Magyars
be able to carry through their system during a sufficient space of
time, they will have created a State which, by virtue of the richness
of its soil, the extent of its domains, and the vigor of its race, will
have acquired incontestable right to independent existence.
Should, however, the Oriental question, and with it the Panslavonian
one, bring about the inevitable collision of nationalities so long
foreseen; should the Balkan races begin to agitate ere Hungary have
accomplished her herculean task—then her downfall is certain. The
Magyars may, indeed, continue to exist as a nation, but not as a State,
and their fate will be that of Poland.
* * * * *
While in the one half of the Austro-Hungarian empire this system of
centralizing the power and assimilating all minor interests to the
Hungarian idea is being pursued with inflexible ardor, the Cis-Latin
provinces—that is to say, Austria proper—are being governed in
diametrically opposed fashion.
Till within a few years ago, the German language was the official
one in all Cis-Latin provinces, and Germans had there everywhere the
upperhand, as to-day the Magyars in the Trans-Latin countries; but
since the advent of Count Taafe’s Ministry, now seven years ago, the
situation has completely changed. The present government, wishing to
conciliate the different nationalities, such as Bohemians, Poles,
Ruthenians, etc., granted to each of these the free use of its own
tongue in school and office—a concession which may be said to mark the
beginning of Austria’s decomposition. The results of this deplorable
system as yet have been that the Germans, who in Austria form the
wealthiest and most intelligent part of the population, imbittered at
finding themselves degraded from their former position of leaders of
the State, have become the most formidable opponents of the Government;
while the minor races, only stimulated by the concessions received, are
ever clamoring for more. The Taafe Ministry has marvellously succeeded,
during the incredibly short space of seven years, in establishing chaos
in the administration of the Cis-Latin provinces, contenting no one,
and fostering racial contentions which can have but the most melancholy
results for the stability of the empire.
Whether a State, not only composed of such heterogeneous racial
elements, but, moreover, governed by two such diametrically opposed
systems, will have strength to resist attacks from without, who can
say?—for it still remains to be practically proved which of the two
governments has chosen the right road to success. So much, however,
is certain—the Hungarians know what they want, and pursue their
preconceived line of political action with consistent energy; while
the Austrian Government, never knowing its own mind, is swayed at
hazard by whichever of the minor nationalities happens to have the
momentary ascendancy, and behindhand, as ever, of “an idea and of an
army,” may almost be said to deserve the definition of one of its own
statesmen,[2] of being the “land of improbabilities.”
FOOTNOTES:
[2] The late Count Beust.
CHAPTER IV.
ARRIVAL IN TRANSYLVANIA—FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
The War Office, whose ways are dark and whose mysteries are
inscrutable, had unexpectedly decreed that we were to exchange Galicia
for Transylvania.
The unaccountable decisions of a short-sighted Ministry, which, without
ostensible reason, send unfortunate military families rolling about
the empire like gigantic foot-balls—from Hungary to Poland, down to
Croatia, and up again to Bohemia, all in one breath—too often burst on
hapless German _ménages_ like a devastating bomb, bringing moans and
curses, tears and hysterics, in their train, according as the sufferer
happens to be of choleric or lachrymose temperament. Only those who
have lived in this country, and tasted of the bitter-sweets of Austrian
military life, can tell how formidable it is to be forced to pack up
everything—literally everything, from your stoutest kitchen-chairs
to your daintiest egg-shell china—half a dozen times during an equal
number of years.
For my own part, however—and I am aware that I am considered singular
in my views—I had little objection to being treated in this sportive
fashion, as long as it gave me the opportunity of seeing fresh scenes
and different types of people. There are two sides to every question, a
silver—or at least a tin-foil—lining to every leaden cloud, and it is
surely wiser to regard one’s self as a tourist than as an exile?
What if crockery perish and mirrors be shivered in the portentous
flitting? Dry your eyes, and console yourself by gazing at mountains
new and lakes unknown. And if furniture be annihilated, and your grand
piano-forte reduced to a wailing discord, what of that? Such loss is
only gain, for in return you will hear the music of unknown tongues and
the murmur of strange waters. If the proceeding be often illogical, the
change is always welcome; and on this particular occasion I secretly
blessed the playful impetus which had sent our ball of fate thus high
up in the air, to alight again in the land beyond the forest.
It was in the beginning of April that we started on our journey, and in
Galicia we left everything still deep in ice and snow; but scarce had
we passed the Hungarian frontier, and got down on to the broad plains,
when a warm, genial breeze came to meet us and tell us that winter was
gone. The snow left us by degrees, and with it the poverty-stricken,
careworn expression peculiar to Poland; spring flowers ventured out
of their hiding-places, singly at first, then in groups of twos and
threes, till they grew to extensive patches of gold or sapphire blue,
pressing up to the rails on either side of our way. Greasy _kaftans_
began to give place to sheepskin _bundas_, and pointed mustaches became
more numerous than corkscrew ringlets. The air seemed full of joyous
music—the voice of the lark and the strains of a gypsy fiddler
alternately taking up the song of triumph over the return of spring.
The railway communications are very badly managed, so that it was only
on the evening of the second day (fully forty-eight hours) that we
arrived at Klausenburg, where we were to stop for a night’s rest. It
would hardly have taken longer to go from Lemberg to London.
Coming from the Hungarian plains, the entrance into Transylvania is
very striking, as the train dashes along narrow winding valleys, where,
below, a green mountain torrent is breaking over gray bowlders; and
above, the cliffs are piled up so high and so near that only by craning
our necks out of the carriage-window can we catch a glimpse of the
sky above. Unfortunately, the early darkness had set in long before
we reached Klausenburg, so that I had no opportunity of observing the
country immediately round the town.
Fresh from Polish hotels as we were, the inn where rooms had been
secured struck us as well kept and appointed, though I dare say that
had we come from Vienna or Paris it would have appeared just fairly
second-rate. The beds were excellent, the rooms clean; the doors could
actually be locked or bolted without superhuman effort; the bells could
really ring, and what was stranger yet, their summons was occasionally
attended to.
I was somewhat disappointed next morning when daylight came round again
and showed me the environs of the town. Pretty enough, but tame and
insignificant, with nothing of the sublime grandeur which the entrance
into the land had led me to expect. The town itself differed but little
from many other Hungarian towns I had seen before, and had indeed an
exclusively Hungarian character, being the winter resort of the Magyar
aristocracy of Transylvania.
The present town of Klausenburg, or, in Hungarian, Kolosvar, lying
three hundred and thirty-five metres above the sea-level, and built
on the site of Napoca, a Roman city, was founded by German colonists
about the year 1270-1272, and was for many years exclusively a German
town, where Hungarians were only tolerated on sufferance and in one
restricted quarter. By degrees, however, these latter obtained a
preponderance; and finally, when the Unitarian sect made of Klausenburg
its principal seat, the Saxons withdrew in disgust from the place
altogether.
In the year 1658, Klausenburg was besieged by the Tartars. The Turkish
Sultan having deposed George Rakoczy II. for acting against his
will, sent hither the barbarians to devastate the land. Burning and
pillaging, the wild hordes reached Klausenburg (then a Saxon city),
and standing before its closed gates, they demanded a ransom of thirty
thousand thalers for sparing the town.
Martin Auer, the Klausenburg judge and a brave Saxon man, went out
to meet the enemy with a portion of the required money. The Tartars
threatened to murder him for not bringing the whole of what they
asked, but Auer divined that not even the payment of the entire thirty
thousand thalers would save the town from pillage. The Tartars intended
to take the sum, and then to sack the city. So he begged to be suffered
to go as far as the town gates in order to persuade his fellow-citizens
to deposit the rest of the money; but when he had reached within
speaking distance, he cried out to his countrymen,
“Friends and citizens! I have come hither under the feint of persuading
you to pay the rest of the fine demanded by the Tartars; but what I
really advise is for you to keep your money and resist the enemy to the
last; trust them not, for however much you pay, they will not spare
you. For my part, I gladly lay down my life for the good of my people.”
But hardly had he finished speaking when the Tartars, guessing at the
purport of his words, laid hold of the brave Saxon and dragged him off
to a cruel death.
A peculiar characteristic of Klausenburg are the Unitarian divorces,
which bring many strangers on a flying visit to this town, where the
conjugal knot is untied with such pleasing alacrity, and replaced at
will by more congenial bonds.
To attain this end the divorcing party must be a citizen of
Klausenburg, and prove his possession to house or land in the place.
This, however, is by no means so complicated as it sounds, the
difficulty being provided for by a row of miserable hovels chronically
advertised for sale, and which for a nominal price are continually
passing from hand to hand.
House-buying, divorce, and remarriage can therefore be easily
accomplished within a space of three or four days—a very valuable
arrangement for those to whom time is money. By this convenient system,
therefore, if you happen to have quarrelled with your first wife on
a Sunday, you have only to take the train to Klausenburg on Monday,
become Unitarian on Tuesday, buy a house on Wednesday, be divorced on
Thursday, remarried on Friday, and on Saturday sell your house and
turn your back on the place with the new-chosen partner of your life,
and likewise the pleasant _arrière-pensée_ that you can begin again _da
capo_ next week if so pleases you.
I went to visit this street for sale, which presents a most doleful
aspect. As the houses are continually changing hands, none of the
transitory owners care to be at the expense of repairs or keeping in
order; therefore rotten planking, hingeless gates, broken windows, and
caved-in roofs are the general order of the day. A row of card-houses
merely to mark this imaginary sort of proprietorship would equally
fulfil the purpose.
The town is said to be unhealthy, and the mortality among children
very great. This is attributed to the impurity of the drinking-water,
several of the springs which feed the town wells running through the
church-yard, which lies on a hill.
To our left, about an hour after leaving Klausenburg, we catch sight
of the Thorda Cleft, or _Spalt_—one of the most remarkable natural
phenomena which the country presents. It is nothing else but a gaping,
unexpected rift, of three or four English miles in length, right
through the limestone rocks, which rise about twelve hundred feet at
the highest point. Deep and gloomy caverns, formerly the abode of
robbers, honey-comb these rocky walls, and a wild mountain torrent
fills up the space between them, completing a weirdly beautiful scene;
but on our first view of it from the railway-carriage it resembled
nothing so much as a magnified loaf of bread severed in two by the cut
of a gigantic knife.
I do not know how geologists account for the formation of the Thorda
Cleft, but the people explain it in their own fashion by a legend:
The Hungarian King Ladislaus, surnamed the Saint, defeated and pursued
by his bitterest enemies the Kumanes, sought refuge in the mountains.
He was already hard pressed for his life, and close on his heels
followed the pagans. Then, in the greatest strait of need, with death
staring him in the face, the Christian monarch threw himself on his
knees, praying to Heaven for assistance. And see! He forsaketh not
those that trust in Him! Suddenly the mountain is rent in twain, and a
deep, yawning abyss divides the King from his pursuers.
[Illustration: THE THORDA SPALT.]
The rest of the country between Klausenburg and Hermanstadt is bleak
and uninteresting—it is, in fact, as I afterwards learned, one of the
few ugly stretches to be found in this land, of which it has so
often been said that it is all beauty. A six hours’ journey brought us
to our destination, Hermanstadt, lying at the terminus of a small and
sleepy branch railway. Unfortunately, with us also arrived the rain,
streaming down in torrents, and blotting out all view of the landscape
in a persistent and merciless manner; and for full eight days this
dismal downpour kept steadily on, trying our patience and souring our
tempers. What more exasperating situation can there be? To have come
to a new place and yet be unable to see it; as soon be sent into an
unknown picture-gallery with a bandage over the eyes.
There was, however, nothing to be done meanwhile but to dodge about the
town under a dripping umbrella and try to gain a general idea of its
principal characteristics.
A little old-fashioned German town, spirited over here by supernatural
agency; a town that has been sleeping for a hundred years, and is only
now slowly and reluctantly waking up to life, yawning and stretching
itself, and listening with incredulous wonder to the account of all
that has happened in the outside world during its slumber—such was the
first impression I received of Hermanstadt. The top-heavy, overhanging
gables, the deserted watch-towers, the ancient ramparts, the crooked
streets, in whose midst the broad currents of a peaceful stream partly
fulfil the office of our newer-fashioned drains, and where frequently
the sprouting grass between the irregular stone pavement would afford
very fair sustenance for a moderate flock of sheep, all combine to give
the impression of a past which has scarcely gone and of a present which
has not yet penetrated.
There are curious old houses, with closely grated windows whose iron
bars are fancifully wrought and twisted, sometimes in the shape of
flowers and branches, roses and briers interlaced, which seem to
have sprung up here to defend the chamber of some beautiful princess
lying spellbound in her sleep of a hundred years. There are quaint
little gardens which one never succeeds in reaching, and which in
some inexplicable manner seem to be built up in a third or fourth
story; sometimes in spring we catch a glimpse of a burst of blossom
far overhead, or a wind-tossed rose will shower its petals upon us,
yet we cannot approach to gather them. There is silence everywhere,
save for occasional vague snatches of melody issuing from a half-open
window—old forgotten German tunes, such as the “Mailüfterl” or
“Anchen von Tharau,” played on feeble, toneless spinnets. There are
nooks and corners and unexpected flights of steps leading from the
upper to the lower town, narrow passages and tunnels which connect
opposite streets.
“These are to enable the inhabitants to scuttle away from the Turks,”
I was told, my informant lowering his voice, as if we might expect
a row of turbans to appear at the other side of the passage we were
traversing. “There is our theatre,” he continued, pointing to a dumpy
tower bulging out of the rampart-wall. One of the principal strongholds
this used to be, but its shape now suited conveniently for the erection
of a stage, and the narrow arrow-slits came in handy for the fixing-up
of side-scenes.
Many more such old fortress-towers are to be found all over the town,
some of which are now used as military stores, while others have been
converted into peaceable summer-houses. At the time when Hermanstadt
was still a Saxon stronghold each tower had its own name, as the
Goldsmiths’ Tower, the Tanners’, the Locksmiths’, etc., according to
the particular guild which manned it in time of siege.
From one of these towers it was that the Sultan Amurad was killed by an
arrow when besieging the town in 1438 with an army of seventy thousand
men.
The whole character of Hermanstadt is thoroughly old German, reminding
me rather of some of the Nuremberg streets or portions of Bregenz than
of anything to be seen in Hungary.
The streams which run down the centre of each street are no doubt as
enjoyable for the ducks who swim in them, as for young ladies desirous
of displaying a neat pair of ankles; but for more humdrum mortals
they are somewhat of a nuisance. They can, it is true, be jumped in
dry weather without particular danger to life or limb; but there are
many prejudiced persons who do not care to transform a sober round
of shopping into a species of steeple-chase, and who will persist in
finding it hard to be unable to purchase a yard of ribbon or a packet
of pins without taking several flying leaps over swift watercourses.
Much of the life and occupations of our excellent Saxon neighbors
is betrayed by these telltale streamlets, which, chameleon-like,
alter their color according to what is going on around them. Thus on
washing-days the rivulet in our street used to be of a bright celestial
blue, rivalling the laughing Mediterranean in color, unless indeed the
family in question were possessed of much scarlet hosiery of inferior
quality, in which case it would assume a gory hue suggestive of secret
murders. When the chimney-sweep had been paying his rounds in the
neighborhood, the current would be dark and gloomy as the turbid waters
of the Styx; and when a pig was killed a few doors off—But no; the
subject threatens to grow too painful, and I feel that a line must be
drawn at the pig.
[Illustration: OLD FORTRESS-TOWER ON THE RAMPARTS AT HERMANSTADT.[3]]
Such is the every-day aspect of affairs; but in rainy weather these
little brooklets, becoming obstreperous, swell out of all proportions,
and for this frequent contingency small transportable bridges are kept
in readiness to be placed across the principal thoroughfares of the
town. After a very heavy thunder-plump in summer, even these bridges do
not suffice, as then the whole street is flooded from side to side, and
for an hour or so Hermanstadt becomes Venice—minus the gondolas.
These occasional floodings give rise to many amusing incidents, as that
of an officer who, invited to dinner by the commanding general, beheld
with dismay the dinner-hour approach. He had only to cross the street,
or rather the canal, for at that moment it presented the appearance of
a navigable river. Would the waves subside in time? was his anxious
question as he gazed at the clock in growing suspense, and dismally
surveyed his beautifully fitting patent-leather boots. No, the waves
did not subside, and no carriage was to be procured, the half-dozen
_fiacres_ of which Hermanstadt alone could boast being already engaged.
The clock struck the quarter. “What is to be done?” moaned the unhappy
man in agony of spirit, while the desperate alternatives of swimming or
of suicide began to dance before his fevered brain. “A boat, a boat, a
kingdom for a boat!” he repeated, mechanically, when it struck him that
the quotation might as well be taken literally in this case, and that
in default of a boat, he had three good steeds in his stables. “Saddle
my horse—my tallest one!” he cried, excitedly; “I am saved!”—and so
he was. The gallant steed bore him through the roaring flood, bringing
him high and dry to the door of his host, with patent boots intact.
* * * * *
Meanwhile—to return to the subject of my first days at Hermanstadt—the
rain had continued to fall for a whole week, and I was beginning to
lose all patience. “I don’t believe in the mountains you all tell me
about!” I felt inclined to say, when my first eight days had shown me
nothing but leaden clouds and dull gray mists; but even while I thought
it, the clouds were rolling away, and bit by bit a splendid panorama
was unfolding before my eyes.
Sure enough, they were there, the mountains I had just been insulting
by my disbelief, a long glittering row of snowy peaks shining in the
outbursting sunshine, so delicately transparent in their loveliness,
so harmonious in their blended coloring, so sublimely grand in their
sweeping lines, that I could have begged their pardon for having
doubted their existence!
As one beautiful picture often suffices to light up a dingy apartment,
so one lovely view gives life and interest to a monotonous county
town. It takes the place of theatres, art galleries, and glittering
shop-windows; it acts at times as a refreshing medicine or a
stimulating tonic; and though I saw it daily, it used to strike me
afresh with a sense of delightful surprise whenever I stepped round the
corner of my street, and stood in face of this glorious tableau.
The town of Hermanstadt lies in the centre of a large and fertile
plain, intersected by the serpentine curves of the river Cibin, and
dotted over by well-built Saxon villages. To the north and west the
land is but gently undulating, while to the east and south the horizon
is bounded by this imposing chain of the Fogarascher Hochgebirg,
their highest peaks but seldom free from snow, their base streaked by
alternate stretches of oak, beech, and pine forests.
At one point this forest, which must formerly have covered the entire
plain, reaches still to the farther end of the town, melting into the
promenade, so that you can walk in the shade of time-honored oak-trees
right to the foot of the mountains—a distance of some eight English
miles.
To complete my general sketch of the town of Hermanstadt, I shall
merely mention that although our house was situated in one of the
liveliest streets, yet the passing through of a cart or carriage
was a rare event, which, in its unwonted excitement, instinctively
caused every one to rush to their windows; that the pointed irregular
pavement, equally productive of corns and destructive to _chaussure_,
seems to be the remnant of some mediæval species of torture; that gas
is unknown, and the town but insufficiently lighted by dingy petroleum
lamps.
Probably by the time that Hermanstadt fully wakens up to life again,
it will discover to its astonishment that it has slept through a whole
era, and skipped the gas stage of existence altogether, for it will
then be time to replace the antediluvian petroleum lamps, not by the
already old-fashioned gas ones, but by the newer and more brilliant
rays of electric light.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Reprinted from a publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian
Society.
CHAPTER V.
SAXON HISTORICAL FEAST—LEGEND.
As I happened to arrive at Hermanstadt[4] precisely seven hundred years
later than the German colonists who had founded that city, I had the
good-luck to assist at a national festival of peculiarly interesting
character.
Of the town’s foundation, old chronicles tell us how the outwanderers,
on reaching the large and fertile plain where it now stands, drove two
swords crosswise into the ground, and thereon took their oath to be
true and faithful subjects of the monarch who had called them hither,
and with their best heart’s-blood to defend the land which had given
them shelter. The two swords on which this oath was registered were
carefully preserved, and sent, one to Broos and the other to Draas—two
towns marking the extremities of the Saxonland—there to be treasured
up forever. But in consequence of evil times which came over the
land, and of the war and bloodshed which devastated it, one of these
swords—that of Broos—got lost. But we are told that the other is
still to be seen in the church of Draas. It is of man’s length, from
which it is argued that these Saxon immigrants were well-grown and
vigorous men.
Who this Herman was who gave his name to the city can only be
conjectured—probably one of the leaders of the little band, for, as
we see by the names of some of the surrounding villages, each has been
called after some old German, whose identity has not transpired, as
Neppendorf from Eppo, Hammersdorf from Humbert, etc.
Some old chronicles, indeed, tell us that when the Hungarian King
Stephen I. was married to Gisela, sister of the German King Henry
II., there came in her suite a poor Baron Herman, along with his
family, from Nuremberg to Transylvania, and he it was who founded the
settlement which later developed into the present town of Hermanstadt.
It is said that the first settlement was formed in 1202; likewise that
the said Herman lived to the age of a hundred and twenty-five, and was
the progenitor of a renowned and powerful race.
Another legend accounts for the foundation of Hermanstadt with the
old well-worn tale which has done duty for so many other cities, of a
shepherd who, when allowed to take as much land as he could compass
with a buffalo’s hide, cut up the skin into narrow strips, and so
contrived to secure a handsome property. This particular sharp-witted
peasant was, by profession, a keeper of swine; and there is a fountain
in the lower town which still goes by the name of the _funtine
porcolor_, or swineherd’s well.
With all these conflicting statements staring one in the face, there
did not seem to be (so far as I could learn) any very authentic reason
for supposing Hermanstadt to have been founded precisely in 1184; but
everybody had apparently made up their minds that such was the case,
so the date was to be commemorated by a costumed procession, extensive
preparations for which kept the quiet little town in a state of
fermentation for many weeks beforehand.
All the tradesmen of the place seemed to have suddenly gone mad, and
could hardly be induced to attend to the every-day wants of commonplace
mortals whose ancestors had not the _prestige_ of a seven-centuried
expatriation. If I went to order a pair of walking-boots, I was
disdainfully informed that I could not hope for them that week, as
all hands were employed in fashioning high-peaked leather boots of
yellow pig-skin for Herman and his retainers. If I looked in at the
glove-maker’s I fared no better, for he had lost all interest in pale
kids or _gants de suède_; and the solitary pair of Sarah Bernhardt
gloves, hitherto the pride of his show-window, had been ruthlessly cast
aside to make way for ponderous gauntlets of heroic dimensions. The
tailors would have nothing to do with vulgar coat or trousers, but had
soared unanimously to the loftier regions of jerkins and galligaskins;
even the tinsmith had lost his mental equilibrium, apparently laboring
under the delusion that he was an ancient armorer who could not
possibly demean himself by mending a simple modern pudding-mould.
We unfortunate strangers, bootless, gloveless, coatless, and
puddingless as we were in those days, had a very hard time of it
indeed while this national fever was at its height, and keenly felt
the terrible disadvantage of not having been born as ancient Saxons.
At last, however, the preparations were complete, and forgetting our
privations, we were fain to acknowledge the sight to be one of the
most curious and exceptional we had ever witnessed. The old-fashioned
streets made a fitting background for this mediæval pageant, in which
peasants and burghers, on foot and on horseback; groups of maidens,
quaintly attired, plying the distaff as they went along; German
matrons, with jewelled head-dresses and cunningly wrought golden
girdles; gayly ornamented chariots, bearing the fruits of the field or
the trophies of the chase, passed us in solemn procession; while on
a sylvan stage erected in the depths of the old oak forest a simple
but moving drama set forth the words and actions of the forefathers
of those very actors—the German colonists who, seven hundred years
previously, had come hither to seek a home in the wild Hungarian
forests.
The costumes and procession had been arranged by native artists, and,
as a work of art, no doubt many parts of the performance were open to
criticism. Some of our fashionable painters would assuredly have turned
sick and faint at sight of the unfortunate combinations of coloring
which frequently marred the effect of otherwise correctly arranged
costumes. Whoever has lived in large towns must have seen such things
better done, over and over again; but what gave this festival a unique
stamp of originality, not to be attained by any amount of mere artistic
arrangement, was the feeling which penetrated the whole scene and
animated each single actor.
[Illustration: MOUNTED PEASANTS, FROM THE HISTORICAL PROCESSION.]
It is difficult to conceive, as it is impossible to describe, the deep
and peculiar impression caused by this display of patriotism on the
part of Germans who have never seen their father-land—Rhinelanders who
are not likely ever to behold the blue rushing waters of the Rhine.
Until now we had always been taught that Germany was inhabited by
Germans, France by Frenchmen, and England by Englishmen; but here we
have such a complex medley of nationalities as wellnigh to upset all
our school-room teaching. Listening to the words of the German drama,
we can easily fancy ourselves at Cologne or Nuremberg, were it not for
the dark faces of Roumanian peasants pushing forward to look at the
unwonted scene, and for the Hungarian uniforms of the gendarmes who are
pushing them back.
* * * * *
More primitive but not less interesting than the historical procession
just described is the way in which the arrival of these German
immigrants is still yearly commemorated in the village of Nadesch.
There, on a particular day of the year, all the lads dress up as
pilgrims, in long woollen garments, rope girdles, and with massive
staves in their hands. Thus attired, they assemble round the flag;
a venerable old man takes the lead, beating the drum; and, singing
psalms, they go in procession down the street, now and then entering
some particularly spacious court-yard, where a dance is executed
and refreshments partaken of. A visit to the pastor is also _de
rigueur_, and the procession only breaks up at evenfall, after
having traversed the whole village from end to end. When questioned
as to the signification of this custom, the people answer, “Thus
came our fathers, free people like ourselves, from Saxonia into this
land, behind the flag and drum, and with staves in their hands. And
because we have not ourselves invented this custom, neither did our
ancestors invent it, but have transmitted it to us from generation to
generation, so do we, too, desire to hand it down to our children and
grandchildren.”
How these Germans came to settle so many hundred miles away from
their own country has also formed the subject of numerous tales, none
prettier nor more suggestive than their identification with the lost
children of Hameln—a well-known German legend, rendered familiar to
English readers through Browning’s poem.
“It was in the year 1284” (so runs the tale) “that, in the little town
of Hameln, in Westphalia, a strange individual made his appearance.
He wore a coat of cloth of many colors, and announced himself as a
rat-catcher, engaging to rid the town of all rats and mice for a
certain sum of money. The bargain being struck, the rat-catcher drew
out of his pocket a small pipe, and began whistling; whereupon from
every barn, stable, cellar, and garret there issued forth a prodigious
number of rats and mice, collecting in swarms round the stranger, all
intent upon his music.
“All the vermin of the place being thus assembled, the piper, still
playing, proceeded to the banks of the river Weser, and rolling up his
breeches above the knee, he waded into the water, blindly followed by
rats and mice, which were speedily drowned in the rushing current.
“But the burghers of Hameln, seeing themselves thus easily delivered
from their plague, repented the heavy sum of money they had promised,
putting off the payment, under various excuses, whenever the stranger
claimed the reward of his labors.
“At last the piper grew angry and went away, cursing the town which had
behaved so dishonorably; but he was seen to haunt the neighborhood,
dressed as a huntsman, with high-peaked scarlet cap; and at daybreak on
the 26th of June, feast of St. John, the shrill note of his pipe was
again heard in the streets of Hameln.
“This time neither rats nor mice responded to the summons, for all
vermin had perished in the waters of the Weser; but the little children
came running out of the houses, struggling out of their parents’ arms,
and could not be withheld from following the sinister piper. In this
way he led the infantine procession to the foot of a neighboring hill,
into which he disappeared along with the children he had beguiled.
Among these was the half-grown-up daughter of the burgomaster of
Hameln, a maiden of wondrous grace and beauty.
“A nurse-maid who, with a little one in her arms, had been irresistibly
compelled to join the procession, found strength enough at the last
moment to tear herself away, and, reaching the town in breathless
haste, brought the sad news to the bereaved parents. Also one little
boy, who had run out in his shirt, feeling cold, went back to fetch his
jacket, and was likewise saved from his comrades’ fate; for by the time
he regained the hill-side the opening had closed up, leaving no trace
of the mysterious piper nor of the hundred and thirty children who had
followed him.”
Nor were they ever found again by the heart-broken parents; but
popular tradition has averred the Germans who about that time made
their appearance in Transylvania to be no other than the lost children
of Hameln, who, having performed their long journey by subterranean
passages, reissued to the light of day through the opening of a cavern
known as the Almescher Höhle, in the north-east of Transylvania.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] The Hungarian name of is Nagy-Szeben, and its Roumanian appellation
Sibiiu.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SAXONS: CHARACTER—EDUCATION—RELIGION.
Whoever has lived among these Transylvanian Saxons, and has taken
the trouble to study them, must have remarked that not only seven
centuries’ residence in a strange land and in the midst of antagonistic
races has made them lose none of their identity, but that they are,
so to say, _plus catholiques que le pape_—that is, more thoroughly
Teutonic than the Germans living to-day in the original father-land.
And it is just because of the adverse circumstances in which they were
placed, and of the opposition and attacks which met them on all sides,
that they have kept themselves so conservatively unchanged. Feeling
that every step in another direction was a step towards the enemy,
finding that every concession they made threatened to become the link
of a captive’s chain, no wonder they clung stubbornly, tenaciously,
blindly to each peculiarity of language, dress, and custom, in a manner
which has probably not got its parallel in history. Left on their
native soil, and surrounded by friends and countrymen, they would
undoubtedly have changed as other nations have changed. Their isolated
position and the peculiar circumstances of their surroundings have
kept them what they were. Like a faithful portrait taken in the prime
of life, the picture still goes on showing the bloom of the cheek and
the light of the eye, long after Time’s destroying hand, withering the
original, has caused it to lose all resemblance to its former self; and
it is with something of the feeling of gazing at such an old portrait
that we contemplate these German people who dress like old bass-reliefs
of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and continue to hoard up
provisions within the church walls, as in the days when besieged by
Turk or Tartar. Such as these Saxons wandered forth from the far west
to seek a home in a strange land, such we find them again to-day, seven
centuries later, like a corpse frozen in a glacier which comes to light
unchanged after a long lapse of years.
From an artistic point of view these Saxons are decidedly an unlovely
race. There is a want of flowing lines and curves and a superfluity
of angles about them, most distressing to a sensitive eye. The women
may usually be described as having rather good hair, indifferent
complexions, narrow shoulders, flat busts, and gigantic feet. Their
features, of a sadly unfinished wooden appearance, irresistibly
reminded me of the figures of Noah and his family out of a sixpenny
Noah’s ark. There is something Noah’s-ark-like, too, about their
attire, which, running entirely in hard straight lines, with nothing
graceful or flowing about them, no doubt helped to produce this
Scriptural impression. The Saxon peasant is stiff without dignity, just
as he is honest without being frank. Were the whole world peopled by
this race alone, our dictionaries might have been lightened of a good
many unnecessary words, such as elegance, grace, fascination, etc.
Of course, now and then one comes across an exception to this general
rule and finds a pretty girl, like a white poppy in a field of red
ones; but such exceptions are few and far between, and I have remarked
that on an average it takes three well-populated villages to produce
two bonnie lassies.
The men are on the whole pleasanter to look at than the fair sex,
having often a certain ungainly picturesqueness of their own, reminding
one of old Flemish paintings.
Something hard and grasping, avaricious and mistrustful, characterizes
the expression of most Saxon peasants. For this, however, they are
scarcely to blame, any more than for their flat busts and large
feet—their character, and consequently their expression, being but
the natural result of circumstances, the upshot of seven centuries of
stubborn resistance and warfare with those around them. “We Saxons
have always been cheated or betrayed whenever we have had to do with
strangers,” they say; and no doubt they are right. The habit of
mistrust developed almost to an instinct cannot easily be got rid of,
even if there be no longer cause to justify it.
This defensive attitude towards strangers which pervades the Saxons’
every word and action makes it, however, difficult to feel prepossessed
in their favor. Taken in the sense of antiquities, they are no doubt
an extremely interesting people, but viewed as living men and women,
not at first sight attractive to a stranger; and while compelling our
admiration by the solid virtues and independent spirit which have kept
him what he is, the Saxon peasant often shows to disadvantage beside
his less civilized, less educated, and also less honest neighbor, the
Roumanian.
As a natural consequence of this mistrust, the spirit of speculation
is here but little developed—for speculation cannot exist without some
degree of confidence in one’s neighbor. They do not care to risk one
florin in order to gain ten, but are content to keep a firm grasp on
what they have got. There are no beggars at all to be seen in Saxon
towns, and one never hears of large fortunes gained or lost. Those who
happen to be wealthy have only become so by the simple but somewhat
tedious process of spending half their income only, during a period of
half a century; and after they have in this manner achieved wealth, it
does not seem to profit them much, for they go on living as they did
before, nourishing themselves on scanty fare, and going to bed early in
order to save the expense of lights.
The townsfolk are weaker and punier editions of the villagers,
frequently showing marks of a race degenerated from constant
intermarriage; and, stripped of their ancient Noah’s-ark costume, lose
much of their attraction.
They are essentially a _bourgeois_ nation, possessing neither titles
nor nobility of their own, although many can boast of lengthy
pedigrees. Those who happen to be _adel_ (noble) have only obtained
their _von_ in some exceptional manner in later times, and the
five-pointed crown seems somewhat of an anomaly.
Although the Saxons talk of Germany as their father-land, yet their
patriotic feeling is by no means what we are accustomed to understand
by that word. Their attachment to the old country would seem rather to
be of prosaic than romantic sort. “We attach ourselves to the German
nation and language,” they say, endeavoring to explain the complicated
nature of their patriotism, “because it offers us the greatest
advantages of civilization and culture; we should equally have attached
ourselves to any other nation which offered us equal advantages,
whether that nation had happened to be Hungarian, French, or Chinese.
If the Hungarians had happened to be more civilized than ourselves, we
should have been amalgamated with them long ago.”[5]
Such an incomprehensible sort of patriot would probably have been
condemned by Scott to go down to his grave “unwept, unhonored, and
unsung.” But I suppose that allowances must be made for their peculiar
position, and that it is difficult to realize what it feels like to be
a grafted plant.
There is one village in Transylvania which, isolated in the midst of
a Hungarian population, offers an instance of a more complex species
of nationality than any I have yet heard of. This is the village of
Szass Lona, near Klausenburg, which used to be Saxon, but where the
people have gradually forgotten their own mother-tongue and can only
speak Hungarian. There is, however, no drop of Hungarian blood in
their veins, as they marry exclusively among themselves; and they have
retained alike the German type of feature and the national Saxon dress
intact in all its characteristics. Also the family names throughout the
village are German ones—as Hindrik, Tod, Jäger, Hubert, etc.
Though none of these people can speak a word of German, and no one can
remember the time when German was spoken in the village, yet during the
revolution of 1848 these Hungarian-speaking Germans rose to a man to
fight against the Magyars.
The Saxon dialect—totally distinct from modern German—has, I am told,
most resemblance to the patois spoken by the peasants near Luxemburg.
It is harsh and unpleasant to the ear, but has in some far-off and
indefinable way a certain caricatured likeness to English. Often have
I been surprised into turning round sharply in the street to see
who could be speaking English behind me, only to discover two Saxon
peasants comparing notes as to the result of their marketing.
The language, however, differs considerably in different neighborhoods;
and a story is told of natives of two different Saxon villages, who,
being unable to understand one another, were reduced to conversing in
Roumanian.
The _Sachsengraf_ (Count), or Comes, was formerly the head of the
nation, chosen by the people, and acknowledging no other authority
but that of the King. He was at once the judge and the leader of his
people, and had alone the power of pronouncing sentence of death, in
token of which four fir-trees were planted in front of his house.
The original meaning of this I take to be, that in olden times the
malefactors were executed on the spot, and suspended on these very
trees, in full sight of the windows—a pleasant sight, truly, for the
ladies of the family.
Nowadays the Saxon Comes has shrunk to a mere shadow of his former
self; for though there is still nominally a Comes who resides at
Hermanstadt, his position is as unlike what it used to be as those four
trumpery-looking little Christmas-trees stuck before his door resemble
the portentous gallows of which they are the emblem. It is, in fact,
merely as a harmless concession to Saxon national feeling that the
title has been preserved at all—a mere meaningless appendage tacked on
to the person of the Hungarian _obergespan_, or sheriff.
The principal strength of these Saxon colonists has always lain in
their schools, whose conservation they jealously guard, supporting
them entirely from their own resources, and stubbornly refusing all
help from the Government. They do not wish to accept favors, they say,
and thereby incur obligations. These schools had formerly the name of
being among the very best in Austria; and I have heard of many people
who from a distance used to send their children to study there, some
twenty to thirty years ago. That this reputation is, however, highly
overrated is an undoubted fact, as I know from sad experience with
my own children, though it is not easy to determine where the fault
exactly lies. The Saxons declare their schools to have suffered from
Hungarian interference, which limits their programme in some respects,
while insisting on the Hungarian language being taught in every class;
but many people consider the Saxons themselves quite as much to blame
for the bad results of their teaching. Doubtless, in this as in other
respects, it is their exaggerated conservatism which is at fault; and,
keeping no account of the age we live in, what was reckoned good some
thirty years ago may be called bad to-day.
Anyhow, between the reforming Hungarians and the conservative Saxons,
unfortunate stranger boys have a very hard time of it indeed at the
Hermanstadt Gymnasium, and it is a fact beginning to be generally
acknowledged that children coming to Austria from Transylvanian schools
are thrown two classes back.
But the whole question of education in Austria is such a provoking
and unsatisfactory one that it is hardly possible to speak of it with
either patience or politeness; and by none are its evil effects more
disastrously felt than by hapless military families, who, compelled
to shift about in restless fashion from land to land, are alternately
obliged to conform their children to the most opposite requirements of
utterly different systems.
Thus the son of an officer serving in the Austrian army may be obliged
to study half a dozen different languages (in addition to Latin,
Greek, German, and French) during a hardly greater number of years. He
must learn Italian because his father is serving at Trieste, and may be
getting on fairly well with that language when he is abruptly called
upon to change it for Polish, since Cracow is henceforth the town where
he is to pursue his studies. But hardly has he got familiar with the
soft Slave tongue when, ten to one, his accent will be ruined for life
by an untimely transition to Bohemia, where the hideous Czech language
has become _de rigueur_. Slavonian and Ruthenian may very likely have
their turn at the unfortunate infant before he has attained the age
of twelve, unless the distracted father be reduced to sacrifice his
military career to the education of his son.
It is not of our own individual case that I would speak thus strongly,
for our boys, being burdened with only seven languages (to wit, Polish,
English, German, French, Greek, Latin, and Hungarian), would scarcely
be counted ill-used, as Austrian boys go, having escaped Bohemian,
Slavonian, Ruthenian, and Italian; yet assuredly to us it was a very
happy day indeed when we made a bonfire of the Magyar school-books,
and ceased quaking at sight of the formidable individual who taught
Hungarian at the Hermanstadt Gymnasium.
O happy English school-boys, you know not how much you have to be
thankful for!—your own noble language, adorned with a superficial
layer of Greek and Latin, and at most supplemented by a little
atrocious French, being sufficient to set you up for life. Think of
those others who are pining in a complicated net-work of Bohemian,
Polish, Hungarian, Slavonian, Italian, Croatian, and Ruthenian fetters;
think of them, and drop a sympathizing tear over their mournful lot!
That the Saxon school-professors are well-educated, intelligent men is
no proof in favor of the schools themselves, for here another motive is
at work, namely, no man can aspire to be pastor without passing through
the university, and then practising for several years at a public
gymnasium; and as these places are very lucrative, there is a great
run upon them. Now, as formerly, most young men are sent to complete
their studies at some German university town—Heidelberg, Göttingen,
or Jena—an undertaking which, before the days of railroads, must have
required considerable resolution to enable those concerned to encounter
the hardships of a journey which took from ten to twelve weeks to
perform. It was usually conducted in the following manner: Some
enterprising Roumanian peasant harnessed twelve to fourteen horses
to some lumbering vehicle, and, laden with a dozen or more students
thirsting for knowledge, pilgered thus to the German university town
some eight or nine hundred miles off. Returning to Transylvania some
six months later, he brought back another batch of young men who had
completed their studies.
The weight which these Saxons have always attached to education may be
gathered from the fact that in almost each of their fortified churches,
or burgs, there was a tower set apart for the inculcation of knowledge,
and to this day many such are still in existence, and known as the
_schul thurm_ (school-tower). Even when the enemy was standing outside
the walls, the course of learning was not allowed to be interrupted. It
must have been a strange sight and a worthy subject for some historical
painter to see this crowd of old-fashioned fair-haired children, all
huddled together within the dingy turret; some of the bolder or more
inquisitive flaxen heads peering out of the narrow gullet-windows at
the turbans and crescents below, while the grim-faced mentor, stick in
hand, recalls them to order, vainly endeavoring to fix their wandering
attention each time a painim arrow whizzed past the opening.
* * * * *
Why these Saxons, who have shown themselves so rigidly conservative
on all other points, should nevertheless have changed their religion,
might puzzle a stranger at first sight. The mere spirit of imitation
would not seem sufficient to account for it, and Luther’s voice could
hardly have penetrated to this out-of-the-way corner of Europe at a
time when telegraphs and telephones were yet unknown. The solution
of this riddle is, however, quite simple, and lies close at hand,
when we remember that even before the Reformation all those preparing
for the Sacerdoce went to Germany to complete their studies. These,
consequently, caught the reforming infection, and brought it back fresh
from headquarters, acting, in fact, as so many living telephones, who,
conveying the great reformer’s voice from one end of Europe to the
other, promulgated his doctrines with all the enthusiasm and fire of
youth.
Every year thus brought fresh recruits from the scene of action; no
wonder, then, that the original Catholic clerical party grew daily
smaller and weaker, and proved unable to stem this powerful new
current. The contest was necessarily an unequal one: on one side,
impassioned rhetoric and the fire of youth; on the other, the drowsy
resistance of a handful of superannuated men, grown rusty in their
theology and lax in the exercise of their duties.
In the year 1523 Luther’s teaching had already struck such firm
roots at Hermanstadt that the Archbishop of Gran, to whose diocese
Hermanstadt then belonged, obtained a royal decree authorizing the
destruction of all Lutheran books and documents as pernicious and
heretical. Accordingly an archiepiscopal commissary was despatched
to Hermanstadt, and all burghers were compelled to deliver up their
Protestant books and writings to be burned in the public market-place.
It is related that on this occasion, when the bonfire was at its
highest, the wind, seizing hold of a semi-consumed Psalter, carried
it with such force against the head of the bishop’s emissary that,
severely burned, he fainted away on the spot. The book was thrown back
into the fire where it soon burned to ashes; but on the third day after
the accident the commissary died of the wounds received.
Another anecdote relating to the Reformation is told of the village
of Schass, which, while Luther’s doctrine was being spread in
Transylvania, despatched one of its parishioners, named Strell, to
Rome in quest of a Papal indulgence for the community. More than
once already had Strell been sent to Rome on a like errand, and each
time, on returning home with the granted indulgence for his people,
he was received by a solemn procession of all the villagers, bearing
flying banners and singing sacred hymns. He was, therefore, not a
little surprised this time, on approaching the village, to see the
road deserted before him, though he had given warning of his intended
arrival. The bells were dumb, and not a soul came out to meet him; but
his astonishment reached its climax when, on nearing the church, he
perceived the images of the saints he had been wont to revere lying
in the mire outside the church walls. To his wondering question he
received the reply that in his absence the villagers had changed their
faith. Strell, however, did not imitate their example, but raising
up the holy images from their inglorious position, he gave them an
honorable place in his house, remaining Catholic to the end of his days.
Nevertheless, in spite of many such incidents, the change of religion
in Transylvania brought about fewer disturbances than in most other
places. There was little strife or bloodshed, and none of that fierce
fanaticism which has so often injured and weakened both causes. The
Saxon peasantry did this as they do everything else, calmly and
practically; and the Government permitting each party to follow its
own religion unmolested, in a comparatively short time peace and order
were re-established in the interior of the country.
Without wishing to touch on such a very serious subject as the
respective merits of the two religions, or attempting to obtrude
personal convictions, it seems to me, from a purely artistic point
of view, that the sterner and simpler Protestant religion fits these
independent and puritanical-looking Saxon folk far better than the
ancient faith can have done; while the more graceful forms of the
Oriental Church, its mystic ceremonies and arbitrary doctrines, are
unquestionably better adapted to an ardent, ignorant, and superstitious
race like the Roumanian one.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] This, however, may be doubted, as I do not believe that, under any
circumstances, a natural amalgamation between Germans and Magyars could
ever have come about. There is a too deeply inrooted dislike between
the two races.
CHAPTER VII.
SAXON VILLAGES.
Saxon villages are as easily distinguished from Roumanian ones,
composed of wretched earthen hovels, as from Hungarian hamlets, which
are marked by a sort of formal simplicity. The Saxon houses are larger
and more massive; each one, solidly built of stone, stands within a
roomy court-yard surrounded by a formidable stone wall. Building and
repairing is the Saxon peasant’s favorite employment, and the Hungarian
says of him ironically that when the German has nothing better to do he
pulls down his house and builds it up again by way of amusement.
Each village is usually formed of one long principal street, extending
sometimes fully an English mile along the high-road; only when the
village happens to be built at a junction of several roads, the streets
form a cross or triangle, in the centre of which mostly stands the
church. From this principal street or streets there sometimes branch
off smaller by-streets on either side; but these are seldom more than
five or six houses deep, for the Saxon lays great stress on the point
of locality, and the question of high-street or by-street is to him
every whit as important as the alternative of Grosvenor Square or City
would be to a Londoner.
Formerly no Roumanians or gypsies were tolerated within Saxon villages,
but of late these people have been gradually creeping nearer, and now
most German villages have at one end a shabby sort of _faubourg_, or
suburb, composed of Roumanian and gypsy hovels.
The principal street, often broad enough to admit of eight carts
driving abreast, presents but little life at first sight. The windows
of the broad gable-end next the street have often got their shutters
closed, for this is the best room, reserved for state occasions. Only
when we open the gate and step into the large court-yard can we gain
some insight into the life and occupations of the inhabitants.
[Illustration: SAXON PEASANT HOUSE.]
Near to the entrance stands the deep draw-well, and all round are built
the sheds and stables for sheep, horses, cows, and buffaloes, while
behind these buildings another gate generally opens into a spacious
kitchen-garden. From the court five or six steps lead up to a sort of
open veranda, where the peasant can sit in summer and overlook his
farm laborers. From this passage the kitchen is entered, to the right
and left of which are respectively the common and the best room, both
good-sized apartments, with two windows each. In addition to these
there is often a smaller one-windowed room, in which reside a young
married couple, son or daughter of the house, who have not yet had
time to found their own hearth-stone; or else there lives here the
old widowed father or mother, who has abdicated in favor of the young
people. A ladder or rough flight of steps leads to the loft; and below
the veranda is the entrance to the cellar, where stores of pickled
sauerkraut, the dearly beloved national dish of the Saxons, and casks
of their pearly amber-colored wine, are among the principal features of
the provisions.
In the village street, in front of each peasant house, there used
formerly to stand a large fruit-tree—pear, apple, or sometimes
mulberry—whose spreading branches cast a pleasant shade over the stone
bench placed there for the convenience of those who like to enjoy a
“crack” with the neighbors on fine evenings after the work is done.
Many of these trees have now been cut down, for it was found that the
godless gypsies used to make their harvest there while the pious Saxons
were at church; or else unmannerly school-urchins in pelting down the
fruit with stones would sometimes hit the window-panes instead, and
thus cause still greater damage. The result is, therefore, that most
Saxon villages now present a somewhat bleak and staring appearance, and
that on a burning summer day it is not easy to find a shady bench on
which to rest a while.
It may be of interest here to quote the statistical figures relating to
a large and flourishing village in the north-east of Transylvania:
Houses, 326 (of these 32 are earth hovels).
Heads of population, 1416—of these the proportion of different
nationalities as follows:
Saxons—481 male, 499 female.
Hungarians—2.
Roumanians—118 male, 83 female (mostly farm-servants).
Tziganes—104 men, 106 women.
Jews—14 male, 9 female.
In this village, which is exceptionally rich in cattle, the different
animals number:
Bulls 3
Cows 357
Young cattle 575
Oxen 1200
Buffaloes 120
Horses 475
Goats 182
Pigs 734
Sheep 1000-1500
Most of the sheep in Transylvania are in the hands of the Roumanians,
while the pigs invariably belong to the Saxons. Among these latter,
1000 men possess on an average 215 horses, while among the Szekels only
51 will be found to the same number of heads.
The Saxon peasant, being an enemy to all modern improvements, goes on
cultivating his fields much as did his forefathers six hundred years
ago. Clinging to the antiquated superstition that a field is the
more productive the longer it lies fallow, each piece of ground is
ploughed and sowed once only in three years; and having, owing to the
insufficient population, rarely enough hands to till his land himself,
he is obliged to call in the assistance of Roumanian farm-servants.
Other people, too, have taken advantage of this agricultural somnolency
of the Saxons; so the Bulgarians, who pilger hither in troops every
spring-time to rent the Saxons’ superfluous fields, bringing with them
their own tools and seed, and in autumn, having realized the profit of
their labor, wend their way back to their homes and families. The great
specialty of these Bulgarian farmers is onions, of which they contrive
to rear vast crops, far superior in size and quality to those grown
by the natives. A Bulgarian onion field is easily distinguished from
a Saxon one by its trim, orderly appearance, the perfect regularity
with which the rows are planted, and the ingenious arrangements for
providing water in time of drought.
Of the numerous Saxon villages which dot the plain around Hermanstadt,
I shall here only attempt to mention two or three of those with which
I have the most intimate acquaintance, as having formed the object
of many a walk and ride. First, there is Heltau—which, however, has
rather the character of a market-town than a village—lying in a
deep hollow at the foot of the hills south of Hermanstadt, and with
nothing either rural or picturesque about it. Yet whoever chances
first to behold Heltau, as I did, on a fine evening in May, when the
fruit-trees are in full blossom, will carry away an impression not
easily forgotten. From the road, which leads down in serpentine curves,
the village bursts on our eyes literally framed in a thick garland
of blossom, snowy white and delicate peach color combining to cast a
fictitious glamour over what is in reality a very unattractive place.
The inhabitants of Heltau, nearly all cloth-makers by trade, fabricate
that rough white cloth, somewhat akin to flannel, of which the
Roumanians’ hose is made. It is also largely exported to different
parts of the empire, and Polish Jews are often seen to hover about the
place. Such, in fact, is the attraction exercised by this white woollen
tissue that a colony of the children of Israel would have been
formed here long ago had not the wary Saxons strenuously opposed such
encroachment.
[Illustration: OLD TOWN GATE AT HERMANSTADT (ON THE HELTAU SIDE).]
Once riding past here in autumn, I was puzzled to remark several fields
near Heltau bearing a white appearance almost like that of snow, yet
scarcely white enough for that; on coming nearer, this whiteness
resolved itself into wool, vast quantities of which, covering several
acres of ground, had been put out there to dry after the triple washing
necessary to render it fit for weaving purposes.
The church at Heltau rejoices in the distinction of four turrets
affixed to the belfry-tower, which turrets were at one time the cause
of much dissension between Heltau and Hermanstadt. It was not allowed
for any village church to indulge in such luxuries—four turrets being
a mark of civic authority only accorded to towns; but in 1590, when the
church at Heltau was burned down, the villagers built it up again as it
now stands—a piece of presumption which Hermanstadt at first refused
to sanction. The matter was finally compromised by the Heltauers
consenting to sign a document, wherein they declared the four turrets
to have been put there merely in guise of ornamentation, giving them no
additional privileges whatsoever, and that they pledged themselves to
remain as before submissive to the authority of Hermanstadt.
Some people, however, allege Heltau, or, as it used to be called, “The
Helt,” to be of more ancient origin than Hermanstadt—concluding from
the fact that formerly the shoemakers, hatters, and other tradesmen
here resided, but that during the pest all the inhabitants dying out
to the number of seven, the land around was suffered to fall into
neglect. Then the Emperor sent other Germans to repeople the town, and
the burghers of Hermanstadt came and bought up the privileges of the
Heltauers.
The excellence of the Heltau pickled sauerkraut is celebrated in a
Saxon rhyme, which runs somewhat as follows:
“Draaser wheaten bread,
Heltau’s cabbage red,
Streitford’s bacon fine,
Bolkatsch pearly wine,
Schässburg’s maidens fair,
Goodly things and rare.”
But more celebrated still is Heltau because of the unusually high
stature of its natives, which an ill-natured story has tried to
account for by the fact of a detachment of grenadiers having been
quartered here for several years towards the end of last century.
To the west of Heltau, nestling up close to the hills, lies the smaller
but far more picturesque village of Michelsberg, one of the few Saxon
villages which have as yet resisted all attempts from Roumanians or
gypsies to graft themselves on to their community. Michelsberg is
specially remarkable because of the ruined church which, surrounded by
fortified walls, is situated on a steep conical mound rising some two
hundred feet above the village. The church itself, though not much to
look at, boasts of a Romanesque portal of singular beauty, which many
people come hither to see. The original fortress which stood on this
spot is said to have been built by a noble knight, Michel of Nuremberg,
who came into the country at the same time that came Herman, who
founded Hermanstadt. Michel brought with him twenty-six squires, and
with them raised the fortress; but soon after its completion he and his
followers got dispersed over the land, and were heard of no more. The
fortress then became the property of the villagers, who later erected a
church on its site.
The Michelsbergers make baskets and straw hats, and lately wood-carving
has begun to be developed as a native industry. They have also the
reputation—I know not with what foundation—of being bird-stealers;
and I believe nothing will put a Michelsberger into such a rage as to
imitate the bird-call used to decoy blackbirds and nightingales to
their ruin. This he takes to be an insulting allusion to his supposed
profession.
In the hot summer months many of the Hermanstadt burghers come out to
Michelsberg for change of air and coolness, and we ourselves spent
some weeks right pleasantly in one of the peasant houses which,
consisting of two rooms and a kitchen, are let to visitors for the
season. But it was strange to learn that this remote mountain village
is the self-chosen exile of a modern recluse—a well-born Hanoverian
gentleman, Baron K——, who for the last half-dozen years has lived
here summer and winter. Neither very old nor yet very young, he lives a
solitary life, avoiding acquaintances; and though I lived here fully a
month, I only succeeded in catching a distant glimpse of him.
Midsummer idleness being usually productive of all sorts of idle
thoughts and fancies, we could not refrain from speculating on the
reasons which were powerful enough thus to cause an educated man to
bury himself alive so many hundred miles away from his own country in
an obscure mountain village; and unknown to himself, the mysterious
baron became the hero of a whole series of fantastic air-castles,
in which he alternately figured as a species of Napoleon, Diogenes,
Eugene Aram, or Abelard. Whichever he was, however—and it certainly
is no business of mine—I can well imagine the idyllic surroundings of
Michelsberg to be peculiarly fit to soothe a ruffled or wounded spirit.
Wrecked ambition or disappointed love must lose much of its bitterness
in this secluded nook, so far removed from the echoes of a turbulent
world.
[Illustration: MICHELSBERG.]
Another village deserving a word of notice is Hammersdorf, lying north
of Hermanstadt—a pleasant walk through the fields of little more
than half an hour. The village, built up against gently undulating
hills covered with vineyards, is mentioned in the year 1309 as Villa
Humperti, and is believed to stand on the site of an old Roman
settlement. Scarcely a year passes without Roman coins or other
antiquities being found in the soil.
From the top of the Grigori-Berg, which rises some one thousand eight
hundred feet directly behind the village, a very extensive view may be
enjoyed of the plains about Hermanstadt, and the imposing chain of the
Fogarascher mountains straight opposite.
Hammersdorf is considered to be a peculiarly aristocratic village, and
its inhabitants, who pride themselves on being the richest peasants in
those parts, and on their womankind possessing the finest clothes and
the most valuable ornaments, are called arrogant and stuck-up by other
communities.
* * * * *
It is usual for the name of the house-owner and the date of building to
be painted outside each house; but there are differences to be remarked
in each place—slight variations in building and decoration, as well
as in manner, dress, and speech of the natives, despite the general
resemblance all bear to each other.
Some houses have got pretty designs of conventional flowers painted in
black or in contrasting color on their gable-ends, and in many villages
it is usual to have some motto or sentence inscribed on each house.
These are frequently of a religious character, often a text from the
Bible or some stereotyped moral sentiment. Occasionally, however, we
come across inscriptions of greater originality, which seem to be a
reflection of the particular individual whose house they adorn, as, for
instance, the following:
“I do not care to brag or boast,
I speak the truth to all,
And whosoever does not wish
Myself his friend to call,
Why, then, he’s free to paint himself
A better on the wall.”
Or else this sentence, inscribed on a straw-thatched cottage:
“Till money I get from my father-in-law,
My roof it, alas! must be covered with straw.”
While the following one instantaneously suggests the portrait of some
stolid-faced, sleepy individual whose ambition has never soared beyond
the confines of his turnip-field, or the roof of his pigsty:
“Too much thinking weakens ever—
Think not, then, in verse nor prose,
For return the past will never,
And the future no man knows.”
Many of the favorite maxims refer to the end of man, and give a
somewhat gloomy coloring to a street when several of this sort are
found in succession:
“Man is like a fragile flower,
Only blooming for an hour;
Fresh to-day and rosy-red,
But to-morrow cold and dead.”
Or else—
“Within this house a guest to-day,
So long the Lord doth let me live;
But when He bids, I must away—
Against His will I cannot strive.”
Here another—
“If I from my door go out,
Death for me doth wait without;
And if in my house I stay,
He will come for me some day.”
The mistrustful character of the Saxon finds vent in many inscriptions,
of which I give a few specimens:
“Trust yourself to only one—
’Tis not wise to trust to none;
Better, though, to have no friend
Than on many to depend.”
“If you have a secret got,
To a woman tell it not;
For my part, I would as lieve
Keep the water in a sieve.”
“When I have both gold and wine,
Many men are brothers mine;
When the money it is done,
And the wine has ceased to run,
Then the brothers, too, are gone.”
“Hardly do a man I see
But who hates and envies me;
Inside them their heart doth burn
For to do an evil turn,
Grudge me sore my daily bread;
More than one doth wish me dead.”
“Those who build on the highway,
Must not heed what gossips say.”
The four last I here give are among the best I have come across, the
first of these having a slightly Shakespearean flavor about it:
“Tell me for what gold is fit?
Who has got none, longs for it;
Who has got it, fears for thieves;
Who has lost it, ever grieves.”
“We cannot always dance and sing,
Nor can each day be fair,
Nor could we live if every day
Were dark with grief and care;
But fair and dark days, turn about,
This we right well can bear.”
“Say, who is to pay now the tax to the King?
For priests and officials will do no such thing;
The nobleman haughty will pay naught, I vouch,
And poor is the beggar, and empty his pouch;
The peasant alone he toileth to give
The means to enable those others to live.”
“How to content every man,
Is a trick which no one can;
If to do so you can claim,
Rub this out and write your name.”
Among the many house inscriptions I have seen in Transylvania, I have
never come across any referring to love or conjugal happiness. The
well-known lines of Schiller—
“Raum ist in der kleinsten Hütte
Für ein glücklich liebend Paar,”[6]
of which one gets such a surfeit in Germany, are here conspicuous by
their absence. This will not surprise any one acquainted with the
domestic life of these people. Any such sentiment would most likely
have lost its signification long before the wind and the rain had
effaced it, for it would not at all suit the Saxon peasant to change
his house motto as often as he does his wife.
FOOTNOTES:
[6]
“There is space in the smallest hut
To contain a happy, loving couple.”
CHAPTER VIII.
SAXON INTERIORS—CHARACTER.
The old-china mania, which I hear is beginning to die out in England,
has only lately become epidemic in Austria; and as I, like many others,
have been slightly touched by this malady, the quaintly decorated
pottery wine-jugs still to be found in many Saxon peasant houses
offered a new and interesting field of research.
These jugs are by no means so plentiful nor so cheap as they were a few
years ago, for cunning _bric-à-brac_ Jews have found out this hitherto
unknown store of antiquities, and pilger hither from the capital to
buy up wholesale whatever they find. Yet by a little patience and
perseverance any one living in the country may yet find enough old
curiosities to satisfy a reasonable mania; and while seeking for these
relics I have come across many another remnant of antiquity quite as
interesting but of less tangible nature.
[Illustration: SAXON PEASANT AT HOME.]
Inside a Saxon peasant’s house everything is of exemplary neatness and
speaks of welfare. The boards are clean scoured, the window-panes shine
like crystal. There is no point on which a Saxon _hausfrau_ (housewife)
is so sensitive as that of order and neatness, and she is visibly put
out if surprised by a visit on washing or baking day, when things are
not looking quite so trim as usual.
If we happen to come on a week-day we generally find the best room,
or _prunkzimmer_, locked up, with darkened shutters; and only on our
request to be shown the embroidered pillow-covers and the best jugs
reserved for grand occasions will the hostess half ungraciously proceed
to unlock the door and throw open the shutter.
This prunkzimmer takes the place of the state parlor in our Scotch
farm-houses; but those latter, with their funereal horse-hair furniture
and cheerless polished table, would contrast unfavorably beside these
quaint, old-fashioned German apartments. Here the furniture, consisting
of benches, bunkers, bedsteads, chest of drawers, and chairs, are
painted in lively colors, often festoons of roses and tulips on a
ground of dark blue or green; the patterns, frequently bold and
striking, if of a somewhat barbaric style of art, betray the Oriental
influence of Roumanian country artists, of whom they are doubtless
borrowed. A similarly painted wooden framework runs round the top
of the room, above the doors and windows, with pegs, from which are
suspended the jugs I am in search of, and a bar, behind which rows of
plates are secured.
On the large unoccupied bedsteads are piled up, sometimes as high
as the ceiling, stores of huge, downy pillows, their covers richly
embroidered in quaint patterns executed in black, scarlet, or blue
and yellow worsted. They are mostly worked in the usual tapestry
cross-stitch, and often represent flowers, birds, or animals in the
old German style—the name of the embroideress and the date of the
work being usually introduced. Many of the pieces I saw were very old,
and dates of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are constantly
turning up; but alongside are others of recent date, for the custom
of thus employing the long winter evenings is still kept up among the
village girls.
I asked some of them whence they took their patterns, whether they
had any sampler books or printed designs to copy from. Nothing of the
sort, I was told; they just copy from one another and from old pieces
of work. Thus it comes about that many of them to-day go on reproducing
some old bird or flower, first introduced by an ancestress of the
worker many hundred years ago.
This system of copying is clearly to be traced in the different
villages. As each village forms a separate body or community, and
intercourse and intermarriage hardly ever take place, these patterns
become localized, and one design is apt to run in one particular
place to the exclusion of others. Thus I remarked one village where
flourishes a peculiar breed of square-built peacocks, alternated with
preposterous stags in red and blue worsted, but these fabulous animals
are rarely wont to stray beyond the confines of their own parish; while
in another community there is a strongly marked epidemic of embroidered
double-eagles, perhaps explainable by the fact that part of the
population is of Austrian extraction.
[Illustration: SAXON EMBROIDERY.]
The Saxon hausfrau will generally receive us in a surly, mistrustful
manner, and the Saxon peasant will not dream of rising from his seat
when he sees a lady enter the room. If we happen to be tired we had
better sit down unbidden, for neither he nor she is likely to offer us
a chair.
Our question as to whether they have any jugs or plates is usually met
with a sort of ungracious affirmative. “Will they sell them?” “Not on
any account whatsoever! these jugs belonged to some dearly beloved
great-grandfather or grandmother, and must be preserved in their
memory. Not for unheard-of sums of gold could they bear to separate
themselves from such a relic,” etc.
These assertions must, however, be taken for what they are worth, and
whoever has tried the experiment will have found by experience that it
is merely a question of money, and that sometimes an extra bid of ten
or twenty kreuzers (twopence or fourpence) will turn the scale, and
induce these pious grandchildren to consign to oblivion the memory of
the beloved ancestor.
These jugs, which are destined to hold wine (one for each guest) on
the occasion of their baptismal, wedding, or funeral banquets, are
from nine to eleven inches high, and have a metal lid attached to the
handle. Every variety of coloring and pattern is to be found among
them; sometimes it is an uncouth design of dancing or drunken peasants,
sometimes a pair of stags, or a dog in pursuit of a hare, or else a
basket filled with fruit, or raised medallions with sprigs of flowers
in the centre.
My inquiries were usually met by the suspicious counter-questions, “Why
do you want to buy our jugs? What are you going to do with them?” and
the answer I gave, that I was fond of such old things, and that they
would be hung up in my dining-room, was often received with evident
disbelief.
These people are not easily induced to talk about themselves, and
have little sense of humor or power of repartee. They have an
instinctive distrust of whoever tries to draw them out, scenting in
each superfluous question a member of a species they abhor—namely, “a
chiel among them taking notes;” or, as the Saxon puts it, “one of those
incomprehensible towns-folk, ever fretting and ferreting after our ways
and customs, and who have no sensible reason for doing so either.”
[Illustration: SAXON EMBROIDERY AND POTTERY.
(This and the illustration on p. 53 are from the collection of Saxon
Antiquities in possession of Herr Emil Sigerus at Hermanstadt.)]
Two analogous incidents which I met with, soon after my arrival in
Transylvania, seemed to give me the respective clews to Saxon and
Roumanian character. The first was in a Saxon peasant’s house, where
I had just purchased two jugs and a plate, for which, being still a
stranger in those parts, I had paid considerably more than they were
worth, when on leaving the house the hostess put a small bunch of
flowers into my hand. The nosegay was somewhat tumbled and faded, for
this was Sunday afternoon, and probably the woman or her daughter
had worn these flowers at church earlier in the day. In my ignorance
of Saxon character I took this offering in the light of a courteous
attention, and accepted the bouquet with a word of thanks.
My error did not last long, for as I stepped into the court-yard the
wooden, Noah’s-ark faced woman hurried after me, and roughly snatching
the nosegay out of my hand, she harshly exclaimed,
“I do not give my flowers for nothing! unless you pay me two kreuzers
(a halfpenny), I shall keep them for myself!”
Very much amused, I paid the required sum, feeling that, in spite of
the crushed condition of the flowers, I had got more than a halfpenny’s
worth out of my hostess after all.
Two or three days later, when out riding, we lost our way in the mazes
of the Yungwald, the large oak-forest which stretches for miles over
the country to the south of Hermanstadt. It was near sunset when we
found ourselves in a totally strange neighborhood, not knowing which
turn to take in order to regain the road back to the town. Just then a
Roumanian peasant woman came in sight. She had on her back a bundle of
firewood, which she had probably stolen in the forest, and in her hand
she carried a large bunch of purple iris flowers, fresh and dripping
from some neighboring marsh.
I suppose that I must have looked longingly at the beautiful purple
bunch, for while my husband was asking the way as well as he could by
means of a little broken Italian, she came round to the side of my
horse, and with a pretty gesture held up the flowers for my acceptance.
With the Saxon lesson fresh in my mind I hesitated to take them, for I
had left my purse at home; so I explained to her by pantomime that I
had no money about me. She had not been thinking of money, it seems,
and energetically disclaimed the offer of payment, continuing her way
after a courteous _buna sara_ (good-evening).
Since then, in my walks and rides about Hermanstadt, I have often been
presented with similar offerings from perfectly unknown Roumanian
peasants, who would sometimes stop their galloping horses and get
out of the cart merely for the purpose of giving me a few flowers;
but never, never has it been my good-luck to receive the smallest
sign of spontaneous courtesy from any Saxon, and I grieve to say that
frequently my experience has been all the other way.
One day, for instance, when walking in a hay-field through which ran
a rapid mill-stream, I suddenly missed my dog, a lively rat-terrier,
which had been running backward and forward in search of field-mice.
“Brick, Brick, Brick!” I called in vain over and over again, but
Brick was nowhere to be seen. Only a stifled squealing, apparently
proceeding from the mill-stream some way off, met my ear; but I did not
immediately think of connecting this sound with my truant terrier. Some
Saxon peasants were at work near the water stowing up hay on to a cart.
“Have you not seen my dog?” I called out to them.
One of the men now slowly removed his pipe from his mouth. “Your dog?”
he asked, stolidly. “Oh yes; he’s just drowning yonder in the stream.”
And he lazily pointed over his shoulder with a pitchfork.
I rushed to the bank, and there sure enough was my poor half-drowned
Brick struggling to keep himself above water, but almost exhausted
already. He had fallen in over the treacherous edge, which was masked
by overhanging bushes; and the banks being too steep to effect a
landing, he must inevitably have perished had I not come up in time.
With considerable difficulty, and at the risk of falling in myself, I
managed to drag him out, the worthy Saxons meanwhile looking on with
indolent enjoyment, never dreaming of offering assistance.
The hard and grasping characters of the Saxons appear in every detail
of their daily life; they taint their family relations, and would
almost seem to put a marketable price on the most sacred affections.
Thus a Saxon mother in her cradle-song informs the sleeping infant that
she values it as high as a hundred florins; while the grief over a
beloved corpse often takes the form of counting up the exact pecuniary
loss to the family sustained from the decease.
Their family life does not appear to be happy, and divorces are
lamentably numerous. It seems, in fact, as if divorce had grown to be
an established habit among these people; and despite all efforts, of
the clergy to discourage this abuse, and the difficulties purposely
put in the way of divorcing parties, there is little prospect of
improvement as yet. No improvement can possibly take place till Saxon
parents give up forcing their children to wed against their will,
merely for mercenary reasons, and till girls are allowed to attain a
reasonable age before binding themselves down to a contract of such
importance. When want of sympathy towards the proposed husband is
urged on the part of the girl, such objections are usually settled by
the practical advice of the long-sighted parents. “Try him for a time,
and maybe you will get to like him; and if not—well, the misfortune
is none so great, and you can always seek for a divorce.” Brides of
fifteen are quite the order of the day, and few are suffered to reach
so mature an age as seventeen or eighteen; the consequence of these
arrangements being that fully a third of the couples go asunder, each
choosing another mate, with whom they usually fare better than with
their first venture.
Often in the course of my visits to Saxon peasant houses have I come
across one of these unfortunate young females returned to her parents’
house, sometimes after a few weeks only of matrimony, there to await
the divorce which is to set her free to choose again.
The reasons which induce these people to sue for a separation
are frequently so exceedingly futile and ridiculous as hardly to
deserve that name. Often it is the food which is made a cause of
complaint—either the husband declaring that his wife will take no
trouble to please him with her cookery, or else the wife complaining of
his being capricious and hard to please. An underdone potato may prove
so very indigestible as to sever the conjugal bond, or an ill-baked
loaf of bread assume such dimensions as to constitute a barrier for
life.
Village pastors whose parishes lie in the wine-bearing districts
affirm that the season immediately following upon the vintage, when
the cellars are full of new wine, is the most quarrelsome time in the
year, and the one which engenders most separations. But even without
the aid of stimulants, and when no thought of divorce is in their
minds, quarrelsome _ménages_ are numerous; and the old story of the
Tartar carrying off the shrewish wife of a thoroughly resigned husband
may well have had its origin here. This legend, told all over Hungary,
relates how a peasant, as he calmly watched the retreating figure of
the Tartar bearing off the wife of his bosom, was heard to murmur,
“Poor Tartar! thou hast made a bad bargain.”
In Transylvania this same story is told of a Saxon peasant, but with
a sequel; for this version relates how the bereaved widower settled
himself down to a hearty supper that same evening, ever and anon
murmuring, as his eye rested on the empty chair opposite his own,
the words, “Poor Tartar!” for he was a kind-hearted man, and felt
compassion even for the sufferings of a barbarian. But of a sudden the
door flies open, and the wretched man once more beholds his lost wife
standing before him. Her temper had proved too much even for a Tartar,
who had wisely flown, leaving his captive behind.
The words “Poor Tartar!” now gave place to another form of ejaculation;
and whenever he deemed himself out of ear-shot, the Saxon muttered
bitterly between his teeth “Rascally Tartar! Rascally Tartar!”
But for this unfortunate _dénouement_, who knows whether Saxon husbands
of to-day might not frequently be moved to regret the good old times
when an obliging Tartar might be expected thus to relieve them of such
superfluous blessings?
The bond between parent and child seems to be hardly more commendable.
Perhaps my experience has been exceptionally infelicitous, but
certainly never in any country has it been my ill-fortune to listen to
such shocking and disrespectful language from children to their parents
as what I have occasionally overheard in Saxon cottages.
The Saxon peasant being a declared enemy of large families presents a
striking contrast to his Roumanian neighbor, with whom six or eight
bairns are a very common allowance, and who regards each new addition
to the family as another gift of God. The oft-repeated insinuation
that the Transylvanian Saxons seek to limit their progeny by unnatural
means does not seem to be entirely without foundation. It is said that
to have two children only is considered the correct thing in a Saxon
household, and that the Saxon mother who, when cross-questioned as to
her offspring, has to acknowledge three bairns, turns away her head
shamefacedly, as though she were confessing a crime.
It is because the Saxon does not care to see his fields cut up into
small sections that he desires his family to be small; and the
consequence of this short-sighted egotism is, that the population of
many villages shows a yearly decrease, and that houses often stand
empty because there is no one to live there.[7] Thus one village
near Hermanstadt can show twenty-seven, another twelve such deserted
dwellings. A man whose whole family consisted of two daughters, both
married to peasants with houses of their own, was asked what would
become of his fine well-built home after his decease. “It will just
stand empty,” was the stolid reply. In some villages these empty Saxon
houses have been taken possession of by Roumanians, who look strangely
incongruous within these massive stone walls, reminding one somehow of
sparrows which have taken up their residence in a deserted rookery.
Saxon political economists, alive to the danger of their race becoming
extinct, think of trying to get new batches of German colonists to
settle here, in order to freshen up and increase the number of the
race; but there is little chance of such projects being successful. The
inducements which formerly tempted strangers no longer exist; and there
are probably few Germans who would think it worth their while to settle
in a country where every inch of land has already been appropriated,
and where the Government seeks to rob each one of his nationality.
The besetting fault of this whole Saxon nation seems to be an
immoderate spirit of egotism, so short-sighted as frequently to defeat
its own end, leading each man to consider only his individual welfare,
to the exclusion of every other feeling. It is strange and paradoxical
that these honest, moral, thrifty, industrious, and educated Saxons
should live thus in their well-built, roomy houses in a constant state
of inward dissension and strife; while their neighbors, the poor,
ignorant, thieving Roumanians, crowded together in their wretched
hovels, are united by the bonds of a most touching family affection.[8]
FOOTNOTES:
[7] This abuse, however, is entirely confined to the villages, the
towns showing a far more favorable rate of increase among the Saxon
population.
[8] The assertion that the Transylvanian Saxons—taken as a body—show
a yearly decrease is, however, incorrect, as has been conclusively
proved by Dr. Oskar von Meltzl, in his recent interesting work,
“Statistik der Sächsischen Landbevölkerung in Siebenbürgen.” By the
author’s own acknowledgment, however, the increase within the last
thirty-two years has been but insignificant; while of 227 Saxon
communities established in the country 92 have diminished in number
between the years 1851-1883 to the extent of nearly 11 per cent.
CHAPTER IX.
SAXON CHURCHES AND SIEGES.
The words “church” and “fortress” used to be synonymous in
Transylvania, so the places of worship might accurately have been
described as churches militant. Each Saxon village church was
surrounded by a row, sometimes even a double or triple row, of
fortified walls, which are mostly still extant. The remains of moat
and drawbridge are also yet frequently to be seen. When threatened
by an enemy the people used to retire into these fortresses, often
built on some rising piece of ground, taking with them their valuables
as well as provisions for the contingency of a lengthy siege. From
these heights the Saxons used to roll down heavy stones on to their
assailants, sometimes with terrible effect; but when they had in
this way exhausted their missiles, the predicament was often a
very precarious one. Some of these stones still survive, and may
occasionally be seen—as within the fortress walls of the old ruined
church which I have already mentioned as standing on a steep incline
above the picturesque village of Michelsberg.
The church itself, having been replaced by a more conveniently situated
one down in the village, is now deserted, and is used only as a
storehouse by the villagers. The fortified walls are crumbling away,
and the passage round the church is choked up by weeds and briers,
among which lie strewn about many old moss-grown stones, circular
in shape and resembling giant cannon-balls. These were the missiles
which lay there in readiness to be rolled down on to an approaching
enemy; and there was a law compelling each bridegroom, before leading
his bride to the altar, to roll uphill to the church-door one of
these formidable globes. This was so ordained in order to exclude
from matrimony all sick or weakly subjects; and as the incline was a
steep one, and each stone weighed about two hundred-weight, it was a
considerable test of strength.
[Illustration: FORTIFIED SAXON CHURCH.]
Would that these old stones, lying here neglected among the nettles,
had the gift of speech! What traits of love and of bloodshed might we
not learn from them! Only to look at them there strewn around, it is
not difficult to guess at the outlines of some of the stories they are
dumbly telling us. Many are chipped and worn away, and have evidently
been used more than once in their double capacity, alternately rolled
up the hill by smiling Cupid, to be hurled down again by furious
Nemesis.
Here near a clump of burdock-leaves is a shabby-looking globe of
yellow sandstone, whose puny size plainly speaks of a _mariage de
convenance_—a mere union of hands without hearts; perhaps some old
widower, with trembling hands and shaky knees, in quest of a wife to
look after his house, and to whom the whole matter was very uphill work
indeed!
Close alongside, half hidden beneath the graceful tangles of a
wild-rose bush, is a formidable bowlder of gigantic, nay, heroic size,
which forcibly suggests that it must have been a mighty love indeed
which brought it up here—so mighty, no doubt, that to the two strong
young arms which rolled it up the hill it must have seemed light as a
feather’s weight.
And how many of these, might one ask, have been rolled up here in vain,
in so far as the love was concerned? When the fire of love had grown
cold and its sweetness all turned to vinegar, how many, many a former
lover must heartily have wished that he had never moved his stone from
the bottom of the hill!
Such thoughts involuntarily crowd on the mind when sitting, as I have
done many a time, within this lonely ruin on fine summer evenings, the
idyllic peacefulness of the scene the more strongly felt by contrast
with the bloody memories linked around it. It is so strange to realize
how completely everything has passed away that once used to be: that
the hands which pushed these heavy globes, as well as the Moslem crania
for which they were intended, have turned alike to dust; that hushed
forever are the voices once awaking fierce echoes within these very
walls; and that of all those contrasting passions, of all that tender
love and that burning hatred, nothing has survived but a few old stones
lying forgotten near a deserted church!
* * * * *
The history of the sieges endured in Transylvania on the part of Turk
or Tartar would in itself furnish matter for many volumes. Numberless
anecdotes are yet current characterizing the endurance and courage of
the besieged, and the original means often resorted to in order to
baffle or mislead the enemy.
Once it was the ready wit of a Szekel woman which saved her people
besieged by the Tartars within the Almescher cavern. As the whole
land had been devastated from end to end, a severe famine was the
consequence, and both besiegers and besieged were sorely in want of
victuals. The Szekels had taken some provisions with them into the
cave, but these were soon exhausted; and the Tartars, though starving
themselves, were consoled by thinking that hunger would soon compel
their enemy to give in. One day, when, as usual, the barbarians had
assembled shouting and howling in front of the cavern, whose entrance
was defended by a high wall, a Hungarian woman held up before their
eyes a large cake at the end of a long pole, and cried out, tauntingly,
“See here, ye dogs of Tartars! Thus are we feasting in plenty and
comfort, while you are reduced to eat grass and roots of trees.” This
much-vaunted cake was but kneaded together of water and ashes, with a
few last remaining spoonfuls of flour; but the Tartars, taken in by the
feint, abandoned the field.
Another time it was nothing more than a swarm of bees which turned
the scale in favor of the Saxons, hard pressed by the enemy outside.
Already they had begun to scale the walls of the fortified church,
and death and destruction seemed imminent, when the youthful daughter
of the church-warden was struck by a bright idea. Behind the church
was a little garden full of sweet-scented flowers, and containing a
dozen beehives, which it was Lieschen’s (such was her name) pride to
watch over. Seizing a hive in each hand, she sprang up on the fortress
wall, and with all her strength hurled them down among the approaching
besiegers. Again and again she repeated this manœuvre till the hives
were exhausted, and the bewildered enemies, blinded by the dense swarm
of infuriated bees, deafened by the angry buzzing in their ears, and
maddened by hundredfold stings, beat an ignominious and hasty retreat.
This occurred in the village of Holzmengen towards the end of the
seventeenth century, and of this same village it is related that, when
peace was finally restored to the land, the population was so reduced
that most houses stood empty. Of four hundred landholders there used
to be, but fifteen now remained; and many years passed by without any
wedding being celebrated in the place. When, however, at last this rare
event came to pass, the bridegroom received the name of the “young
man,” which stuck to him until his end. The bride was no other than
Lieschen, the bee-maiden, and Thomas was the name of her husband; and
to this day whoever is in possession of that particular house goes by
the name of “_den jung mon Thomas_,” even though he happen to have been
christened Hans or Peter, and be, moreover, as old as Methuselah. If
you ask the name of such another house in the same village, you are
told that it belongs to _Michel am Eck_ (Michael at the corner). It is
not a corner house, neither does its proprietor answer to the name of
Michel; but where it stands was once the corner of a street, and Michel
the name of one of the fifteen landholders who divided the property
after the war; hence the appellation.
There is a story told of an active Saxon housewife who, after she had
been shut up for three days within the fortress awaiting the Tartars
reported to be near, began to weary of her enforced idleness, and
throwing open the gate of the citadel, impatiently called out, “Now,
then, you dogs of Tartars, are you never coming?”
When the Tartars had succeeded in capturing prisoners they used to
fatten them up for eating. A woman from the village of Almesch, being
sickly, refused to fatten, and, set at liberty, came home to relate the
doleful tale. The little Hungarians and Saxons were regarded as toys
for the young Tartars, who, setting them up in rows, used to practise
upon them the merry pastime of cutting off heads.
Living in Transylvania, we are sometimes inclined to wonder whether
to be besieged by Turks and Tartars be really a thing of the past,
and not rather an actual danger for which we must be prepared any
day, so strangely are many little observances relating to those times
still kept up. Thus in the belfry tower at Kaisd there hangs a little
bell bearing a Gothic inscription and the date 1506. It is rung every
evening at the usual curfew-hour, and until within a very few years ago
the watchman was under the obligation of calling forth into the night
with stentorian voice, “Not this way, you villains! not this way! I see
you well!”
Also the habit of keeping provisions stored up within the fortified
church-walls, to this day extant in most Saxon villages, is clearly
a remnant of the time when sieges had to be looked for. Even now the
people seem to consider their goods to be in greater security here than
in their own barns and lofts. The outer fortified wall round the church
is often divided off into deep recesses or alcoves, in each of which
stands a large wooden chest securely locked, and filled with grain or
flour, while the little surrounding turrets or chapels are used as
storehouses for home-cured bacon. “We have seven chapels all full of
bacon,” I was once proudly informed by a village church-warden; but,
with the innate mistrust of his race, he would not indulge my further
curiosity on the subject by suffering me to inspect the interior
of these greasy sanctuaries, evidently suspecting me of sinister
intentions on his bacon stores.
This storing up of provisions is a perfect mania among the Saxons,
and each village has its own special hobby or favorite article, vast
quantities of which it hoards up in a preposterous, senseless fashion,
reminding one of a dog who buries more bones than he can ever hope
to eat in the course of his life. Thus, one village prides itself on
having the greatest quantity of bacon, much of which is already thirty
or forty years old, and consequently totally unfit for use; while in
another community the oldest grain is the great _specialité_. Each
article, case, or barrel is marked with the brand of the owner, and the
whole placed under the charge of the church-warden.
Some parishes can still boast of many curiously wrought pieces of
church plate remaining over from Catholic days—enamelled chalices,
bejewelled crucifixes, remonstrances, and ciboriums, richly inlaid and
embossed. The village of Heltau is in possession of many such valuable
ornaments which, during the Turkish wars, used to be buried in the
earth, sometimes for a period of many years, the exact spot where the
treasure was hidden being known only to the oldest church-warden, who
was careful to pass on the secret to the next in rank when he felt
himself to be drawing near the end of his life. Thus, in the year 1794,
the church at Heltau, struck by lightning, was seriously damaged, and
urgently demanded extensive repairs. How to defray these expenses was
the question which sorely perplexed the village pastor and the church
elders, when the old warden came forward and offered to reveal to
the pastor and the second warden the secret of a hidden treasure of
whose existence none but he was aware. The man himself had never set
eyes on the treasure, but had received from his predecessor precise
directions how to find it in case of necessity. Accordingly, under his
guidance the pastor, accompanied by the younger warden, repaired to
the church, where, entering the right-hand aisle, the old man pointed
to three high-backed wooden seats fixed against the wall, saying, “The
centre one of these chairs has a movable panel, behind which a door
is said to be concealed.” After some effort—for the panel was jammed
from long disuse—it yielded, moving upward, and disclosing a small
iron door with a keyhole, into which fitted an old-fashioned rusty key
produced by the warden. When this door was at last got open, the three
men stepped into a small vault paved with bricks. “One of these bricks
is marked by a cross, and under it we have to dig for the treasure,”
were the further instructions given by the old man. A very few minutes
proved the truth of his words, bringing to light a small wooden
chest containing a chalice, a silver remonstrance, and various other
valuables, which may still be seen at the Heltau parsonage; likewise
a bag of gold and silver coins, dating from the time of the Batorys,
which leads to the supposition that the treasure had been lying here
concealed ever since the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Great was the pastor’s surprise and delight at this unexpected
windfall; but he only took from the bag sufficient money for the
necessary repairs, replacing the rest of the treasure where it had been
found. None of the other parishioners were informed whence had come the
money, so the secret remained a secret.
Only many years later, in the present century, when the son-in-law of
the former clergyman had become pastor in his turn, the story of the
treasure was imparted to him by the successor of former wardens. The
necessity for concealment had now gone by, and peace and prosperity
reigned in the country; so the church ornaments were once more
disinterred, and finally restored to the light of day, while the
antiquated gold and silver pieces, exchanged into current coinage, were
applied to useful purposes. Thus it was that the secret oozed out, and
came to be generally known.
* * * * *
Saxon village churches of the present day are generally bare and
unornamented inside, for all decorations had been dismantled at the
time of the Reformation; stone niches have been emptied of the statues
they contained, and rich pieces of carving stowed away in lumber-rooms.
Only the old Oriental carpets, brought hither from Turkish campaigns,
which frequently adorn the front of the pews or the organ-gallery, have
been suffered to remain, and hang there still, delicately harmonious in
coloring, but riddled through with holes like a sieve, and fed upon by
the descendants of a hundred generations of moths, which flutter in a
dense cloud round the visitor who inadvertently raises a corner of the
drapery to investigate its fleecy quality.
Curious old tombstones and bass-reliefs may often be seen carelessly
huddled together in the church entrance or outside the walls, treated
with no sort of appreciation of their historical value or care for
their ultimate preservation. Also the numerous frescos which used to
cover many church walls have been obliterated by the barbarous touch
of a whitewashing hand. It would almost seem as if this Saxon people
had originally possessed some degree of artistic feeling, which has
been, however, effectually extinguished by the Reformation; for it
is difficult otherwise to explain how a nation capable of raising
monuments of real artistic value in the troubled times of the barbarous
Middle Ages should be thus heedless of their conservation in the
present enlightened and peaceful century.
[Illustration: RUINED ABBEY OF KERZ.]
Of this lamentable indifference to the conservation of their historical
and artistic treasures, the ruined Abbey of Kerz, situated in the
valley of the Aluta, offers a melancholy instance. This wealthy
Cistercian monastery was founded by King Bela III. towards the end
of the twelfth century; but being abolished by King Mathias three
centuries later, on account of irregularities into which the monks had
fallen, it passed, with its lands, into possession of the Hermanstadt
church.
The choir of the ancient abbey church, built in the time of Louis the
Great in the transition style, is still used as a place of worship by
the small Lutheran congregation of Kerz, but the nave has been suffered
to fall into decay; many of the richly carved stones of which it was
formed have been carried off by the villagers, who have utilized them
for building their houses, or degraded them to yet baser purposes. We
ourselves crossed the little stream, which runs close by the parson’s
house, on stepping-stones evidently taken from the ancient building.
Likewise a lime-tree of gigantic dimensions in front of the western
portal, and supposed to have been planted when the foundation-stone of
the church was laid, is now in imminent danger of splitting in twain
for want of the trifling attention of an iron waistband to keep its
poor old body together. Such the present lamentable condition of one
of the most interesting relics in the country which has been named the
Melrose of Transylvania.
CHAPTER X.
THE SAXON VILLAGE PASTOR.
The contrast between the domestic lives of Roumanian and Saxon peasants
is all the more surprising as their respective clergies set totally
different examples; for while many Roumanian priests are drunken,
dissolute men, open to every sort of bribery, the Saxon pastor is
almost invariably a model of steadiness and morality, and leads a
quiet, industrious, and contented life.
On the other hand, however, it may be remarked that if the Saxon pastor
be steady and well-behaved, he has very good and solid reasons for so
being. Certainly he is most comfortably indemnified for the virtues he
is expected to practise.
When a pastor dies the villagers themselves elect his successor
by votes. Usually it is a man whom they know already by sight or
reputation, or from having heard him preach on stray occasions in their
church. Every Saxon pastor, in order to be qualified for the position,
must have practised for several years as professor at a public
gymnasium—a very wise regulation, as it insures the places being
filled by men of education.
The part which a village pastor is called upon to play requires both
head and heart, for the relation between shepherd and flock is here
very different from the conventional footing on which clergy and laity
stand with regard to each other in town life. Whereas in the city
no congregation cares to see its spiritual head outside the church
walls, and would resent as unpardonable intrusion any attempt of his
to penetrate the privacy of the domestic circle, the villager not only
expects but insists on his pastor taking intimate part in his family
life, and being ready to assist him with advice and admonition in every
possible contingency.
The peasants are therefore very circumspect about the choice of a
pastor, well aware that the weal or woe of a community may depend
upon the selection. They have often seen how some neighboring village
has awakened to new life and prosperity since the advent of a worthy
clergyman; while such another parish, from a rash selection, has
saddled itself with a man it would fain cart away as so much useless
straw, were it only possible to get rid of him. For although the power
of choice lies entirely with the peasants, they cannot likewise undo
their work at will, and only the bishop has power to depose a pastor
when he has investigated the complaints brought against him and found
them to be justified.
Not only the pastor _in spe_, but also his wife, is carefully
scrutinized, and her qualifications for the patriarchal position
she has to occupy critically examined into; for if the clergyman is
termed by his flock the “honorable father,” so is she designated as
the “virtuous mother.” The candidate who happens to have a thrifty and
benevolent consort finds his chances of election considerably enhanced;
while such another, married to a vain and frivolous woman, will most
likely be found awanting when weighed in the balance.
The funeral of a village pastor has been touchingly described by a
native author,[9] whose words I take the liberty of quoting:
“The old father had gone to his long rest: more than once during the
last few years he had felt that the time had come for him to lay down
the shepherd’s crook; for the world had become too stirring, and he
no longer had the strength and activity of spirit to do all that was
expected of him. There were serious repairs to be undertaken about the
church, and the question of building a new school-house was becoming
urgent. Likewise many of the new church regulations were harassing and
distasteful exceedingly; most especially was he troubled by inward
quakings at the idea that at the bishop’s next official visit he would
be expected to submit to him the manuscripts of all the sermons he had
preached within the year, and which, neatly tied up together with black
worsted, were lying on the lowest shelf of the bookcase.
[Illustration: SAXON PASTOR IN FULL DRESS.]
“All these thoughts had reconciled him to the prospect of death; and
when sitting before his door on fine summer evenings he would sometimes
remark to the neighbors who had lingered near for a passing chat, ‘It
cannot last over-long with me now: one or two pair of soles at most I
shall wear out, and I should be glad to remain in the village, and to
sleep there under the big lime-tree, in the midst of those with whom
my life has been spent. Therefore kindly bear with me a little longer,
good people, for the few remaining days the Lord is pleased to spare
me.’ And these words never failed to conciliate even the more turbulent
spirits, who were apt to think that the Herr Vater was over-long in
going, and that the parish stood in need of a younger head.
“Now at last the coffin has been lowered into the earth, and the fresh
mound covered with dewy garlands of flowers. All the villagers have
turned out to render the last honors to the father they have lost.
The eldest son of the defunct, standing near the grave, addresses the
congregation. In a few simple words he thanks them for the good they
have done to his father and to his whole family, and, in name of the
dead man, he begs their forgiveness for whatever wrongs the pastor may
unwittingly have done; and when he then lays down the keys of both
church and parsonage into the hand of the church-warden, scarcely an
eye will remain dry among the spectators. For forty years is a long
time in which a good man, even though he often errs and be at fault,
can yet have done much, very much, good indeed, and resentment is a
plant which strikes no root in the upturned clods of a new-made grave.”
But the orphaned congregation must have a new pastor; the flock
cannot be suffered to remain long without a shepherd; and this is
the topic which is being discussed with much warmth at an assemblage
of village elders. On the white-decked table are standing dishes of
bread-and-cheese, flanked by large tankards of wine. The first glass
has just been emptied to the memory of the dead pastor, and now the
second glass will be drunk to the health of his yet unknown successor.
These meetings preceding the election of a new shepherd are often
long and stormy; for when the wine has taken effect and loosened the
tongues, the different candidates who might be taken into consideration
are passed in review, and extolled with much heat, or abused with broad
sarcasm. One man is rejected on account of an impediment in his speech,
and another because he is known to be unmarried; a third one, who might
do well enough for any other parish, cannot be chosen here because
his old parents are natives of the village; for it is a true though a
hard word which says that no one can be a prophet in his own country.
One man who ventures to suggest the vicar of a neighboring village is
informed that no blacker traitor exists on the face of the earth; and
another, who describes his pet candidate as an ideal clergyman, with
the figure of a Hercules and the voice of a Stentor, is ironically
asked whether he wishes to choose a pastor by weight and measure. If
only his head and heart be in the right place the clergyman’s legs are
welcome to be an inch or two shorter.
After a longer or shorter interval a decision is finally arrived at.
From a list of six candidates one has been elected by the secret
votes of the community, each married land-owner having a voice in the
matter, and the name of the successful aspirant is publicly made known
in church. Meanwhile a group of young men on horseback are waiting at
the church door, and hardly has the all-important name been pronounced
when they set spurs to their steeds and gallop to bear the news to the
successful candidate. A hot race ensues, for the foremost one can hope
to get a shining piece of silver—perhaps even gold—in exchange for
the good tidings he brings. In a carriage, at a more leisurely pace,
follow the elders who have been deputed to hand over the official
document containing the nomination.
An early day is fixed for the presentation of the new shepherd to his
flock, and at a still earlier date the new Frau Pastorin precedes
him thither, where she is soon deep in the mysteries of cake-baking,
fowl-killing, etc., in view of the many official banquets which are to
accompany the presentation. In this employment she has ample assistance
from the village matrons, as well as contributions of eggs, cream,
butter, and bacon. The day before the presentation the pastor has been
fetched in a carriage drawn by six white horses. The first step to his
installation is the making out and signing of the agreement or treaty
between pastor and people—all the said pastor’s duties, obligations,
and privileges being therein distinctly specified and enumerated, from
the exact quantity and quality of Holy Gospel he is bound to administer
yearly to the congregation down to his share of wild crab-apples for
brewing the household vinegar, and the precise amount of acorns his
pigs are at liberty to consume.
After this treaty has been duly signed and read aloud, the keys of the
church are solemnly given over and accepted with appropriate speeches.
The banquet which succeeds this ceremony is called the “key-drinking.”
Then follows the solemn installation in the church, where the new
pastor, for the first time, pronounces aloud the blessing over his
congregation, who strain their ears with critical attention to catch
the sound and pass sentence thereon. The Saxon peasant thinks much of a
full sonorous voice; therefore woe to the man who is cursed with a thin
squeaky organ, for he will assuredly fall at least fifty per cent. in
the estimation of his audience.
Then follows another banquet, at which each of the church officials
has his place at table marked by a silver thaler piece (about 3_s._)
lying at the bottom of his large tankard, and visible through the clear
golden wine with which the bumper is filled. Etiquette demands that the
drinker should taste of the wine but sparingly at first, merely wetting
the lips and affecting not to perceive the silver coin; but when the
health of the new pastor is drunk, each man must empty his tankard at
one draught, skilfully catching the thaler between the teeth as he
drains it dry. This coin is then supposed to be treasured up in memory
of the event.
This has been but a flying visit to his new parish, and only some
weeks later does the new pastor hold his solemn entry into the parish,
the preparations for the flitting naturally occupying some few weeks.
The village is bound to convey the new pastor, his family, as well as
all their goods and chattels, to the new home, and it is considered a
distinction when many carts are required for the purpose, even though
the distance be great and the roads bad, for the people would have no
opinion at all of a pastor who arrived in light marching order, but
seem rather to value him in proportion to the trouble he gives them. As
many as eighteen to twenty carts are sometimes pressed into service for
this patriarchal procession.
The six white horses which are to be harnessed to the carriage for the
clergyman and his wife have been carefully fattened up during the last
few weeks, their manes plaited with bright ribbons, and the carriage
itself decorated with flower garlands. At the parish boundary all the
young men of the village have come out on horseback to meet them, and
with flying banners they ride alongside of the carriage. In this way
the village is reached, where sometimes a straw rope is stretched
across the road to bar his entrance. This is removed on the pastor
paying a ransom, and, entering the village, the driver is expected to
conduct his horses at full gallop thrice round the fortified walls of
the church before entering the parsonage court-yard.
The village pastor, who lives among his people, must adopt their habits
and their hours. It would not do for him to lie abed till seven or
eight o’clock, like a town gentleman: five o’clock, and even sooner,
must find him dressed and ready to attend to the hundred and one
requirements of his parishioners, who, even at that early hour, come
pouring in upon him from all sides.
Perhaps it is a petition for some particularly fine sort of turnip-seed
which only the Herr Vater has got; or else he is requested to look into
his wise book to see if he can find a remedy for the stubborn cough of
a favorite horse, or the distressing state of the calf’s digestion.
Another will bring him a dish of golden honey-comb, with some question
regarding the smoking of the hives; while a fourth has come to request
the pastor to transform his new-born son from a pagan into a Christian
infant.
Various deputations of villagers, inviting the pastor to two different
funerals and to six weddings, have successively been disposed of: then
will come a peasant with some Hungarian legal document which he would
like to have deciphered. Has he won the lawsuit which has been pending
these two years and more? or has he lost it, and will he be obliged to
pay the damages as well? This is a riddle which only the Herr Vater can
read him aright by consulting the big Hungarian dictionary on the shelf.
The next visitor is perchance an old white-bearded man, bent double
with the weight of years, and carrying a well-worn Bible under his
arm. He wants to know his age, which used to be entered somewhere here
in the book; but he cannot find the place, or else the bookbinder,
in mending the volume last year, has pasted paper over it. Perhaps
the Herr Vater can make it out for him; and further to facilitate the
search, he mentions that there was corn in the upper fields, and maize
in the low meadows, the year he was born, and that since then the corn
has been sown twenty-four times on the same spot, and will be sown
there again next year if God pleases to spare him. The pastor, who
must of course be well versed in this sort of rural arithmetic, has no
difficulty in pronouncing the man to be exactly seventy-three years and
three months old, and sends him away well pleased to discover that he
is a whole year younger than he had believed himself to be.
Often, too, a couple appear on the scene for the purpose of being
reconciled. The man has beaten his wife, and she has come to
complain—not of the beating in the abstract, but of the manner in
which this particular castigation has been administered. It was really
too bad this time, as, sobbing, she explains to the Herr Vater that
he has belabored her with a thick leather thong in a truly heathenish
fashion, instead of taking the broomstick, as does every respectable
man, to beat his wife.
The virtuous Frau Mutter has likewise her full share of the day’s
work. An old hen to be made into broth for a sick grandchild, a piece
of cloth to be cut out in the shape of a jacket, or a handkerchief
to be hemmed on the big sewing-machine, all pass successively into
her busy hands; and if she goes for a day’s shopping to the nearest
market-town she is positively besieged by commissions of all sorts.
Six china plates of some particular pattern, a coffee-cup to replace
the one thrown down by the cat last week, a pound of loaf-sugar, the
whitest, finest, sweetest, and cheapest that can be got, or a packet of
composition candles. Even weightier matters are sometimes intrusted to
her judgment, and she may have to accept the awful responsibility of
selecting a new mirror or a petroleum lamp.
Letter-writing is also another important branch of the duties of both
pastor and wife. It may be an epistle to some daughter who is in
service, or to a soldier son away with his regiment, a threatening
letter to an unconscientious debtor, or a business transaction with the
farmer of another village. In fact, all the raw material of epistolary
affection, remonstrance, counsel, or threat is brought wholesale to the
parsonage, there to be fashioned into shape, and set forth clearly in
black upon white.
Altogether the day of a Saxon pastor is a busy and well-filled one, for
his doors, from sunrise to sunset, must be open to his parishioners, so
that after having “risen with the lark” he is well content further to
carry out the proverb by “going to bed with the lamb.”
A great deal of patience and natural tact is requisite to enable a
clergyman to deal intelligently with his folk. His time must always
be at their disposal, and he must never appear to be hurried or busy
when expected to listen to some long-winded story or complaint. Nothing
must be too trifling to arouse his interest, and no hour of the day too
unreasonable to receive a visit; yet, on the whole, the lot of such a
village pastor who rightly understands his duties seems to me a very
peaceful and enviable one. He is most comfortably situated as regards
material welfare, and stands sufficiently aside from the bustling outer
world to be spared the annoyances and irritations of more ambitious
careers. The fates of his parishioners, so closely interwoven with his
own, are a constant source of interest, and the almost unlimited power
he enjoys within the confines of his parish makes him feel himself to
be indeed the monarch of this little kingdom.
One parsonage in particular is engraved on my mind as a perfect frame
for such Arcadian happiness. An old-fashioned roomy house, with
high-pitched roof, it stands within the ring of fortified walls which
encircle the church as well. A few wide-spreading lime-trees are
picturesquely dotted about the turf between the two buildings; and
some old moss-grown stones, half sunk in the velvet grass where the
violets cluster so thick in spring, betray this to be the site of a
long-disused burying-place. Up a few steps there is a raised platform
with seats arranged against the wall, from which, as from an opera-box,
one may overlook the village street and mark the comings and goings
of the inhabitants; and a large kitchen-garden, opening through the
wall in another direction, contains every fruit and vegetable which a
country heart can desire. But the greatest attraction, to my thinking,
was a long arcade of lilac-bushes, so thickly grown that the branches
closed together overhead, only admitting a soft, tremulous, green
half-light, and scented with every variety of the dear old-fashioned
shrub, from the exquisite dwarf Persian and snowy white to each
possible gradation of lilac pink and pinky lilac. Along this fragrant
gallery old carved stone benches are placed at intervals; and hither,
as the venerable pastor informed me, he always comes on Saturday
evenings in summer to compose his sermon for the morrow. “It is so
much easier to think out here,” he said, “among the birds and flowers
and the old graves all around. When the air is scented with the breath
of violets, and from the open church window comes the sound of the
organ, ah, then I feel myself another man, and God teaches me quite
other words to say to my people than those I find for myself inside the
house!”
FOOTNOTES:
[9] Dr. Fronius.
CHAPTER XI.
THE SAXON BROTHERHOODS—NEIGHBORHOODS AND VILLAGE HANN.
Among the curiosities I picked up in the course of my wanderings
about Saxon villages is a large zinc dish sixteen inches in diameter,
curiously engraved and inscribed. On the outside rim there is a running
pattern of hares and stags; on the inside a coat-of-arms, and this
inscription:
“NEU JAHRS GESCHENK VON DER
EHRLICHEN BRUDERSCHAFT.[10]
ALT GESEL GEORG BAYR,
JUNGER TOMAS FRAYTAG
1791.”
The dish makes a convenient tray for holding calling-cards, and its
origin is an interesting addition to the history of these Saxon people,
as it comprises two noteworthy features of their organization—namely,
the Bruderschaften (brotherhoods) and the Nachbarschaften
(neighborhoods).
The Bruderschaft is an association to which belong all young men of
the parish, from the date of their confirmation up to that of their
marriage. This community is governed by strict laws, in which the
duties of its members respectively, as citizens, sons, brothers,
suitors, and even dancers, are distinctly traced out. In their
outward form these brotherhoods have some sort of resemblance to the
religious confraternities still existing in many Catholic countries,
and most probably they originated in the same manner; but while
these latter have now degenerated into mere outward forms, the Saxon
brotherhoods have retained the original spirit of such institutions,
principally consisting in the reciprocal watch its members kept over
one another’s morality. Mr. Boner, in his book, very aptly compares
the Saxon Bruderschaften to the Heidelberg Burschenschafts; and
spite of the great difference which may at first sight appear, these
institutions are the only ones to which the Saxon brotherhoods may at
all be likened. In the towns these confraternities have now completely
disappeared; but in villages they are still in full force, and have but
little or nothing of their original character.[11]
The head of the Brotherhood is called the Alt-knecht. He is chosen
every year, but can be deposed at any time if he prove unworthy of his
post. It is his mission to watch over the other members, keep order,
and dictate punishments; but when he is caught erring himself he incurs
a double forfeit. When a new Alt-knecht is about to be chosen, the
seven oldest brothers are proposed as candidates. With money received
from the treasurer these repair to the public-house, there to await
the decision of the confraternity. The other members meanwhile proceed
to vote, and when they have made a decision, send a deputation of two
brothers to invite the candidates to come and learn the result.
Twice the deputation is carelessly dismissed, the candidates affecting
to feel no interest in the matter; only when the ambassadors appear for
the third time two glasses of wine are filled for them, and they are
desired to salute the new Alt-knecht.
The two emissaries then take place on either side of the newly chosen
leader and drink his health, with the words, “Helf Gott, Alt-knecht.”
They then all proceed back to the assembly-room, where the senior
candidate says,
“God be with you, brother: you have sent for us; what do you want?”
The eldest among the voters answers for the others,
“We have chosen N. N. for our Alt-knecht; the other six can sit down.”
The lucky candidate is now expected to play the shamefaced, modest
_rôle_, and say,
“Look farther, brother; seek for a better one.”
“We have already looked,” is the answer.
“And is it in truth your will that I and no other should be your head?”
“It is our will.”
“And shall it then be so?”
“It shall be so.”
“And may it be so?”
“It may be so.”
“Then God help me to act righteously towards myself and you.”
“God help you, Alt-knecht.”
The senior brother then solemnly presents him to the assembly, saying,
“See, brothers, this is the Alt-knecht you have chosen for the coming
year. He is bound to undertake all journeys on behalf of the affairs
of the confraternity, he will preside at our meetings, superintend the
maids at their spinning evenings, and will punish each one according
to his deserts; but when he is himself at fault, he shall be doubly
visited (punished) by us.”
Six other brothers occupy different posts of authority under the
Alt-knecht. The first in rank of these is the Gelassen Alt-knecht,
who takes the place of the Alt-knecht when absent; he is likewise
treasurer, and has the office of presenting newly chosen members to the
pastor. Once or twice a month there is a meeting of the Brotherhood at
which the affairs of the confraternity are discussed and misdemeanors
judged. In presiding at these meetings the Alt-knecht has in his hand,
as insignia of his office, a wooden platter, with which he strikes on
the table whenever he wishes to call the brothers to order.
Whoever, on these occasions, freely accuses himself of his faults
incurs only half the penalty; but I am told that this contingency
rarely occurs. The finable offences are numerous, and are taxed at
six, ten, twenty kreuzers and upwards, according to the heinousness of
the offence. Here are some of the principal delinquencies subject to
penalties:
1. Carelessness or slovenliness of attire—every missing button having
a fine attached to it.
2. Bad manners at table, putting the elbows on the board, or striking
it with the fist when excited.
3. Irregularity in church attendance, falling asleep during the sermon,
yawning, stretching, etc., a particularly heavy fine being put upon
snoring.
4. Having, on fast-days, whistled loudly in the street, or worn colored
ribbons in the hat.
Whoever be discontented with the punishment assigned to him, and
forgets himself so far as to grumble audibly, incurs a double fine.
Four times yearly, before the Sacrament is administered in church, the
Brotherhood hold what they call their Versöhnungs-Abend (reconciliation
evening), at which they mutually ask pardon for the injuries done.
Eight days after Quasimodo Sunday the Alt-knecht sends round an
invitation to all newly confirmed youths to enter the confraternity.
Their incorporation is accompanied by various ceremonies, one of which
is that each newly chosen member is laden with a burden of heavy
stones, old rusty pots and pans, broomsticks, and such-like rubbish,
secured round his neck by means of ropes, this somewhat obscure
ceremony being supposed to signify the subjection of the new member to
the rules of the Brotherhood.
On his marriage a man ceases to be a member of the Brotherhood, on
leaving which both he and his bride must pay certain taxes in meat,
bread, and wine. Henceforth he belongs to the _Nachbarschaft_, or
neighborhood. Every village is divided into four neighborhoods, each
governed by a head, called the Nachbarvater. This second confraternity
is conducted in much the same manner as the Brotherhood, with the
difference that its regulations apply to the reciprocal assistance
which neighbors are bound to render each other in various household
and domestic contingencies. Thus a man is only obliged to assist those
who belong to his own quarter in building a house, cleaning out wells,
extinguishing fires, and such-like. He must also contribute provisions
on christening, marriage, and funeral occasions occurring within his
neighborhood, and lend plates and jugs for the same.
The Nachbarvater has the responsibility of watching over the order and
discipline in his quarter, enforcing the regulations issued by the
pastor or the village _maire_, or _Hann_, and assuring himself of the
cleanliness of those streets which lie under his jurisdiction. When an
ox or calf has perished through any accident, it is his duty to have
the fact proclaimed in the neighborhood, each family in which is then
obliged to purchase a certain portion of the meat at the price fixed
by the Nachbarvater, in order to lighten the loss to the afflicted
family. His authority extends even to the interior of each household,
and he is bound to report to the pastor the names of those who absent
themselves from church. He must fine the men who have neglected to
approach the Sacrament, as well as the women who have lingered outside
the church wasting their time in senseless gossip. Children who have
been overheard speaking disrespectfully of their parents, couples whose
connubial quarrels are audible in the street, dogs wantonly beaten by
their masters, vain young matrons who have exceeded the prescribed
number of glittering pins in their head-dress, or girls surpassing
their proper allowance of ribbons—all come under his jurisdiction;
and the Nachbarvater is himself subject to punishment if he neglect
to report a culprit, or show himself too lenient in the dictation of
punishment.
Of the third confraternity, to which belong the girls—viz., the
_Schwesterschaft_, or Sisterhood—there is comparatively little to say;
but the description of one of these Saxon village communities would not
be complete without mention of the _Hann_, who, after the parson, is
the most important man in the village.
The designation _Hann_ has been derived by etymologists from the
Saxon word _chunna_ (hundred), out of which successively Hunna, Hund,
Hunne, Honne, and Hann have been made. A Hundding or Huntari was a
district comprising a hundred divisions (but whether heads of families
or villages is impossible now to ascertain), and the Hund, Honne, or
Hann was the title given to the man who governed this district. The
appellation Hann is to be found in documents of the fifteenth century
in the Rhine provinces, but seems to have disappeared there from use
since that time.
The Saxon village Hann is chosen every three years; and though but a
peasant himself like the neighbors around, he becomes, from the moment
when he is invested in “a little brief authority,” an influential
personage, whose word none dare to question. He is forthwith spoken
of as the “Herr Hann,” his wife becomes the “Frau Hanim,” and _euer
Weisheit_ (your wisdom) is henceforth the correct formula of address.
[Illustration: SAXON PEASANT GOING TO WORK.]
In one village it is customary for the newly elected Hann to be placed
on a harrow (the points turned upward), and thus drawn in triumph round
the village. The election takes place by votes, much in the same way
as the nomination of a pastor, and with like circumspection. It is by
no means easy to find a man well qualified for the office, for the
Hann requires to have a very remarkable assortment of the choicest
virtues in order to fit him for the place. He must be upright, honest,
energetic, and practical, impervious to bribery, and absolutely
impartial; moreover, he must not be poor, for _noblesse oblige_, and
his new dignity brings many outlays in its train. The modest supply
of crockery which has hitherto been ample for the requirements of his
family no longer suffices, for a Hann must be prepared to receive
guests; such luxuries as coffee, loaf-sugar, and an occasional packet
of cigars, must now find their way into his house, to say nothing
of paper, pens, and ink: who knows whether even a new table or an
additional couple of chairs may not become necessary?
Of course the Hann can only be chosen from among those residing in the
principal street, and it is considered to be rather an indignity if he
has taken his wife from some side-street family—a disadvantage only to
be condoned for by very exceptional merit on his own part.
It would be endless were I to attempt enumerating all the duties of a
village Hann; so let it suffice to say that the whole responsibility
of the arrangements for the health, security, cleanliness, and general
welfare of the village rests upon his shoulders. School attendance,
military conscription, and tax-collecting are but a few of the many
duties which devolve on him. His it is to decide on what day the
corn is to be cut or the hay brought home; through which street the
buffaloes are to be driven to pasture, and at which fountain it is
permitted for the women to wash their linen. He must assure himself
that no cart return to the village after the curfew-bell has sounded;
that the night-watchmen—one in each neighborhood—are punctual in
going their rounds; and that the Nachbarväter make discreet and worthy
use of their authority.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] New-year’s gift from the honorable brotherhood.
[11] The late King of Bavaria, Ludwig II., made an attempt at reviving
these brotherhoods, such as they existed in Germany in the Middle
Ages. He himself was the head of the confraternity, and designed the
costumes to be worn by its members, who, with their long pilgrim robes,
cockle-shells, and wide flapping hats, were among the most conspicuous
figures at the royal funeral last summer.
CHAPTER XII.
THE SAXONS: DRESS—SPINNING AND DANCING.
Not without difficulty have these Saxons succeeded in keeping their
national costume so rigidly intact that the figures we meet to-day in
every Saxon village differ but little from old bass-reliefs of the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Here, as elsewhere, even among
these quiet, practical, prosaic, and unlovely people, the demon of
vanity has been at work. Many severe punishments had to be prescribed,
and much eloquence expended from the pulpit, in order to subdue the
evil spirit of fashion which at various times threatened to spread over
the land like a contagious illness. So in 1651 we find a whole set of
dress regulations issued by the bishop for the diocese of Mediasch.
“1. The men shall wear neither red, blue, nor yellow boots, nor shall
the women venture to approach the Holy Sacrament or baptismal font in
red shoes; and whoever conforms not to this regulation is to be refused
admittance to church.
“2. All imitation of the Hungarians’ dress, such as their waistcoats,
braids, galloons, etc., are prohibited to the men.
“3. Be it likewise forbidden for men and for serving-men to wear their
hair in a long, foreign fashion hanging down behind, for that is a
dishonor; for ‘if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him’ (1 Cor.
xi. 14).
“4. The peasant-folk shall wear no high boots and no large hats of
wool, nor yet trimmed with marten fur, nor an embroidered belt, for he
is a peasant. Who is seen wearing such will thereby expose himself to
ridicule, and the boots shall be drawn off his legs, that he shall go
barefoot.
“5. The women shall avoid all that is superfluous in dress, nor shall
they make horns upon their heads.[12] Rich veils shall only be worn by
such as are entitled to them, neither shall any woman wear gold cords
beneath her veil, not even if she be the wife of a gentleman.
“6. Silk caps with golden stars are not suitable for every woman. More
than two handsome jewelled pins shall no woman wear, and should a woman
require more than two for fastening her veil, let her take small pins.
Not every one’s child is entitled to wear corals round its neck. Let
no woman copy the dress of noble dames, for it is not suitable for us
Saxons.
“7. Peasant-maids shall wear no crooked (probably puffed) sleeves sewed
with braids, for they have no right to them. They may wear no red
shoes, and also on their best aprons may they have two braids only;
one of these may be straight and the other nicked out, but neither
over-broad. Let none presume to wear high-heeled shoes, but let them
conform to the prescribed measure under heavy penalty.
“8. Let the womenkind remember that such things as are forbidden
become them but badly. Let them wear the _borten_[13] according to
the prescribed measurements. Let the _herren töchter_ (gentlemen’s
daughters, meaning probably burghers) not make the use of gold braids
over-common, but content themselves with honorable fringes. The
serving-girls shall go _absolutely_ without fringes, nor may they buy
silk cords of three yards’ length, else these will be taken from their
head and nailed against the church wall.
“9. Among the women are beginning to creep in gold rings which cover
the half-finger _ad formam et normam nobilium_—after the fashion of
nobles; let these be _completely_ forbidden.”
The worthy prelate who issued all these stern injunctions appears to
have been so uncommonly well versed in all the intricacies of female
costume as to make us wonder whether he had not missed his vocation
as a man-milliner. It must have been a decidedly nervous matter for
the women to attend service at his cathedral, with the consciousness
that this terrible eagle-glance was taking stock of their clothes all
the time, mentally appraising the value of each head-pin, and gauging
the breadth of every ribbon. Most likely he succeeded in his object of
keeping poor human vanity in check for a time, though not in rooting
it out, for scarcely a hundred years later we find a new set of dress
rules delivered from another pulpit:
“First of all, it is herewith forbidden to both sexes to wear
anything whatsoever which has not been manufactured in Transylvania.
Furthermore, it is prohibited to the men—
“1. To wear the so-called broad summer foreign hats.
“2. The double-trimmed hats, with head of outlandish cloth; only the
jurymen and officials are allowed to wear them.
“3. Trousers of outlandish cloth, or trimmed with braids.
“To the womenkind let it be _completely_ forbidden to wear—
“1. Fine blue-dyed head-cloths.
“2. White-starred caps. Only the wives of officials and jurymen in the
market-towns may wear yellow-starred caps.
“3. Silver head-pins costing more than two, or at the outside three,
Hungarian florins.
“4. Outlandish ribbons and fringes.
“5. Borten (cap) 1 foot 8½ inches high, or lined inside with any
material better than bombazine or glazed calico.
“6. Neck-handkerchiefs.
“7. All outlandish stuffs, linen, etc.”
Here follow several more regulations, concluding with the warning that
whosoever dares to disregard them will be punished by having the said
articles confiscated, besides paying a fine of from six to twelve
florins Hungarian money, the offender being in some cases even liable
to corporal punishment.
How strangely these old regulations now read in an age when
lady’s-maids are so often better dressed than their mistresses, and
every scullion girl thinks herself ill-used if she may not deck herself
out with ostrich-feathers of a Sunday!
A story which bears on this subject is told of Andrew Helling, a
well-known and much-respected burgher of the town of Reps, about the
beginning of last century. He was repeatedly chosen as judge and
burgomaster in his native place, and had a daughter celebrated for her
beauty who was engaged to be married. On the wedding morning the girl
had been decked out by her friends in her best, with many glittering
ornaments and long hanging ribbons in her head-gear. But what pleased
the young bride most was the bright silken apron, a present from her
bridegroom received that same morning. Thus attired, before proceeding
to church, she repaired to her father to ask his blessing, and thank
him for all the care bestowed on her; and he, well pleased with and
proud of his beautiful child, gazed at her with tenderly approving eye.
But of a sudden his expression grew stern, and pointing to the silken
apron, he broke out into a storm of bitter reproaches at her vanity
for thus attiring herself in gear only suitable for the daughter of
a prince. Hearing which, the bridegroom, aggrieved at the dishonor
shown to his gift, gave his arm to his bride, and dispensing with the
incensed father’s blessing, led her off to church.
Most likely, too, it was the desire to repress all extravagance in
dress which shaped itself into the following prophecy, still prevalent
throughout Transylvania:
“When luxury and extravagance have so spread over the face of the earth
that every one walks about in silken attire, and when sin is no longer
shame, then, say the Saxons, the end of the world is not far off.
There will come then an extraordinary fruitful year, and the ripening
corn will stand so high that horse and rider will disappear in it; but
no one will be there to cut and garner this corn, for a dreadful war
will break out, in which all monarchs will fight against each other,
and the war-horse will run up to its fetlocks in blood, with saddle
beneath the belly, all the way from Cronstadt to Broos, without drawing
breath. At last, however, will come from the East a mighty king, who
will restore peace to the world. But few men will then remain alive
in Transylvania—not more than can find place in the shade of a big
oak-tree.”
However, not all the authority of stern fathers and eloquent preachers
was able to preserve the old custom intact in the towns, where,
little by little, it dropped into disuse, being but seldom seen after
the beginning of this century. What costumes there remain are now
locked away in dark presses, only to see the light of day at costumed
processions or fancy balls, while many of the accompanying ornaments
have found their way into jewellers’ show-windows or museums. Only
in the villages the details of dress are still as rigidly controlled
as ever, and show no sign of degeneration just yet. Each village,
forming, as it does, a little colony by itself, and being isolated
from all outward influences, is enabled to retain its characteristics
in a manner impossible to the town. No etiquette is so rigid as Saxon
village etiquette, and there are countless little forms and observances
which to neglect or transgress would be here as grave as it would be
for a lady to go to Court without plumes in England, or to reverse the
order of champagne and claret at a fashionable dinner-party. The laws
of exact precedence are here every whit as clearly defined as among our
upper ten thousand, and the punctilio of a spinning-chamber quite as
formal as the ordering of her Majesty’s drawing-room.
These spinning meetings take place on winter evenings, the young girls
usually coming together at different houses alternately, the young men
being permitted to visit them the while, provided they do not interfere
with the work. There are often two different spinning meetings in
each village, the half-grown girls taking part in the one, while the
other assembles the full-fledged maidens of marriageable age. It is
not allowed for any man to enter a spinning-room in workday attire,
but each must be carefully dressed in his Sunday’s clothes. The eldest
member of the Brotherhood present keeps watch over the decorum of the
younger members, and assures himself that no unbecoming liberties are
taken with the other sex.
There is a whole code of penalties drawn up for those who presume to
outstep the limits of proper familiarity, and the exact distance a
youth is allowed to approach the spinning-wheel of any girl is in some
villages regulated by inches. A fine of ten kreuzers is attached to the
touching of a maiden’s breastpin, while stealing a kiss always proves
a still more expensive amusement. As we see by ancient chronicles,
these spinning meetings (which formerly used to be held in the towns
as well) had sometimes to be prohibited by the clergy when threatening
to degenerate into indecorous romps in any particular place; but
this custom, so deeply inrooted in Saxon village life, was always
resumed after an interval, and, thanks to the vigilant watch kept up
by the heads of the Brotherhood, it is seldom that anything really
objectionable takes place. The men are allowed to join the girls in
singing the Rockenlieder (spinning songs), of which there are a great
number.
No man may accompany a girl to her home when the meeting breaks up, but
each must go singly, or along with her companions.
Many superstitions are attached to the spinning-wheel in Saxon
households besides the one which is mentioned in the chapter on
weddings. So on Saturday evening the work must be desisted with
the first stroke of the evening bell, and there are many old pagan
festivals which demand that the reel be spun empty the day before.
The girl who sits up spinning on Saturday night is considered as
sinning against both sun and moon, and will only produce a coarse,
unequal thread, which refuses to let itself be bleached white. The
woman who spins on Ash-Wednesday will cause her pigs to suffer from
worms throughout the year.
An amulet which preserves against accidents and brings luck in love
matters may be produced by two young girls spinning a thread together
in silence on St. John’s Day after the evening bell has rung. It must
be spun walking, one girl holding the distaff while the other twirls
the thread, which is afterwards divided between the two. Each piece of
this thread, if worn against the body, will bring luck to its wearer,
but only so long as her companion likewise retains her portion of the
charm.
For the twelve days following St. Thomas’s Day (21st of December)
spinning is prohibited, and the young men visiting the spinning-room
during that period have the right to break and burn all the distaffs
they find; so it has become usual for the maidens to appear on the
feast of St. Thomas with a stick dressed up with tow or wool to
represent the distaff in place of a real spinning-wheel.
The married women have also their own spinning meetings, which are
principally held in the six weeks following Christmas; and she is
considered to be a dilatory housewife who has not spun all her flax
by the first week in February. Sometimes she receives a little covert
assistance from her lord and master, who, when he has no other work to
do in field or barn, may be seen half-shamefacedly plying the distaff,
like Hercules at the feet of Omphale. On certain occasions the women
hold what they call _Gainzelnocht_ (whole-night)—that is, they sit up
all through the long winter night, spinning into the gray dawn of the
morning.
* * * * *
Dancing takes place either at the village inn on Sunday afternoons, or
in summer in the open air, in some roomy court-yard or under a group
of old trees, the permission to dance having been each time formally
requested of the pastor by the head of the Brotherhood. The Alt-knecht
also sometimes settles the couples beforehand, so as to insure each
girl against the humiliating contingency of remaining partnerless, and
no youth durst, under pain of penalty, refuse the hand of any partner
thus assigned to him. Also, each man can stay near his partner only
while the music is playing; he may not sit near or walk about with her
during the pauses, but with the last note of the valse or _ländler_ he
drops her like a hot potato, the girls retiring to one side of the room
and the men remaining at the other, till the renewed strains of music
permit the sexes again to mingle.
Only girls and youths take part in these village dances as a rule,
though in some districts it is usual for young couples to dance for
a period of six months after their marriage. Also, there are some
villages where the custom prevails of the married women dancing every
fourth year, but more usually dancing ceases altogether with matrimony.
The usual dance which I have seen performed by Saxon peasants is a sort
of valse executed with perfect propriety in a slow, ponderous style,
and absolutely unaccompanied by any expression of enjoyment on the part
of the dancers. In some villages, however, the amusement seems to be
of a livelier kind, for there I am told that certain dances require
that the men should noisily slap the calves of their legs at particular
parts of the music. A curious explanation is given of this. In olden
times it seems their dress was somewhat different from what it is now.
Instead of wearing high boots, they had shoes and short breeches; and
as the stockings did not reach up to the knee, a naked strip of skin
was visible between, as in the Styrian and Tyrolese dress. In summer,
therefore, when dancing in a barn or in the open air, the dancers were
often sorely tormented by gnats and horseflies settling on the exposed
parts; and seeking occasional relief by vigorous slaps, these gradually
took the form of a regular rhythm which has survived the change of
costume.
The music used on these occasions is mostly execrable, both out of
time and tune, unless indeed they have been lucky enough to secure the
services of gypsy musicians; but this is rarely the case, for, bad as
it is, the Saxon prefers his own music.
However, it is an interesting sight to look on at one of these village
dances, as the girls’ costume is both rich and quaint. Particularly
interesting is this sight at the village of Hammersdorf, whose
inhabitants, as I before remarked, are celebrated for their opulence.
Only on the highest festivals, three or four times a year, is it
customary for the girls to don their richest attire for the dance, and
display all their ornaments—often an exceedingly handsome show of
jewellery, descended from mother to daughter through many generations.
Thus Pentecost, when there is dancing two days in succession in the
open air, is a good time for assisting at one of these rustic balls.
Each girl wears on her head the high stiff _borten_, which in shape
resembles nothing so much as a chimney-pot hat, without either crown
or brim, though this is perhaps rather an Irish way of putting it. It
is formed of pasteboard covered with black velvet, and from it depend
numerous ribbons three or four fingers in breadth, hanging down almost
to the hem of the skirt. In some villages these ribbons are blue; in
others, as at Hammersdorf, mostly scarlet and silver. The skirt at
Hammersdorf on Pentecost Monday was of black stuff, very full and wide,
and above it a large white muslin apron covered with embroidery, with
the name of the wearer introduced in the pattern. The wide bulging
black skirt was confined at the waist by a broad girdle of massive gold
braid set with round clumps of jewels at regular intervals; these were
sometimes garnets, turquoises, pearls, or emeralds. Another ornament
is the _patzel_, worn by some on the chest, as large as a tea-saucer,
silver gilt, and likewise richly incrusted with two or three sorts of
gems; some of these were of very beautiful and intricate workmanship.
Altogether, when thus seen collectively, the costume presents a quaint
and pretty appearance, with something martial about the general effect,
suggesting a troop of sturdy young Amazons—the silver and scarlet
touches, relieving the simplicity of the black and white attire, being
particularly effective.
[Illustration: DRESSING FOR THE DANCE.]
On Pentecost Tuesday the dance was repeated, with the difference that
this time all wore white muslin skirts and black silk aprons. None of
them could tell me the reason of this precise ordering of the costume;
it had always been so, they said, in their mothers’ and grandmothers’
time as well, to wear the black skirts on the Pentecost Monday and the
white ones on the Tuesday.
Each girl carries in her hand a little nosegay of flowers, and has
a large flowered silk handkerchief stuck in her waistband. Every
youth is, of course, attired in his Sunday clothes; and however hot
the weather, it is _de rigueur_ that he keep on the heavy cloth
jacket during the first two dances. Only then, when the Alt-knecht
gives the signal, is it allowed to lay aside the coat and dance in
shirt-sleeves, while the girls divest themselves of their uncomfortable
head-dress—how uncomfortable being only too apparent from the dark red
mark which it has left across the forehead of each wearer.
But if the young people are thus elegantly got up, the same cannot
be said of their chaperons the mothers, who in their common week-day
clothes have likewise come here to enjoy the fun. They have certainly
made none of those concessions to society which reduce the lives of
unfortunate dowagers to a perpetual martyrdom in the ball-room, but
are as dirty and comfortable as though they were at home, each woman
squatting on the low three-legged stool which she has brought with her.
The reason for this simplicity—not to say slovenliness—of attire
presently becomes obvious, as the lowing of kine and a cloud of dust
in the distance announce the return of the herd, and in a body the
matrons rise and desert the festive scene, stool in hand, for it is
milking-time, and the buffaloes, whose temper is proverbially short,
durst not be kept waiting; only when this important duty has been
accomplished do the mammas return to the ball-room.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] This would seem to be an allusion to the Roumanian fashion in some
districts of twisting up the veil into a horn-like shape on the head.
[13] The _borten_ is the high, stiff head-dress worn by all Saxon
girls, and which they only lay aside with their marriage.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE SAXONS: BETROTHAL.
Oats have been defined by Dr. Johnson as a grain serving to nourish
horses in England and men in Scotland; and in spite of this
contemptuous definition, its name, to us Caledonian born, must always
awaken pleasant recollections of the porridge and bannocks of our
childhood. It is, however, a new experience to find a country where
this often unappreciated grain occupies a still prouder position,
and where its name is associated with memories yet more pregnant and
tender; for autumn, not spring, is the season of Saxon love, and oats,
not myrtle, are here emblematic of courtship and betrothal.
In proportion as the waving surface of the green oat-fields begins to
assume a golden tint, so also does curiosity awaken and gossip grow
rife in the village. Well-informed people may have hinted before that
such and such a youth had been seen more than once stepping in at
the gate of the big red house in the long street, and more than one
chatterer had been ready to identify the speckled carnations which on
Sundays adorned the hat of some youthful Conrad or Thomas, as having
been grown in the garden of a certain Anna or Maria; but after all
these had been but mere conjectures, for nothing positive can be known
as yet, and ill-natured people were apt to console themselves with the
reflection that St. Catherine’s Day was yet a long way off, and that
“there is many a slip ’twixt cup and lip.”
But now the great day which is to dispel all doubt and put an end
to conjecture is approaching—that day which will destroy so many
illusions and fulfil so few; for now the sun has given the final touch
to the ripening grain, and soon the golden sheaves are lying piled
together on the clean-shorn stubble-field, only waiting to be carted
away. Then one evening when the sun is sinking low on the horizon, and
no breath of air is there to lift the white powdery dust from off the
hedge-rows, the sound of a drum is heard in the village street, and a
voice proclaims aloud that “to-morrow the oats are to be fetched home.”
Like wildfire the news has spread throughout the village; the cry is
taken up and repeated with various intonations of hope, curiosity,
anticipation, or triumph, “To-morrow the oats will be fetched.”
A stranger probably fails to perceive anything particularly thrilling
about this intelligence, having no reason to suppose the garnering of
oats to be in any way more interesting than the carting of potatoes or
wheat; and, no doubt, to the majority of land-owners the thought of
to-morrow’s work is chiefly connected with dry prosaic details, such as
repairing the harness and oiling the cart-wheels. But there are others
in the village on whom the announcement has had an electrifying effect,
and for whom the words are synonymous with love and wedding-bells. Five
or six of the young village swains, or maybe as many as eight or ten,
spend that evening in a state of pleasurable bustle and excitement,
busying themselves in cleaning and decking out the cart for the morrow,
furbishing up the best harness, grooming the work-horses till their
coats are made to shine like satin, and plaiting up their manes with
bright-colored ribbons.
Early next morning the sound of harness-bells and the loud cracking
of whips cause all curious folk to rush to their doors; and as every
one is curious, the whole population is soon assembled in the street to
gaze at the sight of young Hans N——, attired in his bravest clothes
and wearing in his cap a monstrous bouquet, riding postilion fashion on
the left-hand horse, and cracking his whip with ostentatious triumph,
while behind, on the gayly decorated cart, is seated a blushing maiden,
who lowers her eyes in confusion at thus seeing herself the object of
general attention—at least this is what she is supposed to do, for
every well-brought-up girl ought surely to blush and hang her head
in graceful embarrassment when she first appears in the character
of a bride; and although no formal proposal has yet taken place,
by consenting to assist the young man to bring in his oats she has
virtually confessed her willingness to become his wife.
Her appearance on this occasion will doubtless cause much envy and
disappointment among her less fortunate companions, who gaze out
furtively through the chinks of the wooden boarding at the spectacle
of a triumph they had perhaps hoped for themselves. “So it is the
red-haired Susanna after all, and not the miller’s Agnes, as every one
made sure,” the gossips are saying. “And who has young Martin got on
his cart, I wonder? May I never spin flax again if it is not that saucy
wench, the black-eyed Lisi, who was all but promised to small-pox Peter
of the green corner house”—and so on, and so on, in endless variety,
as the decorated carts go by in procession, each one giving rise to
manifold remarks and comments, and not one of them failing to leave
disappointment and heart-burning in its rear.
This custom of the maiden helping the young man to bring in his oats,
and thereby signifying her willingness to marry him, is prevalent
only in a certain district to the north of Transylvania called the
_Haferland_, or country of oats—a broad expanse of country covered
at harvest-time by a billowy sea of golden grain, the whole fortune
of the land-owners. In other parts various other betrothal customs
are prevalent, as for instance in Neppendorf, a large village close
to Hermanstadt, inhabited partly by Saxons, partly by Austrians, or
Ländlers, as they call themselves. This latter race is of far more
recent introduction in the country than the Saxons, having only come
hither (last century) in the time of Maria Theresa, who had summoned
them to replenish some of the Saxon colonies in danger of becoming
extinct. If it is strange to note how rigidly the Saxons have kept
themselves from mingling with the surrounding Magyars and Roumanians,
it is yet more curious to see how these two German races have existed
side by side for over a hundred years without amalgamating; and
this for no sort of antagonistic reason, for they live together in
perfect harmony, attending the same church, and conforming to the same
regulations, but each people preserving its own individual costume and
customs. The Saxons and the Ländlers have each their different parts of
the church assigned to them; no Saxon woman would ever think of donning
the fur cap of a Ländler matron, while as little would the latter
exchange her tight-fitting fur coat for the wide hanging mantle worn by
the other.
[Illustration: SAXON BETROTHED COUPLE.]
Until quite lately unions have very seldom taken place between members
of these different races. Only within the last twenty years or so have
some of the Saxon youths awoke to the consciousness that the Austrian
girls make better and more active housewives than their own phlegmatic
countrywomen, and have consequently sought them in marriage. Even then,
when both parties are willing, many a projected union makes shipwreck
upon the stiff-neckedness of the two _paterfamilias_, who neither of
them will concede anything to the other. Thus, for instance, when the
Saxon father of the bridegroom demands that his future daughter-in-law
should adopt Saxon attire when she becomes the wife of his son, the
Ländler father will probably take offence and withdraw his consent
at the last moment; not a cap nor a jacket, not even a pin or an
inch of ribbon, will either of the two concede to the wishes of the
young people. Thus many hopeful alliances are nipped in the bud, and
those which have been accomplished are almost invariably based on the
understanding that each party retains its own attire, and that the
daughters born of such union follow the mother, the sons the father, in
the matter of costume.
Among the Ländlers the marriage proposal takes place in a way which
deserves to be mentioned. The youth who has secretly cast his eye on
the girl he fain would make his wife prepares a new silver thaler
(about 2_s._ 6_d._) by winding round it a piece of bright-colored
ribbon, and wrapping the whole in a clean sheet of white letter-paper.
With this coin in his pocket he repairs to the next village dance,
and takes the opportunity of slipping it unobserved into the girl’s
hand while they are dancing. By no word or look does she betray any
consciousness of his actions, and only when back at home she produces
the gift, and acquaints her parents with what has taken place. A family
council is then held as to the merits of the suitor, and the expediency
of accepting or rejecting the proposal. Should the latter be decided
upon, the maiden must take an early opportunity of intrusting the
silver coin to a near relation of the young man, who in receiving it
back is thereby informed that he has nothing further to hope in that
direction; but if three days have elapsed without his thaler returning
to him, he is entitled to regard this as encouragement, and may
commence to visit in the house of his sweetheart on the footing of an
official wooer.
In cases of rejection, it is considered a point of honor on the part
of all concerned that no word should betray the state of the case to
the outer world—a delicate reticence one is surprised to meet with in
these simple people.
This giving of the silver coin is probably a remnant of the old custom
of “buying the bride,” and in many villages it is customary still to
talk of the _brautkaufen_.
In some places it is usual for the lad who is courting to adorn
the window of his fair one with a flowering branch of hawthorn at
Pentecost, and at Christmas to fasten a sprig of mistletoe or a
fir-branch to the gable-end of her house.
To return, however, to the land of oats, where, after the harvest has
been successfully garnered, the bridegroom proceeds to make fast the
matter, or, in other words, officially to demand the girl’s hand of her
parents.
It is not consistent with village etiquette that the bridegroom _in
spe_ should apply directly to the father of his intended, but he
must depute some near relation or intimate friend to bring forward
his request. The girl’s parents, on their side, likewise appoint a
representative to transmit the answer. These two ambassadors are called
the _wortmacher_ (word-makers)—sometimes also the _hochzeitsväter_
(wedding-fathers). Much talking and speechifying are required correctly
to transact a wedding from beginning to end, and a fluent and eloquent
wortmacher is a much-prized individual.
Each village has its own set formulas for each of the like
occasions—long-winded pompous speeches, rigorously adhered to, and
admitting neither of alteration nor curtailment. The following fragment
of one of these speeches will give a correct notion of the general
style of Saxon oration. It is the hochzeitsvater who, in the name of
the young man’s parents, speaks as follows:
“A good-morning to you herewith, dear neighbors, and I further wish to
hear that you have rested softly this night, and been enabled to rise
in health and strength. And if such be the case I shall be rejoiced to
hear the same, and shall thank the Almighty for his mercies towards
you; and should your health and the peace of your household not be as
good as might be desired in every respect, so at least will I thank the
Almighty that he has made your lot to be endurable, and beg him further
in future only to send you so much trouble and affliction as you are
enabled patiently to bear at a time.
“Furthermore, I crave your forgiveness that I have made bold to enter
your house thus early this morning, and trust that my presence therein
may in no way inconvenience you, but that I may always comport myself
with honor and propriety, so that you may in nowise be ashamed of me,
and that you may be pleased to listen to the few words I have come
hither to say.
“God the Almighty having instituted the holy state of matrimony in
order to provide for the propagation of the human race, it is not
unknown to me, dearest neighbor, that many years ago you were pleased
to enter this holy state, taking to yourself a beloved wife, with
whom ever since you have lived in peace and happiness; and that,
furthermore, the Almighty, not wishing to leave you alone in your
union, was pleased to bless you, not only with temporal goods and
riches, but likewise with numerous offspring, with dearly beloved
children, to be your joy and solace. And among these beloved children
is a daughter, who has prospered and grown up in the fear of the Lord
to be a comely and virtuous maiden.
“And as likewise it may not be unknown to you that years ago we too
thought fit to enter the holy state of matrimony, and that the Lord was
pleased to bless our union, not with temporal goods and riches, but
with numerous offspring, with various beloved children, among whom is a
son, who has grown up, not in a garden of roses, but in care and toil,
and in the fear of the Lord.
“And now this same son, having grown to be a man, has likewise
bethought himself of entering the holy state of matrimony; and he has
prayed the Lord to guide him wisely in his choice, and to give him a
virtuous and God-fearing companion.
“Therefore he has been led over mountains and valleys, through forests
and rivers, over rocks and precipices, until he came to your house and
cast his eyes on the virtuous maiden your daughter. And the Lord has
been pleased to touch his heart with a mighty love for her, so that he
has been moved to ask you to give her hand to him in holy wedlock.”
Probably the young couple have grown up in sight of each other, the
garden of the one father very likely adjoining the pigsty of the other;
but the formula must be adhered to notwithstanding, and neither rocks
nor precipices omitted from the programme; and even though the parents
of the bride be a byword in the village for their noisy domestic
quarrels, yet the little fiction of conjugal happiness must be kept
up all the same, with a truly magnificent sacrifice of veracity to
etiquette worthy of any Court journal discussing a royal alliance.
And in point of fact a disinterested love-match between Saxon peasants
is about as rare a thing as a genuine courtship between reigning
princes. Most often it is a simple business contract arranged between
the family heads, who each of them hopes to reap advantage from the
bargain.
When the answer has been a consent, then the compact is sealed by a
feast called the _brautvertrinken_ (drinking the bride), to which are
invited only the nearest relations on either side, the places of honor
at the head of the table being given to the two ambassadors who have
transacted the business. A second banquet, of a more solemn nature, is
held some four weeks later, when rings have been exchanged in presence
of the pastor. The state of the weather at the moment the rings are
exchanged is regarded as prophetic for the married life of the young
couple, according as it may be fair or stormy.
Putting the ring on his bride’s finger, the young man says,
“I give thee here my ring so true;
God grant thou may it never rue!”
CHAPTER XIV.
THE SAXONS: MARRIAGE.
The 25th of November, feast of St. Catherine,[14] is in many districts
the day selected for tying all these matrimonial knots. When this is
not the case, then the weddings take place in Carnival, oftenest in the
week following the Sunday when the gospel of the marriage at Cana has
been read in church; and Wednesday is considered the most lucky day for
the purpose.
The preparations for the great day occupy the best part of a week
in every house which counts either a bride or bridegroom among its
inmates. There are loaves and cakes of various sorts and shapes to
be baked, fowls and pigs to be slaughtered; in wealthier houses
even the sacrifice of a calf or an ox is considered necessary for
the wedding-feast; and when this is the case the tongue is carefully
removed, and, placed upon the best china plate, with a few laurel
leaves by way of decoration, is carried to the parsonage as the
customary offering to the reverend Herr Vater.
The other needful provisions for the banquet are collected in the
following simple manner: On the afternoon of the Sunday preceding the
wedding, six young men belonging to the Brotherhood are despatched
by the Alt-knecht from house to house, where, striking a resounding
knock on each door, they make the village street re-echo with their
cry, “Bringt rahm!” (bring cream). This is a summons which none may
refuse, all those who belong to that neighborhood being bound to send
contributions in the shape of milk, cream, eggs, butter, lard, or
bacon, to those wedding-houses within their quarter; and every gift,
even the smallest one of a couple of eggs, is received with thanks, and
the messenger rewarded by a glass of wine.
Next day the women of both families assemble to bake the wedding-feast,
the future mother-in-law of the bride keeping a sharp lookout on the
girl, to note whether she acquits herself creditably of her household
duties. This day is in fact a sort of final examination the bride has
to pass through in order to prove herself worthy of her new dignity;
so woe to the maiden who is dilatory in mixing the dough or awkward at
kneading the loaves.
While this is going on the young men have been to the forest to fetch
firing-wood, for it is a necessary condition that the wood for heating
the oven where the wedding-loaves are baked should be brought in
expressly for the occasion, even though there be small wood in plenty
lying ready for use in the shed.
The cart is gayly decorated with flowers and streamers, and the wood
brought home with much noise and merriment, much in the old English
style of bringing in the yule-log. On their return from the forest,
the gate of the court-yard is found to be closed; or else a rope, from
which are suspended straw bunches and bundles, is stretched across the
entrance. The women now advance, with much clatter of pots and pans,
and pretend to defend the yard against the besiegers; but the men tear
down the rope, and drive in triumphantly, each one catching at a straw
bundle in passing. Some of these are found to contain cakes or apples,
others only broken crockery or egg-shells.
The young men sit up late splitting the logs into suitable size for
burning. Their duties further consist in lighting the fire, drawing
water from the well, and putting it to boil on the hearth. Thus they
work till into the small hours of the morning, now and then refreshing
themselves with a hearty draught of home-made wine. When all is
prepared, it is then the turn of the men to take some rest, and they
wake the girls with an old song running somewhat as follows:
“All in the early morning gray,
A lass would rise at break of day.
Arise, arise,
Fair lass, arise,
And ope your eyes,
For darkness flies,
And your true-love he comes to-day.
“So, lassie, would you early fill
Your pitcher at the running rill,
Awake, awake,
Fair maid, awake,
Your pitcher take,
For dawn doth break,
And come to-day your true-love will.”
Another song of equally ancient origin is sung the evening before the
marriage, when the bride takes leave of her friends and relations.[15]
“I walked beside the old church wall;
My love stood there, but weeping all.
I greeted her, and thus she spake:
‘My heart is sore, dear love, alack!
I must depart, I must be gone;
When to return, God knows alone!
When to return?—when the black crow
Bears on his wing plumes white as snow.
“‘I set two roses in my father’s land—
O father, dearest father, give me once more thy hand!
I set two roses in my mother’s land—
O mother, dearest mother, give me again thy hand!
I must depart, I must be gone;
When to return, God knows alone!
When to return?—when the black crow
Bears on his wing plumes white as snow.
“‘I set two roses in my brother’s land—
O brother, dearest brother, give me again thy hand!
I set two roses in my sister’s land—
O sister, dearest sister, give me again thy hand!
I must away, I must be gone;
When to return, God knows alone!
When to return?—when the black crow
Bears on his wing plumes white as snow.
“‘I set again two roses under a bush of yew—
O comrades, dearest comrades, I say my last adieu!
No roses shall I set more in this my native land—
O parents, brother, sister, comrades, give me once more your hand!
I must away, I must be gone;
When to return, God knows alone!
When to return?—when the black crow
Bears on his wing plumes white as snow.
“‘And when I came to the dark fir-tree,[16]
An iron kettle my father gave me;
And when I came unto the willow,
My mother gave a cap and a pillow.
Woe’s me! ’tis only those who part
Can tell how parting tears the heart!
“‘And when unto the bridge I came,
I turned me round and looked back again;
I saw no mother nor father more,
And I bitterly wept, for my heart was sore.
Woe’s me! ’tis only those who part
Can tell how parting tears the heart!
“‘And when I came before the gate,
The bolt was drawn, and I must wait;
And when I came to the wooden bench,
They said, “She’s but a peevish wench!”
Woe’s me! ’tis only those who part
Can tell how parting tears the heart!
“‘And when I came to the strangers’ hearth,
They whispered, “She is little worth;”
And when I came before the bed,
I sighed, “Would I were yet a maid!”
Woe’s me! ’tis only those who part
Can tell how parting tears the heart!
“‘My house is built of goodly stone,
But in its walls I feel so lone!
A mantle of finest cloth I wear,
But ’neath it an aching heart I bear.
Loud howls the wind, wild drives the snow,
Parting, oh, parting is bitterest woe!
On the belfry tower is a trumpet shrill,
But down the kirkyard the dead lie still.’”
Very precise are the formalities to be observed in inviting the
wedding-guests. A member of the bride’s family is deputed as _einlader_
(inviter), and, invested with a brightly painted staff as insignia of
his office, he goes the round of the friends and relations to be asked.
It is customary to invite all kinsfolk within the sixth degree of
relationship, though many of these are not expected to comply with the
summons, the invitations in such cases being simply a matter of form,
politely tendered on the one side and graciously received on the other,
but not meant to be taken literally, as being but honorary invitations.
Unless particular arrangements have been made to the contrary, it
is imperative that the invitations, in order to be valid, should
be repeated with all due formalities, as often as three times, the
slightest divergence from this rule being severely judged and commented
upon; and mortal offence has often been taken by a guest who bitterly
complains that he was only twice invited. In some villages it is,
moreover, customary to invite anew for each one of the separate
meals which take place during the three or four days of the wedding
festivities.
Early on the wedding morning the bridegroom despatches his _wortmann_
with the _morgengabe_ (morning gift) to the bride. This consists in a
pair of new shoes, to which are sometimes added other small articles,
such as handkerchiefs, ribbons, a cap, apples, nuts, cakes, etc. An
ancient superstition requires that the young matron should carefully
treasure up these shoes if she would assure herself of kind treatment
on the part of her husband, who “will not begin to beat her till the
wedding-shoes are worn out.” The ambassador, in delivering over the
gifts to the _wortmann_ of the other party, speaks as follows:
“Good-morning to you, Herr Wortmann, and to all worthy friends here
assembled. The friends on our side have charged me to wish you all
a very good morning. I have further come hither to remind you of
the laudable custom of our fathers and grandfathers, who bethought
themselves of presenting their brides with a small morning gift. So in
the same way our young master the bridegroom, not wishing to neglect
this goodly patriarchal custom, has likewise sent me here with a
trifling offering to his bride, trusting that this small gift may be
agreeable and pleasing to you.”
The bride, on her side, sends to the bridegroom a new linen shirt,
spun, woven, sewed, and embroidered by her own hands. This shirt he
wears but twice—once on his wedding-day for going to church, the
second time when he is carried to the grave.
Before proceeding to church the men assemble at the house of the
bridegroom, and the women at that of the bride. The young people only
accompany the bridal pair to church, the elder members of both families
remaining at home until the third invitation has been delivered, after
which all proceed together to the house of the bride, where the first
day’s festivities are held.
In some villages it is customary for the young couple returning from
church to the house of the bridegroom to have their two right hands
tied together before stepping over the threshold. A glass of wine and
a piece of bread are given to them ere they enter, of which they must
both partake together, the bridegroom then throwing the glass away over
the house-roof.
There is much speechifying and drinking of healths, and various meals
are served up at intervals of three or four hours, each guest being
provided with a covered jug, which must always be kept replenished with
wine.
It is usual for each guest to bring a small gift as contribution to the
newly set-up household of the young couple, and these are deposited on
a table decked for the purpose in the centre of the court-yard, or,
if the weather be unfavorable, inside the house—bride and bridegroom
standing on either side to receive the gifts. First it is the
bridegroom’s father, who, approaching the table, deposits thereon a new
shining ploughshare, as symbol that his son must earn his bread by the
sweat of his brow; then the mother advances with a new pillow adorned
with bows of colored ribbon, and silver head-pins stuck at the four
corners. These gay ornaments are meant to represent the pleasures and
joys of matrimony, but two long streamers of black ribbon, which hang
down to the ground on either side, are placed there likewise to remind
the young couple of the crosses and misfortunes which must inevitably
fall to their share. The other relations of the bridegroom follow in
due precedence, each with a gift. Sometimes it is a piece of homespun
linen, a colored handkerchief, or some such article of dress or
decoration; sometimes a roll of sheet-iron, a packet of nails, a knife
and fork, or a farming or gardening implement, each one laying down his
or her gift with the words, “May it be pleasing to you.”
Then follow the kinsfolk of the bride with similar offerings, her
father presenting her with a copper caldron or kettle, her mother with
a second pillow decorated in the same manner as the first one.
Playful allusions are not unfrequently concealed in these gifts—a
doll’s cradle, or a young puppy-dog wrapped in swaddling-clothes, often
figuring among the presents ranged on the table.
Various games and dances fill up the pauses between the meals—songs
and speeches, often of a somewhat coarse and cynical nature, forming
part of the usual programme. Among the games occasionally enacted at
Saxon peasant weddings there is one which deserves a special mention,
affording, as it does, a curious proof of the tenacity of old pagan
rites and customs transmitted by verbal tradition from one generation
to the other. This is the _rössel-tanz_, or dance of the horses,
evidently founded on an ancient Scandinavian legend, to be found in
Snorri’s “Edda.” In this tale the gods Thor and Loki came at nightfall
to a peasant’s house in a carriage drawn by two goats or rams, and
asked for a night’s lodging. Thor killed the two rams, and with the
peasant and his family consumed the flesh for supper. The bones were
then ordered to be thrown in a heap on to the hides of the animals; but
one of the peasant’s sons had, in eating, broken open a bone in order
to suck the marrow within, and next morning, when the god commanded
the goats to get up, one of them limped on the hind-leg because of the
broken bone, on seeing which Thor was in a great rage, and threatened
to destroy the peasant and his whole family, but finally allowed
himself to be pacified, and accepted the two sons as hostages.
In the peasant drama here alluded to, the gods Thor and Loki are
replaced by a colonel and a lieutenant-colonel, while instead of two
goats there are two horses and one goat; also, the two sons of the
peasant are here designated as Wallachians. Everything is, of course,
much distorted and changed, but yet all the principal features of the
drama are clearly to be recognized—the killing of the goat and its
subsequent resurrection, the colonel’s rage, and the transferment
of the two Wallachians into his service, all being part of the
performance.
At midnight, or sometimes later, when the guests are about to depart,
there prevails in some villages a custom which goes by the name of _den
borten abtanzen_, dancing down the bride’s crown. This head-covering,
which I have already described, is the sign of her maidenhood, which
she must lay aside now that she has become a wife, and it is danced
off in the following manner: All the married women present, except
the very oldest and most decrepit, join hands—two of them, appointed
as brideswomen, taking the bride between them. Thus forming a wide
circle, they dance backward and forward round and round the room,
sometimes forming a knot in the centre, sometimes far apart, till
suddenly, either by accident or on purpose, the chain is broken
through at one place, which is the signal for all to rush out into
the court-yard, still holding hands. From some dark corner there now
springs unexpectedly a stealthy robber, one of the bridesmen, who has
been lying there in ambush to rob the bride of her crown. Sometimes
she is defended by two brothers or relations, who, dealing out blows
with twisted up handkerchiefs or towels, endeavor to keep the thief
at a distance; but the struggle always ends with the loss of the
head-dress, which the young matron bewails with many tears and sobs.
The brideswomen now solemnly invest her with her new head-gear, which
consists of a snowy cap and veil, held together by silver or jewelled
pins, sometimes of considerable value. This head-dress, which fits
close to the face, concealing all the hair, has a nun-like effect, but
is not unbecoming to fresh young faces.
Sometimes, after the bride is invested in her matronly head-gear, she,
along with two other married women (in some villages old, in others
young), is concealed behind a curtain or sheet, and the husband is
made to guess which is his wife, all three trying to mislead him by
grotesque gestures from beneath the sheet.
On the morning after the wedding bridesmen and brideswomen early repair
to the room of the newly married couple, presenting them with a cake
in which hairs of cows and buffaloes, swine’s bristles, feathers, and
egg-shells are baked. Both husband and wife must at least swallow a
bite of this unsavory compound, to insure the welfare of cattle and
poultry during their married life.[17]
After the morning meal the young wife goes to church to be blessed
by the priest, escorted by the two brideswomen, walking one on either
side. While she is praying within, her husband meanwhile waits at the
church-door, but no sooner does she reappear at the threshold than the
young couple are surrounded by a group of masked figures, who playfully
endeavor to separate the wife from her husband. If they succeed in
so doing, then he must win her back in a hand-to-hand fight with his
adversaries, or else give money as ransom. It is considered a bad omen
for the married life of the young couple if they be separated on this
occasion; therefore the young husband takes his stand close against
the church-door, to be ready to clutch his wife as soon as she steps
outside—for greater precaution, often holding her round the waist
with both hands during the dance which immediately ensues in front of
the church, and at which the newly married couple merely assist as
spectators.
As several couples are usually married at the same time, it is
customary for each separate wedding-party to bring its own band of
music, and dance thus independently of the others. On the occasion of a
triple wedding I once witnessed, it was very amusing to watch the three
wedding-parties coming down the street, each accelerating its pace
till it came to be a sort of race between them up to the church-door,
in order to secure the best dancing-place. The ground being rough
and slanting, there was only one spot where anything like a flat
dancing-floor could be obtained; and the winning party at once securing
this enviable position, the others had to put up with an inclined
plane, with a few hillocks obstructing their ball-room _parquet_.
The eight to ten couples belonging to each wedding-party are enclosed
in a ring of by-standers, each rival band of music playing away with
heroic disregard for the scorched ears of the audience. “Walser!” calls
out the first group; “Polka!” roars the second—for it is a point of
honor that each party display a noble independence in taking its own
line of action; and if, out of mere coincidence, two of the bands
happen to strike up the self-same tune, one of them will be sure to
change abruptly to something totally different, as soon as aware of the
unfortunate mistake—the caterwauling effect produced by this system
baffling all description. “This is nothing at all,” said the pastor,
from whose garden I was overlooking the scene, laughing at the dismay
with which I endeavored to stop my ears. “Sometimes we have eight or
ten weddings at a time, each with its own fiddlers—that is something
worth hearing indeed!”
The rest of this second day is spent much in the same way as the former
one, only this time it is at the house of the bridegroom’s parents.
In some places it is usual on this day for the young couple,
accompanied by the wedding-party, to drive back to the house of the
bride’s parents in order to fetch her _truhe_—viz., the painted wooden
coffer in which her trousseau has been stored. The young wife remains
sitting on the cart, while her husband goes in and fetches the coffer.
Then he returns once more, and addresses the following speech to his
mother-in-law: “It is not unknown to me, dearest mother, that you have
prepared various articles, at the toil of your hands, for your dearest
child, for which may you be heartily thanked; and may God in future
continue to bless your labor, and give you health and strength to
accomplish the same.
“But as it has become known to me that the coffer containing your dear
child’s effects has got a lock, and as to every lock there must needs
be a key, so have I come to beg you to give me this key, in order that
we may be enabled to take what we require from out the coffer.”[18]
Among the customs attached to this first day of wedded life is that of
breaking the distaff. If the young matron can succeed in doing so at
one stroke across her knee, she will be sure to have strong and healthy
sons born of her wedlock; if not, then she has but girls to expect.
The third day is called the finishing-up day, each family assembling
its own friends and relations to consume the provisions remaining over
from the former banquets, and at the same time to wash up the cooking
utensils and crockery, restoring whatever has been borrowed from
neighbors in the shape of plates, jugs, etc.—the newly married couple
joining the entertainment, now at the one, now at the other house.
This day is the close of the wedding festivities, which have kept both
families in a state of bustle and turmoil for fully a week. Everything
now returns to every-day order and regularity, the young couple usually
taking up their abode in a small back room of the house of the young
man’s parents, putting off till the following spring the important
business of building their own house. Dancing and feasting are now at
an end, and henceforth the earnest of life begins, though it is usual
to say that “only after they have licked a stone of salt together” can
a proper understanding exist between husband and wife.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] St. Catherine is throughout Germany the patroness of old
maids—likewise in France, “coiffer la Sainte Catherine.”
[15] Out of the several slightly different versions of this song to be
found in different districts I have selected those verses which seemed
most intelligible.
[16] Two fir-trees were often planted before Saxon peasant houses.
[17] So in the Altmark the newly married couple used to be served with
a soup composed of cattle-fodder, hay, beans, oats, etc., to cause the
farm animals to thrive.
[18] In Sweden the mother takes her seat on the coffer containing her
daughter’s effects, and refuses to part with it till the son-in-law has
ransomed it with money.
CHAPTER XV.
THE SAXONS: BIRTH AND INFANCY.
By-and-by, when a few months have passed over the heads of the newly
married couple, and the young matron becomes aware that the prophecies
pointed at by the broken distaff and the doll’s cradle are likely to
come true, she is carefully instructed as to the conduct she must
observe in order to insure the well-being of herself and her child.
In the first place, she must never conceal her state nor deny it, when
interrogated on the subject; for if she do so, her child will have
difficulty in learning to speak; nor may she wear beads round her neck,
for that would cause the infant to be strangled at its birth. Carrying
pease or beans in her apron will produce malignant eruptions, and
sweeping a chimney makes the child narrow-breasted.
On no account must she be suffered to pull off her husband’s boots,
nor to hand him a glowing coal to light his pipe, both these actions
entailing misfortune. In driving to market she may not sit with her
back to the horses, nor ever drink at the well out of a wooden bucket.
Likewise, her intercourse with the pigsty must be carefully regulated;
for should she, at any time, listen over-attentively to the grunting
of pigs, her child will have a deep grunting voice; and if she kick
the swine or push one of them away with her foot, the infant will
have bristly hair on its back. Hairs on the face will be the result
of beating a dog or cat, and twins the consequence of eating double
cherries or sitting at the corner of the table.
During this time she may not stand godmother to any other child, or
else she will lose her own baby, which will equally be sure to die if
she walk round a new-made grave.
If any one unexpectedly throw a flower at the woman who expects to
become a mother, and hit her with it on the face, her child will have a
mole at the same place touched by the flower.
Should, however, the young matron imprudently have neglected any of
these rules, and have cause to fear that an evil spell has been cast
on her child, she has several very efficacious recipes for undoing
the harm. Thus if she sit on the door-step, with her feet resting on
a broom, for at least five minutes at a time, on several consecutive
Fridays, thinking the while of her unborn babe, it will be released
from the impending doom; or else let her sit there on Sundays, when the
bells are ringing, with her hair hanging unplaited down her back; or
climb up the stair of the belfry tower and look down at the sinking sun.
When the moment of the birth is approaching, the windows must be
carefully hung over with sheets or cloths, to prevent witches from
entering; but all locks and bolts should, on the contrary, be opened,
else the event will be retarded.
If the new-born infant be weakly, it is usual to put yolks of eggs,
bran, sawdust, or a glass of old wine into its first bath.
Very important for the future luck and prosperity of the child is the
day of the week and month on which it happens to have been born.
Sunday is, of course, the luckiest day, and twelve o’clock at noon,
when the bells are ringing, the most favorable hour for beginning life.
Wednesday children are _schlabberkinder_—that is, chatterboxes.
Friday bairns are unfortunate, but in some districts those born on
Saturday are considered yet more unlucky; while again, in other places
Saturday’s children are merely supposed to grow up dirty.
Whoever is born on a stormy night will die of a violent death.
The full or growing moon is favorable; but the decreasing moon produces
weakly, unhealthy babes.
All children born between Easter and Pentecost are more or less lucky,
unless they happen to have come on one of the distinctly unlucky days,
of which I here give a list:
January 1st, 2d, 6th, 11th, 17th, 18th.
February 8th, 14th, 17th.
March 1st, 3d, 13th, 15th.
April 1st, 3d, 15th, 17th, 18th.
May 8th, 10th, 17th, 30th.
June 1st, 17th.
July 1st, 5th, 6th, 14th.
August 1st, 3d, 17th, 18th.
September 2d, 15th, 18th, 30th.
October 15th, 17th.
November 1st, 7th, 11th.
December 1st, 6th, 11th, 15th.
I leave it to more penetrating spirits to decide whether these
seemingly capricious figures are regulated on some occult cabalistic
system, the secret workings of which have baffled my understanding, so
that I am at a loss to explain why January and April have the greatest,
June and October the least, proportion of unlucky days allotted to
them; and why the 1st and 17th of each month are mostly pernicious,
while, barring the 30th of May and September, no date after the 18th is
ever in bad odor.
Both mother and child must be carefully watched over during the first
few days after the birth, and all evil influences averted. The visit
of another woman who has herself a babe at the breast may deprive
the young mother of her milk; and whosoever enters the house without
sitting down will assuredly carry off the infant’s sleep.
If the child be subject to frequent and apparently groundless fits of
crying, that is proof positive that it has been bewitched—either by
some one whose eyebrows are grown together, and who consequently has
the evil eye, or else by one of the invisible evil spirits whose power
is great before the child has been taken to church. But even a person
with quite insignificant eyebrows may convey injury by unduly praising
the child’s good looks, unless the mother recollect to spit on the
ground as soon as the words are spoken.
Here are a few specimens of the recipes _en vogue_ for counteracting
such evil spells:
“Place nine straws, which must be counted backward from nine to one, in
a jug of water drawn from the river _with_ the current, not _against_
it; throw into the water some wood-parings from off the cradle, the
door-step, and the four corners of the room in which the child was
born, and add nine pinches of ashes, likewise counted backward. Boil up
together, and pour into a large basin, leaving the pot upside down in
it. If the boiling water draws itself up into the jug” (as of course it
will), “that is proof positive that the child is bewitched. Now moisten
the child’s forehead with some of the water before it has time to cool,
and give it (still counting backward) nine drops to drink.”
The child that has been bewitched may likewise be held above a red-hot
ploughshare, on which a glass of wine has been poured; or else a glass
of water, in which a red-hot horseshoe has been placed, given to drink
in spoonfuls.
In every village there used to be (and may still occasionally be
found) old women who made a regular and profitable trade out of
preparing the water which is to undo such evil spells.
The Saxon mother is careful not to leave her child alone till it
has been baptized, for fear of malignant spirits, who may steal it
away, leaving an uncouth elf in its place. Whenever a child grows up
clumsy and heavy, with large head, wide mouth, stump nose, and crooked
legs, the gossips are ready to swear that it has been changed in the
cradle—more especially if it prove awkward and slow in learning to
speak. To guard against such an accident, it is recommended to mothers
obliged to leave their infants alone to place beneath the pillow either
a prayer-book, a broom, a loaf of bread, or a knife stuck point upward.
Very cruel remedies have sometimes been resorted to in order to force
the evil spirits to restore the child they have stolen and take back
their own changeling. For instance, the unfortunate little creature
suspected of being an elf was beaten with a thorny branch until quite
bloody, and then left sitting astride on a hedge for an hour. It was
then supposed that the spirits would secretly bring back the stolen
child.
The infant must not be suffered to look at itself in the glass till
after the baptism, nor should it be held near an open window. A very
efficacious preservative against all sorts of evil spells is to hang
round the child’s neck a little triangular bag stuffed with grains of
incense, wormwood, and various aromatic herbs, and with an adder’s
head embroidered outside. A gold coin sewed into the cap is also much
recommended.
Two godfathers and two godmothers are generally appointed at Saxon
peasant christenings, and it is customary that the one couple should
be old and the other young; but in no case should a husband and wife
figure as godparents at the same baptism, but each one of the quartette
must belong to a different family. This is the general custom, but in
some districts the rule demands two godfathers and one godmother for a
boy, two godmothers and one godfather for a girl.
If the parents have previously lost other children, then the infant
should not be carried out by the door in going to church, but handed
out by the window and brought back in the same way. It should be
carried through the broadest street, never by narrow lanes or by-ways,
else it will learn thieving.
The godparents must on no account look round on their way to church,
and the first person met by the christening procession will decide the
sex of the next child to be born—a boy if it be a man.
If two children are baptized out of the same water, one of them is
sure to die; and if several boys are christened in succession in the
same church without the line being broken by a girl, there will be war
in the land as soon as they are grown up. Many girls christened in
succession denotes fruitful vintages for the country when they shall
have attained a marriageable age.
If the child sleep through the christening ceremony, it will be pious
and good-tempered—but if it cries, bad-tempered or unlucky; therefore
the first question asked by the parents on the party’s return from
church is generally, “Was it a quiet baptism?” and if such has not been
the case, the sponsors are apt to conceal the truth.
In some places the christening procession returning to the house finds
the door closed. After knocking for some time in vain, a voice from
within summons the godfather to name seven bald men of the parish. This
having been answered, a further question is asked as to the gospel read
in church, and only on receiving this reply, “Let the little children
come to me,” is the door flung open, saying, “Come in; you have
hearkened attentively to the words of the Lord.”
The sponsors next inquiring, “Where shall we put the child?” receive
this answer:
“On the bunker let it be,
It will jump then like a flea.
Put it next upon the hearth,
Heavy gold it will be worth.
On the floor then let it sleep,
That it once may learn to sweep.
On the table in a dish,
Grow it will then like a fish.”
After holding it successively in each of the places named, the baby is
finally put back into the cradle, while the guests prepare to enjoy
the _tauf schmaus_, or christening banquet, to which each person has
been careful to bring a small contribution in the shape of eggs, bacon,
fruit, or cakes; the godparents do not fail to come, each laden with a
bottle of good wine besides some other small gift for the child.
The feast is noisy and merry, and many are the games and jokes
practised on these occasions. One of these, called the _badspringen_
(jumping the bath), consists in placing a washing trough or bath upside
down on the ground with a lighted candle upon it. All the young women
present are then invited to jump over without upsetting or putting
out the light. Those successful in this evolution will be mothers of
healthy boys. If they are bashful and refuse to jump, or awkward enough
to upset and put out the candle, they will be childless or have only
girls.
The _spiesstanz_, or spit dance, is also usual at christening feasts.
Two roasting-spits are laid on the ground crosswise, as in the
sword-dance, and the movements executed much in the same manner.
Sometimes it is the grandfather of the new-born infant, who, proud of
his agility, opens the performance singing:
“Purple plum so sweet,
See my nimble feet,
How I jump and slide,
How I hop and glide.
Look how well I dance,
See how high I prance.
Purple plum so sweet,
See my nimble feet.”
But if the grandfather be old and feeble, and the godfathers unwilling
to exert themselves, then it is usually the midwife who, for a small
consideration, undertakes the dancing.
It is not customary for the young mother to be seated at table along
with the guests; and even though she be well and hearty enough to have
baked the cakes and milked the cows on that same day, etiquette demands
that she should play the interesting invalid and lie abed till the
feasting is over.
Full four weeks after the birth of her child must she stay at home,
and durst not step over the threshold of her court-yard, even though
she has resumed all her daily occupations within the first week of the
event. “I may not go outside till my time is out; the Herr Vater would
be sorely angered if he saw me,” is the answer I have often received
from a woman who declined to come out on the road. Neither may she spin
during these four weeks, lest her child should suffer from dizziness.
When the time of this enforced retirement has elapsed, the young mother
repairs to church to be blessed by the pastor; but before so doing she
is careful to seek out the nearest well and throw down a piece of
bread into its depths, probably as an offering to the _brunnenfrau_ who
resides in every well, and is fond of luring little children down to
her.
With these first four weeks the greatest perils of infancy are
considered to be at an end, but no careful mother will fail to observe
the many little customs and regulations which alone will insure the
further health and well-being of her child. Thus she will always
remember that the baby may only be washed between sunrise and sunset,
and that the bath water should not be poured out into the yard at a
place where any one can step over it, which would entail death or
sickness, or at the very least deprive the infant of its sleep.
Two children which cannot yet talk must never be suffered to kiss each
other, or both will be backward in speech.
A book laid under the child’s pillow will make it an apt scholar; and
the water in which a puppy dog has been washed, if used for the bath,
will cure all skin diseases.
Whoever steps over a child as it lies on the ground will cause it to
die within a month. Other prognostics of death are to rock an empty
cradle, to make the baby dance in its bath, or to measure it with a
yard measure before it can walk.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE SAXONS: DEATH AND BURIAL.
In olden times, when the Almighty used still to show himself on earth,
the people say that every one knew beforehand exactly the day and hour
of his death.
Thus one day the Creator in the course of his wanderings came across
a peasant who was mending his garden paling in a careless, slovenly
manner.
“Why workest thou so carelessly?” asked the Lord, and received this
answer:
“Why should I make it any better? I have got only one year left to
live, and it will last till then.”
Hearing which God grew angry, and said,
“Henceforward no man shall know the day or hour of his death; thou art
the last one who has known it.” And since that time we are all kept in
ignorance of our death-hour; therefore should every man live as though
he were to die in the next hour, and work as if he were to live forever.
Death to the Saxon peasant appears in the light of a treacherous enemy
who must be met with open resistance, and may either be conquered by
courageous opposition or conciliated with a bribe. “He has put off
death with a slice of bread” is said of a man who has survived some
great danger.
When the first signs of an approaching illness declare themselves in a
man, all his friends are strenuous in advising him to hold out against
it—not to let himself go, but to grapple with this foe which has
seized him unawares. Even though all the symptoms of typhus-fever be
already upon him, though his head be burning like fire and his limbs
heavy as lead, he is yet exhorted to bear up against it, and on no
account to lie down, for that would be a concession to the enemy.
In this way many a man goes about with death upon his face, determined
not to give in, till at last he drops down senseless in the field or
yard where he has been working. Even then his family are not disposed
to let him rest. With well-meant but mistaken kindness they endeavor
to rouse him by shouting in his ear. He must be made to wake up and
walk about, or it will be all over with him; and not for the world
would they send for a doctor, who can only be regarded as an omen of
approaching death.[19]
Some old woman, versed in magic formulas and learned in the decoction
of herbs and potions, is hastily summoned to the bedside, and the
unfortunate man would probably be left to perish without intelligent
advice, unless the pastor, hearing of his illness, takes upon himself
to send for the nearest physician.
By the time the doctor arrives the illness has made rapid strides, and
most likely the assistance comes too late. The first care of the doctor
on entering the room will be to remove the warm fur cap and the heavy
blankets, which are wellnigh stifling the patient, and order him to
be undressed and comfortably laid in his bed. He prescribes cooling
compresses and a medicine to be taken at regular intervals, but shakes
his head and gives little hope of recovery.
Already this death is regarded as a settled thing in the village; for
many of the gossips now remember to have heard the owl shriek in the
preceding night, or there has been an unusual howling of dogs just
about midnight. Some remember how a flight of crows flew cawing over
the village but yesterday, which means a death, for it is meat that the
crows are crying for; or else the cock has been heard to crow after
six in the evening; or the loaves were cracked in the oven on last
baking-day. Others call to mind how over-merry the old man had been
four weeks ago, when his youngest grandchild was christened, and that
is ever a sign of approaching decease. “And only a week ago,” says
another village authority, “when we buried old N—— N——, there was
an amazing power of dust round the grave, and the Herr Vater sneezed
twice during his sermon; and that, as every one knows, infallibly means
another funeral before long. Mark my words, ere eight days have passed
he will be lying under the nettles!”
“So it is,” chimes in another gossip. “He will hear the cuckoo cry no
more.”
The village carpenter, who has long been out of work, now hangs about
the street in hopes of a job. “How is the old man?” he anxiously
inquires of a neighbor.
“The preacher has just gone in to knock off the old sinner’s irons,” is
the irreverent reply, at which the carpenter brightens up, hoping that
he may soon be called in to make the “fir-wood coat,” for he has a heap
of damaged boards lying by which he fain would get rid of.
Sometimes, however, it is the thrifty peasant himself, who, knowing the
ways of village carpenters, and foreseeing this inevitable contingency,
has taken care to provide himself with a well-made solid coffin years
before there was any probability of its coming into use. He has
himself chosen out the boards, tested their soundness, and driven a
hard bargain for his purchase, laying himself down in the coffin to
assure himself of the length being sufficient. For many years this
useless piece of furniture has been standing in the loft covered with
dust and cobwebs, and serving, perhaps, as a receptacle for old iron
or discarded boots; and now it is the dying man himself who, during a
passing interval of consciousness, directs that his coffin should be
brought down and cleaned out; his glassy eye recovering a momentary
brightness as he congratulates himself on his wise forethought.
Death is indeed approaching with rapid strides. Only two spoonfuls of
the prescribed medicine has the patient swallowed. “Take it away,” he
says, when he has realized his situation—“take it away, and keep it
carefully for the next person who falls ill. It can do me no good, and
it is a pity to waste it on me, for I feel that my time has come. Send
for the preacher, that I may make my peace with the Almighty.”
The last dispositions as to house and property have been made in the
presence of the pastor or preacher. The house and yard are to belong to
the youngest son, as is the general custom among the Saxons; the eldest
son or daughter is to be otherwise provided for. The small back room
belongs to the widow, as jointure lodging for the rest of her life;
likewise a certain proportion of grain and fruit is assured to her. The
exact spot of the grave is indicated, and two ducats are to be given
to the Herr Vater if he will undertake to preach a handsome funeral
oration, and to compose a suitable epitaph for the tombstone.
When it becomes evident that the last death-struggle is approaching,
the mattress is withdrawn from under the dying man, for, as every one
knows, he will expire more gently if laid upon straw.
Scarcely has the breath left his body than all the last clothes he has
worn are taken off and given to a gypsy. The corpse, after being washed
and shaved, is dressed in bridal attire—the self-same clothes once
donned on the wedding-morning long ago, and which ever since have been
lying by, carefully folded and strewn with sprigs of lavender, in the
large painted _truhe_ (bunker), waiting for the day when their turn
must come round again. Possibly they now prove a somewhat tight fit;
for the man of sixty has considerably developed his proportions since
he wore these same clothes forty years ago, and no doubt it will be
necessary to make various slits in the garments in order to enable them
to fulfil their office.
The coffin is prepared to receive the body by a sheet being spread over
a layer of wood-shavings; for the head a little pillow, stuffed with
dried flowers and aromatic herbs, which in most houses are kept ready
prepared for such contingencies. In sewing this pillow great care must
be taken not to make any knot upon the thread, which would hinder the
dead man from resting in his grave, and likewise prevent his widow
from marrying again; also, no one should be suffered to smell at the
funeral wreaths, or else they will irretrievably lose their sense of
smell.
A new-dug grave should not if possible stand open overnight, but only
be dug on the day of the funeral itself.
An hour before the funeral, the ringer begins to toll the _seelenpuls_
(soul’s pulse), as it is called; but the sexton is careful to pause in
the ringing when the clock is about to strike, for “if the hour should
strike into the bell” another death will be the consequence.
Standing before the open grave, the mourners give vent to their grief,
which, even when true and heartfelt, is often expressed with such
quaint realism as to provoke a smile:
“My dearest husband,” wails a disconsolate widow, “why hast thou gone
away? I had need of thee to look after the farm, and there was plenty
room for thee at our fireside. My God, is it right of thee to take my
support away? On whom shall I now lean?”
_The children near their dead mother._—“Mother, mother, who will care
for us now? Shall we live within strange doors?”
_A mother bewailing her only son._—“O God, thou hast had no pity! Even
the Emperor did not take my son away to be a soldier. Thou art less
merciful than the Emperor!”
_Another mother weeping over two dead children._—“What a misfortune is
mine, O God! If I had lost two young foals, at least their hides would
have been left to me!” And the children, standing by the open grave of
their father, cry out, “Oh, father, we shall never forget thee! Take
our thanks for all the good thou hast done to us during thy lifetime,
as well as for the earthly goods thou hast left behind!”
The banquet succeeding the obsequies is in some places still called the
_tor_—perhaps in reference to the old god Thor, who with his hammer
presides alike over marriages and funerals.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] On the rare occasions when the Saxon peasant consults a physician,
he is determined to reap the utmost advantage from the situation.
An amusing instance of this was related to me by a doctor to whom
a peasant had come for the purpose of being bled. Deeming that the
patient had lost sufficient blood, the doctor was about to close the
wound, when the Saxon interposed. “Since I have come this long way to
be bled, doctor,” he remonstrated, “you might as well let ten kreuzers’
worth more blood flow!”
CHAPTER XVII.
THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR ORIGIN.
“It is a fine country, but there are dreadfully many Roumanians,” was
the verdict of a respectable Saxon, who accompanied his words with
a deep sigh and a mournful shake of the head. Evidently the worthy
man thought necessary to adopt a deprecatory tone in alluding to
these objectionable people, as though the presence of Roumanians in
a landscape were matter for apology, like the admission of rats in
a stable, or bugs in a bedstead. To an unprejudiced outsider, it is
certainly somewhat amusing to observe the feelings with which the three
principal races inhabiting this country regard each other: thus, to
the Hungarian and the Saxon the Roumanian is but simple, unqualified
vermin; while the Saxon regards the Magyar as a barbarian, which
compliment the latter returns by considering the Saxon a boor; and the
poor Roumanian, even while cringing before his Saxon and Hungarian
masters, is taught by his religion to regard as unclean all those who
stand outside his faith.
Briefly to sum up the respective merits of these three races, it may be
allowable to define them as representing manhood in the past, present,
and future tenses.
The Saxons _have been_ men, and right good men, too, in their day;
but that day has gone by, and they are now rapidly degenerating
into mere fossil antiquities, physically deteriorated from constant
intermarriage, and morally opposed to any sort of progress involving
amalgamation with the surrounding races.
The Hungarians _are_ men in the full sense of the word, perhaps all the
more so that they are a nation of soldiers rather than men of science
and letters.
The Roumanians _will be_ men a few generations hence, when they have
had time to shake off the habits of slavery and have learned to
recognize their own value. There is a wealth of unraised treasure, of
abilities in the raw block, of uncultured talent, lying dormant in this
ignorant peasantry, who seem but lately to have begun to understand
that they need not always bend their neck beneath the yoke of other
masters, nor are necessarily born to slavery and humiliation. In face
of their rapidly increasing population, of the thirst for knowledge and
the powerful spirit of progress which have arisen among them of late
years, it is scarcely hazardous to prophesy that this people have a
great future before them, and that a day will come when, other nations
having degenerated and spent their strength, these descendants of the
ancient Romans, rising phœnix-like from their ashes, will step forward
with a whole fund of latent power and virgin material to rule as
masters where formerly they have crouched as slaves.
Two popular legends current in Transylvania may here find a place, as
somewhat humorously defining the national characteristics of the three
races just alluded to.
“When God had decreed to banish Adam and Eve from Paradise because
they had sinned against his laws, he first deputed his Hungarian angel
Gabor (Gabriel) to chase them out of the garden of Eden. But Adam and
Eve were already wise, for they had eaten of the fruit of knowledge; so
they resolved to conciliate the angel by putting good cheer before him,
and inviting him to partake of it. In truth, the angel ate and drank
heartily of the good things on the table, and, after having eaten, he
had not the heart to repay his kind hosts for their hospitality by
chasing them out of Paradise, so he returned to heaven without having
executed his commission, and begged the Lord to send another in his
place, for he could not do it.
“Then God sent the Wallachian angel Florian, thinking he was less
fine-feeling and would execute the mission better. Adam and Eve were
sitting at table when the servant of the Lord entered, shod in leather
_opintschen_ (sandals) and with fur cap under his arm. After humbly
saluting, he told his errand. But Adam, on seeing the appearance of
this messenger, felt no more fear, and asked roughly, ‘Hast brought no
written warrant with thee?’ At this the angel Florian began to tremble,
turned round on the spot, and went back to heaven.
“Then the Lord became angry, and sent down the German Archangel
Michael. Adam and Eve were mightily terrified on seeing him, but
resolved to do their best to soften his heart; so they prepared for
him a sumptuous meal of his favorite dishes—ham-sausage, pickled
sauerkraut, beer, wine, and sweet mead. The German angel was highly
pleased, and played such a good knife and fork that Adam and Eve began
to feel light of heart again. But hardly had the archangel eaten his
fill when, rising from the table, he swung his flaming sword overhead
and thundered forth to his terrified hosts, ‘Now pack yourselves off!’
In vain did our first parents beg and sue for mercy; nothing served to
touch the heart of the inflexible German angel, who, without further
ado, drove them both out of Paradise.”
The second legend relates to the Holy Sepulchre, and tells us how a
deputation, consisting of a Hungarian, a Saxon, and a Wallachian, was
once sent by the Transylvanian Diet to Palestine in order to recover
the Saviour’s body from the infidels. “They started on their journey
full of hope, but when they had reached Jerusalem they found the
sepulchre guarded by a strong enforcement of Roman soldiers. What was
now to be done? was the question debated between them. The Hungarian
was for cutting into the soldiers at once with his sword, but the canny
Saxon held him back and said, ‘They are stronger than we, and we might
receive blows; let us rather attempt to barter.’ The Wallachian only
winked with one eye and whispered, ‘Let us wait till nightfall, and
then we can steal the body.’”
* * * * *
There has been of late years so much learned discussion about the
origin of this Roumanian people that it were presumption, in face
of the erudite authorities enlisted on either side, to advance any
independent opinion on the subject. German writers, especially Saxons,
have been strenuous in sneering down all claims to Roman extraction,
and contending that whatever Roman elements remained over after their
evacuation of the territory must long since have been swallowed up in
the great rush of successive nations which passed over the land in the
early part of the Middle Ages. Roumanian writers, on the contrary,
are fond of laying great stress on the direct Roman lineage which it
is their pride to believe in, sometimes, however, injuring their own
cause by over-anxiety to claim too much—laying too little stress
on the admixture of Slave blood, which is as surely a fundamental
ingredient of the race. One of the most enlightened Roumanian authors,
Joan Slavici, states the case more accurately in saying that the
ethnographical importance of the Roumanians does not lie in the fact
of their being descendants of the ancient Romans, nor in that of the
long-vanished Dacian race having been Romanized by the conquerors,
but solely and entirely therein; that this people, placed between two
sharply contrasting races, form an important connecting link in the
chain of European tribes.
The classical type of feature so often to be met with among Roumanian
peasants of both sexes pleads strongly in favor of the theory of Roman
origin; and if in a former chapter I compared the features of Saxon
peasants to those of Noah’s-ark figures, rudely cut out of the very
coarsest wood, the Roumanians as often remind me of a type of face
chiefly to be met with on cameo ornaments or ancient signet-rings. If
we take at random a score of individuals from any Roumanian village, we
cannot fail to find a goodly choice of classical profiles, worthy to be
immortalized on agate, onyx, or jasper, like a handful of antique gems
which have been strewn broadcast over the land.
Wallack, or Wlach, by which name this people was generally designated
up to the year ’48, points equally to Roman extraction—Wallack being
but another version of the appellations Welsh, Welch, Wallon, etc.,
given by Germans to all people native of Italy. It may, however, not be
superfluous here to mention that at no period whatever did these people
describe themselves otherwise than as “Romāns,” Roumanians, and would
have been as little likely to speak of themselves as Wallacks as would
be an American to call himself a Yankee, or a Londoner to designate
himself as a cockney. As far as I can make out, a certain sense of
opprobrium seems to be attached to this word Wallack as applied by
strangers, explainable perhaps by the fact that the appellation Wlach
was formerly used to describe all people subjugated by the Romans.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR RELIGION, POPAS, AND CHURCHES.
In order at all to understand the Roumanian peasant, we must first
of all begin by understanding his religion, which alone gives us the
clew to the curiously contrasting shades of his complicated character.
Monsieur De Gérando, writing of the Wallacks some forty years ago, says,
“Aujourd’hui leur seul mobile est la religion, si on peut donner ce nom
à l’ensemble de leurs pratiques superstitieuses;” and another author,
with equal accuracy, remarks that “the whole life of a Wallack is taken
up in devising talismans against the devil.”
Historians are very much divided as to the date of the Roumanians’
conversion to Christianity, for while some consider this to have only
taken place in the time of Patriarch Photius (in the ninth century),
others are of opinion that they embraced Christianity as early as the
third century. It is not improbable that during the Roman occupation of
Transylvania in the second and third centuries Christians may have come
hither, and so imparted their religion to the ancient inhabitants with
whom they intermingled.
Up to the end of the seventeenth century all the Transylvanian
Roumanians belonged to the Greek Schismatic Church. In the year 1698,
however, the Austrian Government succeeded in inducing a great portion
of the people to embrace the Greek united faith, and acknowledge the
supremacy of the Pope; and at the present day the numbers of the two
confessions in Transylvania are pretty equally balanced, with only a
small proportion in favor of the Schismatic Church.
The united Roumanians in Transylvania are subject to an archbishop
residing at Blasendorf, while those of the Greek Schismatic Church
stand under another archbishop, whose seat is at Hermanstadt.
Old chronicles of the thirteenth century make mention of the Wallacks
as a people “which, though professing the Christian faith, is yet given
to the practice of manifold pagan rites and customs wholly at variance
with Christianity;” and even to-day the Roumanians are best described
by the paradoxical definition of Christian-pagans, or pagan-Christians.
True, the Roumanian peasant will never fail to uncover his head
whenever he passes by a way-side cross, but his salutation to the
rising sun will be at least equally profound; and if he goes to church
and abstains from work on the Lord’s Day, it is by no means certain
whether he does not regard the Friday (Vinere), dedicated to Paraschiva
(Venus), as the holier day of the two. The list of other unchristian
feast-days is lengthy, and still lengthier that of Christian festivals,
in whose celebration pagan rites may yet be traced.
Whoever buries his dead without placing a coin in the hand of
the corpse is regarded as a pagan by the orthodox Roumanian.
“_Nu-i-de-legea-noastra_”—he is not of our law—he says of such a one;
and whosoever stands outside the Roumanian religion, be he Christian,
pagan, Jew, or Mohammedan, is invariably regarded as unclean, and
consequently whatever comes in contact with any such individual is
unclean likewise.
The Roumanian language has a special word to define this
uncleanness—_spurcat_—which corresponds somewhat to the _koscher_ and
_unkoscher_ of the Jews.
If any animal fall into a well of drinking-water, then the well
forthwith becomes _spurcat_, and _spurcat_ likewise whoever drinks of
this water. If it be a large animal, such as a calf or goat, which
has fallen into the well, then the whole water must be bailed out;
and should this fail to satisfy the conscience of any ultra-orthodox
proprietor, then the popa must be called in to read a mass over the
spot where perhaps a donkey has found a watery grave. But when it is a
man who has been drowned there, no further rehabilitation is possible
for the unlucky well, which must therefore be filled up and discarded
as quite too hopelessly _spurcat_.
Every orthodox Roumanian household possesses three different classes of
cooking and eating utensils: unclean, clean for the meat-days, and the
cleanest of all for fast-days.
The cleansing of a vessel which has, through some accident, become
_spurcat_ is only conceded in the case of very large and expensive
articles, such as barrels and tubs; copious ablutions of holy-water,
besides thorough scouring, scraping, and rubbing, being resorted
to in such cases. All other utensils which do not come under this
denomination must simply be thrown away, or at best employed for
feeding the domestic animals. The Roumanian who does not strictly
observe all these regulations is himself _spurcat_.
This same measure he applies to all individuals whom he considers to
be clean or unclean, according to their observance of these rules. The
uncleanliness, according to him, does not lie in the individual, but in
his laws, which fail to enforce cleanliness; the law it is, therefore,
which is unclean, _lege spurcat_, which, for the Roumanian, is
synonymous with unchristian. For instance, a man who eats horse-flesh
is by him regarded as a pagan.
This recognition of the uncleanliness of most of his fellow-creatures
is, however, wholly independent of either hatred or contempt on the
part of the Roumanian, who, on the contrary, shows much interest in
foreign countries and habits; and when he wishes to affirm the high
character of a stranger, he says of him that he is a man who keeps his
own law—_tine la legea lui_—spite of which the Roumanian will refuse
to wear the coat or eat off the plate of this honorable stranger, and
would regard any such familiarity as a deadly sin.
The idea so strongly rooted in the Roumanian mind, that they alone are
Christians, and that, consequently, no man can be a Christian without
being also a Roumanian, seems to imply that there was a time when the
two words were identical for them, and that, surrounded for long by
pagans with whom they could hold no sort of community, they lacked all
knowledge of other existing Christian races.
On the other hand, these people are curiously liberal towards strangers
in the matter of religion, allowing each one, whatsoever be his
confession, to enter their churches and receive their sacraments. No
Roumanian popa durst refuse to administer a sacrament to whosoever may
apply to him, be he Catholic, Protestant, Jew, or pagan, provided he
submits to receive it in the manner prescribed by the Oriental Church.
So to-day, as six hundred years ago, the popa cannot, without incurring
scandal, refuse to bury a Jew, or administer the sacrament to a dying
infidel; his church must be open to all mankind, and all are welcome to
avail themselves of its blessings and privileges.
This liberality in religious matters cannot, however, be reversed, and
no true Roumanian ever consents to receive a sacrament from a priest
of a different confession; and though he may occasionally assist at a
Protestant or Catholic service, he conforms himself to no foreign forms
of worship, but is careful to comport himself precisely as though he
were in his own church. He does not mind joining a Catholic procession
on occasion, but no power on earth can induce him to take part in a
strange funeral.
* * * * *
The position occupied by the Roumanian clergyman towards his flock
is such a peculiar one that it deserves a special notice. Though his
influence over his people is unlimited, it is in nowise dependent
on his personal character. Unlike the Saxon pastor, it is quite
superfluous for the popa to present in his person a model of the
virtues he is in the habit of describing from the altar. He may, for
his part, be drunken, dishonest, and profligate to his heart’s content,
without thereby losing his prestige as spiritual head. Like the Indian
Bramins, his official character is absolutely intangible, and not to
be shaken by any private misdemeanors; and the Roumanian proverb which
says, “_face zice popa dar unce face el_”—that is to say, “do as the
popa tells you, but do not act as he does”—describes his attitude with
perfect accuracy. Only the popa has the privilege of wearing a beard,
as he alone is privileged to indulge in certain pet vices which it is
his mission officially to condemn, and, like the virtue of charity,
this beard may often be said literally to cover a very great multitude
of sins.
These Roumanian popas, with their thick curly beards, long flowing
garments, and wide-brimmed hats, used to give me the impression of
a set of jolly apostles, such as we sometimes see depicted on old
church-windows; not infrequently the extreme joviality of their
appearance threatening to overpower the apostolic character altogether,
and completing the simile by suggesting further ideas of glorious
crimson sunsets deepening each tint of the mellow-stained glass.
Mr. Boner, in his work on Transylvania, mentions an instance of a group
of Roumanian villagers who were seen on a Saturday afternoon dragging
their sorely resisting spiritual head in the direction of the church.
On being asked what they were about, the peasants explained that they
were going to lock him up till Sunday morning, else he would be too
drunk to say mass for the congregation. “When church is over we shall
let him out again.” From personal observation I have no doubt of the
veracity of this story, having come across more than one Roumanian
village popa who would have been none the worse for a little such
judicious confinement.
Although of late years, thanks chiefly to the enlightened efforts
of the late Archbishop Schaguna, much has been done to raise the
moral standard of the Roumanian clergy, yet there remains still much
to do before the prevailing coarseness, brutality, and ignorance
too often characterizing this class can be removed. At present the
average village popa is simply a peasant with a beard, and is not
necessarily a particularly respected or respectable individual. Many
well-authenticated cases are told of popas who could not write or read,
and who betrayed their ignorance by holding the book of Gospels upside
down.
On week-days the popa goes about his agricultural duties like any other
peasant, digging in the garden or going behind the plough as a matter
of course; his wife is a simple peasant woman, and her children run
about as dirty and unkempt as any other brats in the village.
On one occasion when I had visited a Roumanian church I dropped twenty
kreuzers (about fourpence) into the hand of the peasant lass who had
unlocked the door for me. She accepted the coin with humble gratitude,
but I felt myself to have been guilty of a terrible _gaucherie_ when I
subsequently discovered the young lady to be no other than Madame Popa
herself!
Towards any one of the higher classes the popa, as a rule, is crouching
and obsequious, humbly uncovering his head, and hardly daring to take
a seat when offered. An old Hungarian gentleman told me of a Roumanian
popa who, when requested to be seated, declined so doing, as he
considerately observed that he should not like to distress the noble
gentleman by leaving vermin on his furniture.
* * * * *
The Roumanian churches offer a pleasant contrast to the bleak,
uncompromising appearance of the Saxon ones. Even when architecturally
not remarkable, they are invariably covered with a profusion of
ornament and decoration of extremely artistic effect. Few places
of worship appeal so strongly to the imagination as these Oriental
buildings, which, without as well as within, are one mass of warm soft
coloring. The belfry tower is encircled by a procession of celestial
beings, and the walls divided off into little arched niches beneath
the roof, each of which harbors some quaint Byzantine saint, with
pale golden aureole and shadowy palm-branch. Though the outlines may
be somewhat primitive, and the laws of perspective but imperfectly
understood, nature, the greatest artist of all, has here stepped in to
complete the picture: summer showers and winter snows have mellowed
each tint, and blended together the color into perfect harmony.
The same style of ornament is repeated inside with increased effect;
for here the saintly legions which adorn the walls are brighter
and more vivid, stronger and fiercer looking, because in better
preservation. They seem to be the living originals of which those
others outside are but the pale ghosts, and appear to rush at us from
all sides as we enter the place, increasing in numbers as our eyesight
gets used to the dim, mysterious twilight let in by the narrow windows.
Not a corner but from which starts up some grinning devil, not a nook
but reveals some choleric-looking saint, till we feel ourselves to be
surrounded by a whole pageant of celestial and diabolical beings, only
distinguishable from one another by the respective fashions of their
head-gear—horns or halos, as the case may be.
These horned devils play a very important part in each Roumanian
church, where usually a large portion of the walls is given up to
representations of the place of eternal punishment. The poor Roumanian
peasant, whose daily life is often so wretched and struggling as hardly
to deserve that name, seems to derive considerable consolation from
anticipations of the day when the tables are to be turned, and the
hitherto despised poor shall receive an eternal crown. Thus the hapless
victims depicted as being marched off to the infernal regions under
the escort of several ferocious-looking demons armed with terrific
pitchforks, are invariably recruited from the ranks of the upper ten
thousand. They are all being conducted to their destination with
due regard for etiquette, and rigid observance of the laws of exact
precedence. First comes a row of kings, easily to be distinguished by
their golden crowns; then a procession of mitred bishops, followed by
a line of noblemen booted and spurred; while on the other side of the
wall a crowd of simple peasants and a group of shaven friars are being
warmly invited by St. Peter, key in hand, to step over the threshold of
the golden gate which leads to Paradise.
[Illustration: ARCHBISHOP SCHAGUNA.]
Each of these churches is divided into three sections: first, there
is the sanctuary, partitioned off by trellised gates, painted and
gilt, behind which the priest disappears at certain parts of the
ceremony; then, in the body of the church, up to the step approaching
the sanctuary, stand the men, and behind them, in a sort of outer
department connected by an archway, are the women, next to the door,
and close to the pictures of hell.
In the more primitive buildings there are rarely benches for the
congregation, but a curious sort of prong may be sometimes seen,
constructed out of the forked branch of a tree, and which, placed at
intervals along the walls, is intended to give support to feeble old
people unable to stand upright during a lengthy service.
It is a pretty sight to look on at the celebration of mass in any
Roumanian church, more especially in summer, when every matron and
maiden carries a bunch of sweet-scented flowers in her hand, and each
man has a similar nosegay stuck in the cap which he holds beneath his
arm. These flowers bestow an additional sprinkling of bright color over
the scene, and counteract any closeness in the atmosphere by their
pungent aromatic scent.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE ROUMANIANS: THEIR CHARACTER.
The Roumanian is very obstinate in character, and does not let himself
be easily persuaded. He does nothing without reflection, and often he
reflects so long that the time for action has passed. This slowness has
become proverbial, for the Saxon says, “God grant me the enlightenment
which the Roumanian always gets too late.” In the same proportion as he
is slow to make up his mind, he is also slow to change it. Frankness
is not regarded as a virtue, and the Roumanian language has no word
which directly expresses this quality. The Hungarians, on the contrary,
regard frankness and truth-speaking as a duty, and are therefore often
laughed at by their Roumanian neighbors, who consider as a fool any man
who injures himself by speaking the truth.
Of pride the Roumanian has little idea as yet; he has been too
long treated as a degraded and serf-like being, and the only word
approaching this characteristic would rather seem to express the
vanity of a handsome man who sees himself admired. Also for dignity
the epithet is wanting, and the nearest approach to it is to say that a
man is sensible and composed if you would express that he is dignified.
Revenge is cultivated as a virtue, and whoever would be considered a
respectable man must keep in mind the injuries done to him, and show
resentment thereof on fitting occasions. Reconciliation is regarded as
opprobrious, and forgiveness of wrongs degrading. But the Roumanian’s
rage is stealthy and disguised, and while the Hungarian lets his anger
openly explode, the Roumanian will dissemble and mutter between his
teeth, “_Tine mente_” (“Thou shalt remember this”); and his memory is
good, for he does not suffer himself to forget. When an injury has
been done to him henceforward it becomes his sacred duty to brood over
his vengeance. He must not say a good word more to his enemy nor do
him a service, and must strive to injure his foe to the best of his
ability—with, however, this nice distinction, that he himself do not
profit by the injury done. Thus, it would not be consistent with the
Roumanian’s code of honor were he to steal the horse or ox of his
enemy, but there can be no reasonable objection to his advising or
inducing another man to do so. Such behavior is considered only right
and just, and by so acting he will only be fulfilling his duty as an
honest and honorable man.
The Roumanian does not seem to be courageous by nature—at least not
as we understand courage—nor does courage exactly take rank as a
virtue in his estimation, for courage implies a certain recklessness
of consequences, and, according to his way of thinking, every action
should be circumscribed, and only performed after due deliberation.
When, however, driven to it by circumstances, and brought to recognize
the necessity, he can fight bravely and is a good soldier. In the
same way, he will never expose his life without necessity, and will
coolly watch a house burning down without offering assistance; but when
compelled to action under military orders, he will go blindly into the
fire, even knowing death to be inevitable.
What is commonly understood by military enthusiasm is wanting in the
Roumanian (at least on this side of the frontier), for he is too
ignorant to perceive the advantage of letting himself be shot in the
service of a foreign master, for a cause of which he understands
nothing and cares less. He is extremely sorry for himself when forced
to enlist, and sometimes becomes most poetically plaintive on the
subject, as in the following verses translated from a popular song:
“To the battle-field I go,
There to fight the country’s foe.
Wash my linen, mother mine,
All my linen white and fine.[20]
Rinse it in thy tears, and then
Dry on burning breast again.
Send it, mother, to me there
Where you hear the trumpet’s blare.
Where the banners droop o’erhead,
There shall I be lying dead,
Stricken by the musket’s lead,
Seamed by gashes rosy red,
Trampled by the charger’s tread.”
Something of the spirit of the ancient Spartans lies in the Roumanian’s
idea of virtue and vice. Stealing and drunkenness are not considered
to be intrinsically wrong, only the publicity which may attend these
proceedings conveying any sense of shame to the offender. Thus a man is
not yet a thief because he has stolen; and whoever becomes accidentally
aware of the theft should, if he have no personal interest in the
matter, hold his peace, on the Shakespearian principle that
“He that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.”
Even the injured party whose property has been abstracted is advised
if possible to reckon alone with the thief, without drawing general
attention to his fault.
Neither is drunkenness necessarily degrading. On the contrary, every
decent man should get drunk on suitable occasions, such as weddings,
christenings, etc., and then go quietly to a barn or loft and sleep
off his tipsiness. _Bea cat vrei apoi te calcu si dormi_ (drink thy
fill and then lie down and sleep) says their proverb; but any man who
has been seen reeling drunk in the open street, hooted at by children
and barked at by dogs, were it but once, is henceforward branded as a
drunkard. It is therefore the duty of each Roumanian who sees a drunken
man to conduct him quietly to the nearest barn or loft.
There are some few villages where even the noblest inhabitants are not
ashamed to be seen drunk in the open street, but in such villages the
moral standard is a low one throughout.
Another curious side of the Roumanian’s morality is the point of view
from which he regards personal property, such as grain and fruit. In
general, whatever grows plentifully in the fields, or, as they term
it, “whatever God has given,” may be taken with impunity by whoever
passes that way, but with this restriction, that he merely take so much
as he can consume at the moment. This is but right and just, and the
proprietor who makes complaint at having his vineyard or his plum-trees
rifled in this manner only exposes himself to ridicule. Whoever carries
away of the fruits with him is a thief, but, strictly speaking, only
when he sells the stolen goods, not when he shares them quietly with
his own family.
With regard to fowls, geese, lambs, and sucking-pigs, the rule is more
or less the same. Whoever steals only in order to treat himself to a
good dinner is not blamed, and may even boast of the feat on the sly;
but the man caught in the act is punished by having the stolen goods
tied round his neck, and being led round the village to the sound of
the drum to proclaim his shame to the people. If, however, he has
stolen from a stranger—that is, some one of another village—the
culprit does not usually lose his good reputation; and he who robs a
rich stranger is never considered base, but simply awkward to have
exposed himself to the odium of discovery.
The Roumanian only looks at deeds and results, motives being absolutely
indifferent to him. So the word passion he translates as _pâtima_,
which really expresses weakness. Thus an _om pâtima_—a weak man—may
be either a consumptive invalid, a love-sick youth, or a furious
drunkard. Passion is a misfortune which should excite compassion, but
not resentment; and whoever commits a bad action is above all foolish,
because it is sure to be found out sooner or later.
An anecdote which aptly characterizes the Roumanian’s moral sense is
told by Mr. Patterson. Three peasants waylaid and murdered a traveller,
dividing his spoils between them. Among his provisions they discovered
a cold roast fowl, which they did not eat, however, but gave to their
dog, as, being a fast-day, they feared to commit sin by tasting flesh.
This was related by the murderers themselves when caught and driven to
confess the crime before justice.
While on the subject of fasts, I may as well here mention that those
prescribed by the Greek Church are numerous and severe; and it is a
well-ascertained fact that the largest average of crimes committed
by Roumanians occurs during the seasons of Advent and Lent, when the
people are in a feverish and over-excited state from the unnatural
deprivation of food—just as the Saxon peasants are most quarrelsome
immediately after the vintage.
Another English traveller, speaking disparagingly of the serf-like,
crouching demeanor of the Roumanians, remarked that “perhaps nothing
else could be expected of people who are required to fast two hundred
and twenty-six days in the year.”
The inhabitants of each Roumanian village are divided into three
classes:
First, the distinguished villagers—front-men—called _fruntasi_, or
_oameni de frunta_.
Second, the middle-men—_mylocasi_, or _oameni de mana adona_—men of
second-hand.
Third, the hind-men, or _codas_ (tail-men).
Each man, according to his family, personal gifts, reputation, and
fortune, is ranged into one or other of these three classes, which have
each their separate customs, rights, and privileges, which no member of
another class durst infringe upon.
Thus the codas may do much which would not be suitable for the other
two classes. The mylocasi have, on the whole, the most difficult
position of the three, and are most severely judged, being alternately
accused of presumption in imitating the behavior of the fruntas, and
blamed for demeaning themselves by copying the irregular habits of
the codas. In short, it would seem to be all but impossible for an
unfortunate middle-man to hit off the _juste milieu_, and succeed
in combining in his person the precise proportions of dignity and
deference required of his state.
Nor is the position of the front-men entirely an easy one. Each one of
these has a separate party of hangers-on, friends and admirers, who
profess a blind faith and admiration for him—endorsing his opinion on
all occasions, and recognizing his authority in matters of dispute. His
dress, his words, his actions are all strictly regulated on the axiom
_noblesse oblige_; but woe to him if he be caught erring himself—for
only in the case of the popa is it allowable for the practice to differ
from the preaching. A fruntas may sit down to table with the codas of
his own village, whenever they are in his service helping him to bring
in the harvest or to build a house; but he durst not, under pain of
losing caste, be equally familiar with any strange codas.
There are, moreover, whole districts which are reckoned as
distinguished, and whose codas take rank along with the mylocasi, or
even the front-men, of less aristocratic villages. A single woman,
coming from one of these distinguished neighborhoods, may in a
short time transform the whole village into which she marries, the
inhabitants eagerly studying and imitating her dress, manners, and
gestures, down to the most insignificant details.
* * * * *
A distinctive quality of the Roumanian race is the touching affection
which mostly unites all members of one family. Unlike the Saxon, who
seeks to limit the number of his offspring, the poor Roumanian, even
when plunged into the direst poverty, yet regards each addition to
his family as another gift of God; while to be a childless wife is
considered as the greatest of misfortunes.
Numerous instances are recorded of children of other nationalities,
who, deserted by their unnatural parents, have been taken in by poor
Roumanians, themselves already burdened with a numerous family.
There is an ancient Roumanian legend which tells us how in olden
times there used to prevail the custom of killing off all old men and
useless encumbrances, on the same principle as in Mr. Trollope’s “Fixed
Period.” One young man, however, being much attached to his parent,
could not resign himself to executing this cruel order; but fearing the
anger of his country-people, he concealed his father in an empty barrel
in the cellar, where every day he secretly brought him food and drink.
But it came to pass that all arms-bearing men were summoned together
to sally forth in quest of a terrible dragon which was devastating the
land. The pious son, sorely puzzled to know how to provide his father
with nourishment during his absence, carried together all the victuals
in the house, lamenting to him that possibly he might never return from
the expedition, in which case his beloved parent would be obliged to
die of hunger. The old man answered,
“If in truth thou returnest not, then life has no more charms for me,
and gladly will I let my weak body sink into the grave. But wouldst
thou come back victorious out of the conflict with the dragon, listen
to my words. The cavern inhabited by the monster has over a hundred
subterraneous passages and galleries which run like a labyrinth in
every direction, so that even if the enemy be killed the victors,
unable to find the outlet, will perish miserably. Therefore take with
thee our black mare which goes to pasture with a foal, and lead them
both to the mouth of the cavern. There kill and bury the foal, but take
the mother with thee, and when the struggle with the dragon is over,
she will safely lead thee back to the light of day.”
The son then took leave of his father with many tears, and marched away
with his comrades, and when he reached the cavern he obeyed the given
directions, without, however, revealing the secret to any one.
After a desperate struggle, the monster in the cavern was slain; but
terror and dismay took possession of the warriors when it proved
impossible to find the outlet from this dreadful labyrinth. Then
stepped forward the pious son with his black mare, and called upon
the others to follow him. The mare began to neigh for her foal, and,
seeking the daylight, soon hit on the right track, which brought them
safely to the mouth of the cavern.
The warriors, seeing how their comrade had saved them all from certain
death, now besought him to reveal to them how he chanced to have hit on
this cunning device. But he now took fright that if he spoke the truth,
not only his own life but that of his old father would be forfeited for
having thus dared to disobey the law of the land. Only at last, when
all had sworn to do him no injury, did he consent to unseal his lips
and tell them how, in his cellar, there lived his father, an old and
experienced man, who, at parting, had given him this advice with regard
to the mare.
On hearing this the warriors were mightily astonished, and one of them
called out, “Our ancestors did not do wisely in teaching us to kill
the old ones, for these are more experienced than we, and can often
help the people with their sage counsels when mere strength of arm is
powerless to conquer.”
All applauded this sentiment, and the cruel law which demanded the
death of the aged was henceforth abolished.
FOOTNOTES:
[20] The Roumanian peasant has a passion for white snowy linen. Usually
it is his sweetheart on whom devolves the duty of keeping it clean, or,
when he has no sweetheart, then his mother or sister.
CHAPTER XX.
ROUMANIAN LIFE.
The Roumanians seem to be a long-lived race, and it is no uncommon
thing to come across peasants of ninety and upwards, in full possession
of all their faculties. In 1882 an old Roumanian peasant, being called
as witness in a court of justice in Transylvania, and desired to state
his age, was, like many people of his class, unable to name the year
of his birth, and could only designate it approximately by saying,
“I remember that, when I was a boy, our emperor was a woman,” which,
as Maria Theresa died in 1780, could not have made him less than one
hundred and ten years of age.
Many people have supposed the Roumanians to be more productive than
other races, but the truth will more likely be found to be that
although the births are not more numerous than among many other
races, the mortality among infants is considerably less; the children
inheriting the hardy resisting nature of the parents, and so to say,
coming into the world ready-seasoned to endure the hardships in store
for them.
Perhaps it is because the Roumanian has himself so few wants that he
feels no anxiety about the future of his children, and therefore the
rapid increase of his family occasions him no uneasiness. Having little
personal property, he is a stranger to the cares which accompany their
possession. Like the lilies of the field, he neither sows nor reaps,
and the whole programme of his life, of an admirable simplicity, may be
thus summed up:
In early infancy the Roumanian babe is treated as a bundle, often
packed in a little wooden oval box, and slung on its mother’s back,
thus carried about wherever she goes. If to work in the field, she
attaches the box to the branch of a tree; and when sitting at market
it can be stowed on the ground between a basket of eggs and a pair
of cackling fowls. When after a very few months it outgrows the box,
and crawls out of its cocoon, the baby begins to share its parents’
food, and soon learns to manage for itself. The food of both children
and adults chiefly consists of maize-corn flour, which, cooked with
milk, forms a sort of porridge called balmosch, or, if boiled with
water, becomes mamaliga—first-cousin to the polenta of the Italians.
This latter preparation is eaten principally in Lent, when milk is
prohibited altogether; and there are many families who, during the
whole Lenten season, nourish themselves exclusively on dried beans.
When the Roumanian child has reached a reasonable age, it is old enough
to be a help and comfort to its parents, and assist them in gaining an
honest livelihood. By a reasonable age may be understood five or six,
and an honest livelihood, translated—helping them to steal wood in the
forest. Later on the boy is often bound over as swine or cow herd to
some Saxon landholder for a period of several years, on quitting whose
service he is entitled to the gift of a calf or pig from the master he
is leaving.
Once in actual possession of a calf the Roumanian lad considers
himself to be a made man. He has no ground of his own; but such petty
considerations not affecting him, he proceeds to build himself a
domicile, wherever best suits his purpose, on some waste piece of
land. Stone hardly ever enters into the fabrication of his building;
the framework is roughly put together of wooden beams, and the walls
clay-plastered and wattled, while the roof is covered with thatch of
reeds or wooden shingles, according as he may happen to live nearest
to a marsh or a forest. Yet, such as it is, the Roumanian’s hut is
his castle, and he is as proud of its possession as the King can be
of his finest palace. Each man’s hut is regarded as his own special
sanctuary, and however intimate a man may be with his neighbor, it is
not customary for him to step over the threshold, or even enter the
court-yard, after dusk. Only in special and very pressing cases does
this rule admit of any exception.
The inside of a Roumanian hut is by no means so miserable as its
outward appearance would lead us to suppose. The walls are all hung
with a profusion of holy pictures, mostly painted on glass and framed
in wood; while the furniture is brightly painted in rough but not
inartistic designs—the passion these people have for ornamenting
all their wood-work in this fashion leading them even to paint the
yoke of their oxen and the handles of their tools. There is always a
weaving-loom set up at one end of the room, and mostly a new-born baby
swinging in a basket suspended from the rafters.
The products of the loom—consisting in stuffs striped, chiefly blue,
scarlet, and white, in Oriental designs, sometimes with gold or silver
threads introduced in the weaving—are hung upon ropes or displayed
along the walls. These usually belong to the trousseau of the daughter
(perhaps the self-same infant we see suspended from the ceiling), but
can occasionally be purchased after a little bargaining.
Every Roumanian woman spins, dyes, and weaves as a matter of course;
and almost each village has its own set of colors and patterns,
according to its particular costume, which varies with the different
localities, though all partake alike of the same general character,
which, in the case of the women, is chiefly represented by a long
alb-like under-garment of linen reaching to the feet, and above two
straight-cut Roman aprons front and back, which have the effect of a
tunic slit up at the sides. The subject of Roumanian dress offers a
most bewildering field for description, and the _nuances_ and varieties
to be found would lead one on _ad infinitum_ were I to attempt to
enumerate all those I have come across.
[Illustration: ROUMANIAN COSTUMES.]
Thus in one village the costume is all black and white, the cut and
make of an almost conventual simplicity, forming a _piquante_ contrast
to the blooming faces and seductive glances of the beautiful wearers,
who thus give the impression of a band of light-hearted maidens
masquerading in nun’s attire. In other hamlets I have visited blue or
scarlet was the prevailing color; and a few steps over the Roumanian
frontier will show us glittering costumes covered with embroidery
and spangles, rich and gaudy as the attire of some Oriental princess
stepped straight out of the “Arabian Nights.”
The Roman aprons, here called _câtrinte_, are in some districts—as,
for instance, in the Banat—composed of long scarlet fringes, fully
three-quarters of a yard in length, and depending from a very few
inches of solid stuff at the top. The _résumé_ of this attire—a
linen shirt and a little fringe as sole covering for a full-grown
woman—may, in theory, be startling to our English sense of propriety,
but in practice the effect has nothing objectionable about it. Dress,
after all, is merely a matter of comparison, as we are told by a witty
French writer. A Wallachian woman considers herself fully dressed with
a _chemise_, while a Hungarian thinks herself naked with only three
skirts.
The head-dress varies much with the different districts; sometimes it
is a brightly colored shawl or handkerchief, oftener a creamy filmy
veil, embroidered or spangled, and worn with ever-varied effect;
occasionally it is wound round the head turban fashion, now floating
down the back like a Spanish mantilla, or coquettishly drawn forward
and concealing the lower part of the face, or again twisted up in
Satanella-like horns, which give the wearer a slightly demoniacal
appearance.
Whatever is tight or strained-looking about the dress is considered
unbeautiful; the folds must always flow downward in soft easy lines,
the sleeves should be full and bulging, and the skirt long enough to
conceal the feet, so that in dancing only the toes are visible.
The men have also much variety in their dress for grand occasions,
but for ordinary wear they confine themselves to a plain coarse linen
shirt, which hangs down over the trousers like a workman’s blouse,
confined at the waist by a broad red or black leather belt, which
contains various receptacles for holding money, pistols, knife and
fork, etc. The trousers, which fit rather tightly to the leg, are in
summer of linen, in winter of a coarse sort of white cloth. Of the same
cloth is made the large overcoat which he wears in winter, sometimes
replaced by a sheepskin pelisse.
Both sexes wear on the feet a sort of sandal called _opintschen_, which
consists of an oval-shaped piece of leather drawn together by leather
thongs, beneath which the feet are swaddled in wrappings of linen or
woollen rags.
Dress makes the man, according to the Roumanian’s estimate, and rather
than want for handsome clothes a man should deprive himself of food
and drink. _Stomacul nu are oglinda_ (the stomach has no mirror), says
their proverb; therefore the man who has no fitting costume to wear on
Easter Sunday should hide himself rather than appear at church shabbily
attired.
[Illustration: ROUMANIAN WOMEN.]
To be consistent with the Roumanian’s notion of cleanliness, his
clothes should by rights be spun, woven, and made at home. Sometimes
he may be obliged to purchase a cap or coat of a stranger, but in such
cases he is careful to select a dealer of his own nationality.
Roumanian women are very industrious, and they make far better domestic
servants than either Hungarians or Saxons, the Germans living in towns
often selecting them in preference to their own countrywomen. In some
places you never see a Roumanian woman without her distaff; she even
takes it with her to market, and may frequently be seen trudging along
the high-road twirling the spindle as she goes.
The men do not seem to share this love of labor, having, on the
contrary, much of the Italian _lazzarone_ in their composition, and not
taking to any kind of manual labor unless driven to it by necessity.
The life of a shepherd is the only calling which the Roumanian embraces
_con amore_, and his love for his sheep may truly be likened to the
Arab’s love of his horse. A real Roumanian shepherd, bred and brought
up to the life, has so completely identified himself with his calling
that everything about him—food and dress, mind and matter—has, so to
say, become completely “sheepified.” Sheep’s milk and cheese (called
_brindza_) form the staple of his nourishment. His dress consists
principally of sheepskin, four sheep furnishing him with the cloak
which lasts him through life, one new-born lamb giving him the cap he
wears; and when he dies the shepherd’s grave is marked by a tuft of
snowy wool attached to the wooden cross above the mound. His whole
mental faculties are concentrated on the study of his sheep, and so
sharpened have his perceptions become in this one respect that he is
able to divine and foretell to a nicety every change of the weather,
merely from observing the demeanor of his flock.
Forests have no charm for the shepherd, who, regarding everything
from a pastoral point of view, sees in each tree an insolent intruder
depriving his sheep of their rightful nourishment; and he covertly
seeks to increase his pasture by setting fire to the woods whenever he
can hope to do so with impunity. Whole tracts of noble forest have thus
been laid waste, and it is much to be feared that half a century hence
the country will present a bleak and desolate appearance, unless some
means can be discovered in order to prevent this abuse.
CHAPTER XXI.
ROUMANIAN MARRIAGE AND MORALITY.
Marriageable Roumanian girls often wear a head-dress richly embroidered
with pearls and coins; this is a sign that their trousseaus are ready,
and that they only wait for a suitor. The preparation of the trousseau,
involving as it does much spinning, weaving, and embroidering, in order
to get ready the requisite number of shirts, towels, pillow-covers,
etc., considered indispensable, often keeps the girl and her family
employed for years beforehand. In some districts we are told that it is
customary for the young man who is seeking a girl in marriage to make
straight for the painted wooden chest containing her dowry; and only
when satisfied, by the appearance of the contents, of the skill and
industry of his intended, does he proceed to the formal demand of her
hand. If, on the contrary, the coffer prove to be ill-furnished, he is
at liberty to beat a retreat, and back out of the affair. The matter
has been still further simplified in one village, for there, during
the carnival-time, the mother of each marriageable daughter is in the
habit of organizing a sort of standing exhibition of the maiden’s
effects in the dwelling-room, where each article is displayed to the
best advantage, hung against the walls or spread out upon the benches.
The would-be suitor is thus enabled to review the situation merely by
pushing the door ajar, and need not even cross the threshold if the
display falls short of his expectations.
In some districts a pretty little piece of acting is still kept up
on the wedding-morning. The bridegroom, accompanied by his friends,
arrives on horseback at full gallop before the house of his intended,
and roughly calls upon the father to give him his daughter. The old
man denies having any daughter; but after some mock wrangling he goes
into the house and leads out an old toothless hag, who is received with
shouts and clamors. Then, after a little more fencing, he goes in again
and leads out the true bride dressed in her best clothes, and with his
blessing gives her over to the bridegroom.[21]
An orthodox Roumanian wedding should last seven days and seven nights,
neither less nor more; but as there are many who cannot afford this
sacrifice of time, they circumvent the difficulty by interrupting the
festivities after the first day, and resuming them on the seventh.
The ceremony itself is accomplished with much gayety and rejoicing.
The parents of the bridegroom go to fetch the bride, in a cart
harnessed with four oxen whose horns are wreathed with flower garlands;
the village musicians march in front, and the chest containing the
trousseau is placed on the cart. One of the bride’s relations carries
her dowry tied up in a handkerchief attached to the point of a long
pole.
Whoever is invited to a Roumanian wedding is expected to bring
not only a cake and a bottle of wine, but also some other gift of
less transitory nature—a piece of linen, an embroidered towel, a
handkerchief, or such-like.
In some villages it is customary for the bride, after the
wedding-feast, to step over the banqueting-table and upset a bucket of
water placed there for the purpose.[22] After this begins the dancing,
at which it is usual for each guest to take a turn with the bride, and
receive from her a kiss in return for the civility.
An ancient custom, now fast dying out, was the _tergul de fete_—the
maidens’ market—celebrated each year at the top of the Gaina mountain,
at a height of nearly six thousand feet above the level of the sea,
and where all the marriageable girls for miles around used to assemble
to be courted on the 29th of June, Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The trousseau, packed in a gayly decorated chest, was placed in a
cart harnessed with the finest horses or the fattest oxen, and thus
the girl and her whole family proceeded to the place of rendezvous.
Sheep, calves, poultry, and even beehives, were likewise brought
by way of decoration; and many people went the length of borrowing
strange cattle or furniture, in order to cut a better figure and lure
on the suitors—although it was an understood thing that only a part
of what was thus displayed really belonged to the maiden’s dowry. The
destination being reached, each family having a girl to dispose of
erected its tent, with the objects grouped around, and seated in front
was the head of the family, smoking his pipe and awaiting the suitors.
The young men on their side came also accompanied by their families,
bringing part of their property with them, notably a broad leather belt
well stocked with gold and silver coins.
When an agreement had been effected, then the betrothal took place on
the spot, with music, dancing, and singing, and it hardly ever happened
that a girl returned home unbetrothed from this meeting. But, to say
the truth, this was, latterly, only because each girl attending the
fair went there virtually betrothed to some youth with whom all the
preliminaries of courtship had already been gone through, and this was
merely the official way of celebrating the betrothal, the Roumanians
in these parts believing that good-luck will attend only such couples
as are affianced in this manner. Any girl who had not got a bridegroom
_in spe_ rarely went there at all, or, if she went, did not take her
trousseau, but considered herself as a mere spectator.
In former days, however, this assemblage had a real signification,
and was, moreover, dictated by a real necessity. There were fewer
villages, and a far larger proportion than now of the population
led the wandering, nomadic life of mountain shepherds, cut off from
intercourse with their fellow-creatures during the greater part of
the year, and with no opportunity of making choice of a consort. The
couples thus betrothed on the 29th of June could not be married till
the following spring, for immediately after this date the shepherds
remove their flocks to higher pasturages, and, proceeding southward as
the year advances, do not return to that neighborhood till the Feast of
St. George.
Another curious custom in connection with the maidens’ market was, that
on Holy Saturday each girl who had been betrothed on the preceding
29th of June on the Gaina mountain came to a village of that district
called Halmagy, dressed in her best clothes, and there offered a kiss
to each respectable person of either sex she happened to meet on
her way. The individual thus saluted was bound to give a present in
return, even were it but a copper coin; and to decline or resist the
embrace was regarded as the greatest affront. This custom, known as
the kiss market, seems to have originated at the time when all the
newly married young shepherdesses used to leave the neighborhood to
follow their husbands in their roving life, and this was their mode
of bidding farewell to all friends and relations. This custom has now
likewise become almost extinct, for the conditions of daily life have
been considerably modified during the last fifty years, and nowadays
the newly married shepherd, after a very brief honeymoon, goes away
alone with his flock, leaving his wife established in the village, even
though his absence may extend over a year. Many Roumanian villages
are thus virtually inhabited solely by women, and to a population of
several thousand females we not unfrequently find but twenty or thirty
men, and these mostly old and decrepit, the real lords and masters only
appearing from time to time on a short and flying visit. Szeliste, one
of the largest Roumanian villages in the neighborhood of Hermanstadt,
and celebrated for the good looks of its inhabitants, presents thus,
during the greater part of the year, a touching array of desolate
Penelopes; and it is much to be feared that the score of feeble old
men left them as guardians are altogether insufficient to defend the
wholesale amount of female virtue intrusted to their charge.
The Roumanian always regards marriage with a stranger as something
opprobrious. The man who marries other than a Roumanian woman ceases
to be a Roumanian in his people’s eyes, and is henceforward regarded
as unclean; and a popa whose wife was not a Roumanian would not be
accepted by any congregation. Yet more severely condemned is the woman
who marries a stranger; the marriage itself is considered invalid, and
no Roumanians who respect themselves would keep up acquaintance with
such a person.
According to their views a girl should remain in her own village, but
a man may, without losing caste, marry into another neighborhood. Any
father will consider it an honor to take a strange son-in-law into his
house, and the greater the distance this latter has come, in the same
proportion does the honor increase. But a man who gives his daughter in
marriage out of the village loses his prestige in exact proportion as
she goes farther away from home. “He has given his daughter away from
home” is a reproach to which no man cares to expose himself.
In districts where Roumanians live together with other races professing
the Greek faith, these marriage laws have been somewhat modified. So
unions in the Bukowina with Ruthenians and in the Banat with Serbs,
though still regarded as objectionable, are not so rare as they used to
be.
No respectable girl should leave her parents’ house unless driven to
it by necessity; and if she be obliged to go into service, it should
only be in the house of the popa, or in that of some particularly
distinguished native of the place. The Roumanian girls serving in
the towns are mostly such as have been obliged to leave their native
village in consequence of a moral slip.
Much has been said about the lightness of behavior characterizing
Roumanian girls—Saxons in particular being fond of drawing attention
to the comparative statistics of the two races, which show, it is true,
a very large balance of legitimate births in their own favor. If,
however, we look at the matter somewhat more closely, we are forced to
acknowledge that the words legitimate and illegitimate can only here
be taken in a very modified sense; for while the Saxon peasant marries
and divorces with such culpable lightness as to render the marriage
tie of little real value, the Roumanian has introduced a sort of
regularity even into his irregular connections which goes far to excuse
them. Whatever, also, may be said of the loose conduct of many of the
Roumanian married women, the same reproach cannot be applied to the
girls.
It happens frequently that among the Roumanians, who, like most
Southern races, attain manhood early, there are many young men who have
chosen a partner for life long before the time they are called for
military conscription; and as it is here illegal for all such to marry
before they have accomplished their three years’ service as soldiers,
and no parents could therefore be induced to give them their daughter,
a curious sort of elopement takes place. Two or more of the lover’s
friends carry off the girl, after a mock resistance on her part, to
some other village, where he himself awaits her with his witnesses.
These latter receive the reciprocal declaration of the young couple
that they wish to be man and wife. The girl is then solemnly invested
with a head-kerchief, veil, or comb, whichever happens to be the sign
of matronhood in her village; and from that moment she takes rank
as a married woman, the lad as her husband, and their children are
considered as legitimate as those born in regular wedlock. Three or
four years later, when the young man has served his time as a soldier,
the union is formally blessed by the priest in church; but in that case
none of the usual marriage festivities take place.
It is very rare that a man deserts the girl to whom he has been wedded
in this irregular fashion; and in cases where he has been known to do
so and take another wife, both he and she are tabooed by the neighbors,
and the first wife is regarded as the real one.
As, however, all children originating from such unions are officially
classified as illegitimate, the barren figures would give an
erroneously unfavorable idea of the Roumanian state of morality to
those unacquainted with these details; and it is therefore really no
anomaly to say that illegitimate here is tantamount to three-quarters
legitimate, while the Saxons’ legitimacy does not always quite deserve
that name.
A jilted lover will revenge himself on his mistress by ostentatiously
dancing with some other lass; and in order to do her some material
injury as well, he goes secretly at night and cuts down with a sickle
the unripe hemp and flax which were to have served for spinning her
wedding-clothes. It is always an understood thing that the hemp belongs
to the female members of the family, and there is a certain poetry
in the idea of thus cutting off the faithless one’s thread. Thus the
father, finding his hemp prematurely cut down, is at once aware that
something has gone wrong about his daughter’s love-affair.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] In Sweden, when the guests sit down to the bridal banquet,
an old woman decked in a wreath of birch-bark, in which straw and
goose-feathers are interwoven, and grotesquely dressed up with jingling
harness, is led in and presented to the bridegroom as his consort,
while in a pompous speech her charms are expatiated upon. She is chased
away with clamorous hooting, whereupon the bridesmen go out again, and
after a mock search they lead in the bride.
[22] Supposed to denote fruitfulness.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE ROUMANIANS: DANCING, SONGS, MUSIC, STORIES, AND PROVERBS.
The dances habitual among the Roumanians may briefly be divided into
three sorts:
1. _Caluseri_ and _Batuta_, ancient traditional dances performed by men
only, and often executed at fairs and public festivals. For these a
fixed number of dancers is required, and a leader called the _vatav_.
Each dancer is provided with a long staff, which he occasionally
strikes on the ground in time to the music.
2. _Hora_ and _Breûl_, round dances executed either by both sexes or by
men only.
3. _Ardeleana_, _Lugojana_, _Marnteana_, _Pe-picior_, and _Hategeana_,
danced by both sexes together, and in which each man may have two or
more female partners.
These last-named dances rather resemble a minuet or quadrille, and are
chiefly made up of a sort of swaying, balancing movement, alternately
advancing and retreating, with varied modes of expression and different
rates of velocity. Thus the Ardeleana is slow, the Marnteana rather
quicker but still dignified, and the Pe-picior is fastest of all. Also,
each separate dance has two distinct measures, as in the Scotch reel
or the Hungarian _csardas_—the slow rhythm being called _domol_, or
reflectively, and the fast one being danced _cu foc_, with fire.
All these dances are found in different districts with varied
appellations.
There is also a very singular dance which I have not myself witnessed,
but which is said to be sometimes performed in front of the church in
order to insure a good harvest—one necessary condition of which is
that the people should dance till in a state of violent perspiration,
figurative of the rain which is required to make the corn grow; then
the arms must be held on high for the hops to grow, wild jumps in the
air for the vines, and so on, each grain and fruit having a special
movement attributed to it, the dance being kept up till the dancers
have to give in from sheer fatigue.
The Roumanian does not say that a man is dancing with a girl, but that
“he dances her,” as you would talk of spinning a top. This conveys the
right impression—namely, that the man directs her dancing and disposes
her attitudes, so as to show off her grace and charms to the best
advantage. Thus a good dancer here does not imply a man who dances well
himself, but rather one skilful at showing off two or three partners
at a time. He acts, in fact, as a sort of showman to the assortment of
graces under his charge, to which he calls attention by appropriate
rhymes and verses. Therefore the sharpest wit rather than the nimblest
legs is required for the post of _vatav flacailor_, or director of
dances in the village.
Dancing usually takes place in the open air; and in villages where
ball-room etiquette is duly observed, the fair ones can only be
conducted to the dance by the director himself, or by one of his
appointed aides-de-camp. It is so arranged that after the leader has
for a time shown off several girls in the manner described—so to
say, set them agoing—he makes a sign to other young men to take them
off his hands, while he himself repeats the proceeding with other
_débutantes_.
The music usually consists of bagpipes and violin, the latter sometimes
replaced by one or two flutes. The musicians, who are frequently blind
men or cripples, stand in the centre, the dancers revolving around
them. Tzigane-players are rarely made use of for Roumanian dances, as
they do not interpret the Roumanian music correctly, and are accused of
imparting a bold, licentious character to it.
There are many occasions on which music is prescribed, and on all such
it should not be wanting; but it is considered unseemly for music to
play without special motive, and when the Roumanian hears music he
invariably asks, “La ce cântà?”—for whom do they play?
Fully as many matrons as maidens figure at the village merrymakings,
for, unlike the Saxon, the Roumanian woman does not dream of giving
up dancing at her marriage. Wedlock is to her an emancipation, not a
bondage, and she only begins really to enjoy her life from the moment
she becomes a wife. For instance, it is considered quite correct for a
married woman, especially if she has got children, to suffer herself to
be publicly kissed and embraced by her dancer, and no one present would
think of taking umbrage at such harmless liberties.
* * * * *
In reciting or making a speech, the Roumanian is careful to speak
slowly and distinctly, with dignity and deliberation, and to avoid much
gesticulation, which is regarded as ridiculous. It is also considered
distinguished to speak rather obscurely, and veil the meaning under
figures of speech—a man who says his meaning plainly in so many words
being considered as wanting in breeding.
As in Italy, the _recitatore_ (story-teller), called here
_provestitore_, holds an important place among the Roumanians. The
stories recited usually belong to the class of ogre and fairy tale, and
would seem rather adapted to a nursery audience than to a circle of
full-grown men and women. Sometimes in verse, sometimes in prose, these
stories oftenest set forth the adventures of some prince subjected to
the cruel persecutions of a giant or sorcerer. The hero has usually a
series of tasks allotted to him, or difficulties to be overcome, before
he is permitted to enjoy his father’s throne in peace and lead home
the beautiful princess to whom he is attached. The tasks dealt out to
him must be three at least, sometimes six, seven, nine, or twelve; but
never more than this last number, which indeed is quite sufficient for
the endurance even of a fairy prince. When the tasks are nine or twelve
in number they are then grouped together in batches of three, each
batch being finished off with some stereotyped phrase, such as, “But
our hero’s trials were not yet over by any means, and much remains
still to be told.” As a matter of course, these trials must always be
arranged _crescendo_, advancing in horror and difficulty towards the
end.
The story invariably opens with the words,
“A fost ce a fost; dacà n’ar fi fost nici nu s’ar povesti,” which,
corresponding to our “once upon a time,” may be thus translated: “It
was what once took place, and if it had never been, it would not now
be related;” and the concluding phrase is often this one, “And if they
have not died, they are all yet alive.”
It is not every one who can relate a story correctly according to the
Roumanian’s mode of thinking. He is most particular as to the precise
inflections of voice, which must alternately be slow and impressive, or
impetuous and hurried, according to the requirements of the narrative.
If the story winds up with a wedding, the narrator is careful to
observe that he also was present on the occasion, in proof of which
he enumerates at great length the names of the guests invited and the
dishes which formed part of the banquet; and according to the fertility
of imagination he displays in describing these details he will be
classed by his audience as a _provestitore_ of first, second, or third
rank.
The Roumanians have a vast _répertoire_ of songs and rhymes for
particular occasions, and many of these people seem to possess great
natural fluency for expressing themselves in verse, assisted, no
doubt, by the rich choice of rhymes offered by their language. Some
people would seem to talk as easily in verse as in prose, and there
are districts where it is not considered seemly to court a girl
otherwise than in rhymed speech. All these rhymes, as well as most of
their songs and ballads, are moulded in four feet verse, which best
adapts itself to the fundamental measure of Roumanian music. Among the
principal forms of song prevalent in the country are the _Doina_, the
_Ballad_, the _Kolinda_, the _Cantece de Irogi_, the _Cantece de Stea_,
the _Plugul_, the _Cantece de Paparuga_, the _Cantece de Nunta_, the
_Descantece_, and the _Bocete_.
1. The _Doina_ is a lyrical poem, mostly of a mournful, monotonous
character, much resembling the gloomy _Dumkas_ of the Ruthenians, and
from which, perhaps, its name is derived; and this is all the more
probable, as many of the songs sung by the Roumanians of the Bukowina
are identical with those to be heard sung by their countrymen living
in the Hungarian Banat. Thus it is of curious effect to hear the
celebrated song of the Dniester, “Nistrule riu blestemal” (Dniester,
cursed river), in which lament is made over the women carried off by
the Tartars, sung on the plains of Hungary, so many hundred miles away
from the scenes which originated it.
2. The _Ballad_, also called _Cantece_, or song proper, its title
usually specifying whose particular song it is; for instance, “Cantecul
lui Horia”—the song of Hora, or more literally, Hora, his song—lui
Jancu, lui Marko, etc.
These ballads are sung to the accompaniment of a shepherd’s pipe or
flute, but are oftener merely recited, it not being considered good
form to have them sung except by blind or crippled beggars, such as go
about at markets or fairs.[23]
3. The _Kolinda_, or Christmas song, the name derived from a heathen
goddess, Lada.[24] These consist of songs and dialogues, oftenest
of a mythological character, and bearing no sort of allusion to the
Christian festival. The performers go about from house to house
knocking at each door, with the usual formula, “Florile s’dalbe, buna
sara lui Cracinim”—white is the flower, a happy Christmas-night to you.
The _Turca_, or _Brezaia_, also belongs to the same category as
the _Kolinda_, but is of a somewhat more boisterous character, and
is performed by young men, who, all following a leader grotesquely
attired in a long cloak and mask (oftenest representing the long beak
of a stork, or a bull’s head, hence the name), go about the villages
night and day as long as the Christmas festivities last, pursuing
the girls and terrifying the children. A certain amount of odium is
attached to the personification of the Turca himself, and the man who
has acted this part is regarded as unclean or bewitched by the devil
during a period of six weeks, and may not enter a church nor approach a
sacrament till this time has elapsed.
In the Bukowina the Turca, or _Tur_, goes by the name of the _Capra_,
and is called _Cleampa_ in the east of Transylvania.
4. The _Cantece de Irogi_ is the name given to the text of many
carnival games and dialogues in which _Rahula_ (Rachel) and her child,
a shepherd, a Jew, a Roumanian popa, and the devil appear in somewhat
unintelligible companionship.
5. The _Cantece de Stea_—songs of the star—are likewise sung at this
period by children, who go about with a tinsel star at the end of a
stick.
6. The _Plugul_—song of the plough—a set of verses sung on New-year’s
Day by young men fantastically dressed up, and with manifold little
bells attached to feet and legs. They proceed noisily through the
streets of towns and villages, cracking long whips as though urging on
a team of oxen at the plough.
7. The _Cantece de Paparuga_ are songs which are sung on the third
Sunday after Easter, or in cases of prolonged drought.
8. The _Cantece de Nunta_ are the wedding songs, of which there are a
great number. These are, however, rarely sung, but oftener recited.
They take various forms, such as that of invitation, health-drinking,
congratulations, etc. To these may be added the _Cantece de Cumetrie_
and the _Cantecul ursitelor_, which express rejoicings over a new-born
infant.
9. The _Descantece_, or descantations, are very numerous. They consist
in secret charms or spells expressed in rhyme, which, in order to
be efficacious, must be imparted to children or grandchildren only
when the parent is lying on his death-bed. These oftenest relate to
illnesses of man or beast, to love or to life; and each separate
contingency has its own set formula, which is thus transmitted from
generation to generation.
10. The _Bocete_ are songs of mourning, usually sung over the corpse by
paid mourners.
On the principle that the character of a people is best demonstrated by
its proverbs, a few specimens of those most current among Roumanians
may be here quoted:
“A man without enemies is of little value.”
“It is easier to keep guard over a bush full of live hares than over
one woman.”
“A hen which cackles overnight lays no egg in the morning.”
“A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend.”
“In the daytime he runs away from the buffalo, but in the night he
seizes the devil by the horn.”[25]
“Carry your wife your whole life on your back, but, if once you set her
down, she will say, ‘I am tired.’”
“The just man always goes about with a bruised head.”
“Sit crooked, but speak straight.”
“Father and mother you will never find again, but wives as many as you
list.”
“The blessing of many children has broken no man’s roof as yet.”
“Better an egg to-day than an ox next year.”
“No one throws a stone at a fruitless tree.”
“Patience and silence give the grapes time to grow sweet.”
“If you seek for a faultless friend you will be friendless all your
life.”
“There where you cannot catch anything, do not stretch out your hand.”
“Who runs after two hares will not even catch one.”
“The dog does not run away from a whole forest of trees, but a single
stick will make him run.”
“A real Jew will never pause to eat until he has cheated you.”
“You cannot carry two melons in one hand.”
“Who has been bitten by a snake is afraid of a lizard.”
FOOTNOTES:
[23] There is a story told of a village (but whether Hungarian or
Roumanian I am unable to say) which, up to the year 1536, used to be
inhabited by cripples, hunchbacks, lame, maimed, and blind men only,
and which went by the name of the “Republic of Cripples.” No well-grown
and healthy persons were ever suffered to settle here, for fear of
spoiling the deformity of their race, and all new-born children unlucky
enough to enter the world with normally organized frames were instantly
mutilated.
The inhabitants of this village, turning these infirmities to account,
made a play of wandering over the country begging and singing at all
fairs and markets, and trading on the compassion excited by their
wretched appearance. They had also their own language, called the
language of the blind, and were in so far privileged above the useful
and industrious citizens as to be exempted from all taxes.
[24] The Council of Constantinople, 869, forbade the members of the
Oriental Church to keep the feast of the pagan goddess Kolinda, or
Lada, occurring on the shortest day. These Kolinda songs appear to
be of Slav origin, since we find the Koleda among the Bohemians,
Serbs, and Slavonians, the Koleda among Poles, and the Kolad with the
Russians. Yet further proof of this would seem to be that unmistakable
resemblance to the Slav words _Kaulo_, _Kul_, _Kolo_, a round
dance—applying, no doubt, to the rotation of the sun, which on this
day begins afresh. Grimm, however, in his Mythology, makes out the name
to be derived from the Latin _Calendæ_.
[25] The meaning of this I take to be, that the dangers we recognize
and run away from are smaller than those we encounter without knowing
it.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ROUMANIAN POETRY.
It is hardly necessary to remark that the history of Roumanian
literature must needs be a scanty one as yet. Considering the past
history of these people on either side of the frontier, and the manner
in which they have been oppressed and persecuted, the wonder is
rather to find them to-day so far advanced on the road that leads to
immortality.
The first Roumanian book (a collection of psalms, probably translated
from the Greek) was printed at Kronstadt in 1577, and was succeeded by
many other similar works, all printed in Cyrillian characters.
As historians and chroniclers, the names of Ureki, Miron Kostin,
Dosithei, and of Prince Dimetrie Kantemir, all hold honorable positions
between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the eighteenth
century. Political events then stemmed the current of progress for
a time, and made of the rest of the eighteenth century a period of
intellectual stagnation for all Roumanians, whether of Wallachia,
Moldavia, or Transylvania. It was from the latter country that about
the year 1820 was given the first impulse towards resurrection,
connected with which we read the names of Lazar, Majorescu, Assaki,
Mikul, Petru Major, Cipariu, Bolinteanu, Balcescu, Constantin Negruzzi,
and Cogalnitscheanu.
It was only after the middle of the present century that Latin
characters began to be adopted in place of Cyrillian ones, and indeed
it is not easy to understand why the Cyrillian alphabet ever came to
be used at all. On this subject Stanley, writing in 1856, speaks as
follows:
“The Latinity of Rouman is, however, sadly disguised under the
Cyrillic alphabet, in which it has hitherto been habited. This
alphabet was adopted about 1400 A.D., after an attempt by one of
the popes to unite the Roumans to the Catholic Church. The priests
then burned the books in the Roman or European letters, and the
Russians have opposed all the attempts made latterly to cast off
the Slavonic alphabet, by which the Rouman language is enchained
and bound to the Slavonic dialects.... The difficulty of coming
to an agreement among the men of letters, as to the system to be
adopted for rendering the Cyrillic letters by Roman type, has
retarded this movement as much, perhaps, as political opposition.”
The first Roumanian political newspaper was issued by Georg Baritiu in
1838. At present several Roumanian newspapers appear in Transylvania,
of which the _Observatorul_ and the _Telegraful Roman_ are the
principal ones. There are in the country two Greek Catholic seminaries
for priests, and one Greek Oriental one, a commercial school at
Kronstadt, four upper gymnasiums, and numerous primary schools, all of
which are self-supporting, and receive no assistance from the Hungarian
Government.
* * * * *
Some portion of the rich store of folk songs which from time immemorial
have been sung in the country by wandering minstrels, called _cantari_,
has been rescued from oblivion by the efforts of Alexandri, and after
him Torceanu, who, going about from village to village, have written
down all they could learn from the lips of the peasants. One of the
most beautiful and pathetic of the ballads thus collected by Alexandri
is that of Curte d’Arghisch, an ancient and well-known Roumanian
legend, the greater part of which I have here endeavored to reproduce
in an English version. These ballads are, however, exceedingly
difficult to translate at all characteristically, our language neither
possessing that abundant choice of rhyme, so apt to drive a translator
to envious despair, nor yet the harmonious current of sound which lends
a peculiar charm to the loose and rambling metre in which these songs
are mostly written.
CLOISTER ARGHISCH.
I.
By the Arghisch river,
By the bonny brim,
Goes the Voyvod Negru,[26]
Other ten with him.
Nine of these his comrades,
Master masons be,
And the tenth is Manoll,
Masters’ master he.
And the ten are questing,
Where along the tide
They shall build the minster,
And their fame beside.
Then as on they stray,
Meets them on the way
A shepherd lad, that ditty sad
Upon his pipe doth play.
“Shepherd lad, dear shepherd lad,
Mournful ditty playing,
Up the river has thy flock
And hast thou been straying?
Down have strayed both thou and they,
Down along the river?
In thy wanderings where hast been,
Say, hast thou a building seen
Standing by the river,
Built of moss-grown ancient stone,
All unfinished and alone,
Where the hazels, green and lank,
Shoot amid the copsewood dank?”
“Ay, my master, that have I
Sighted as I wandered by;
Sooth, a wall doth on the strand
Lonely and unfinished stand,
At whose sight my hounds in haste
Howling fled across the waste!”
When this word the prince had heard,
Joyful man was he:
“Haste away! come, no delay,
Haste thee instantly;
These, my master masons nine,
Lead unto yon wall,
And Manoll the tenth, that is
Master of them all.”
“See ye yonder wall of mine?
Know that here the spot I name
For the sacred cloister’s shrine,
For my everlasting fame.
Now, ye mighty masters all,
Fellows of the builder’s craft,
Haste away! night and day
Raise ye, build ye, roof and wall.
Build a cloister worthy me,
Such as never men did see;
Fail to build it as I say,
I will build you instantly,
Build you living, every one,
’Neath the pile’s foundation-stone.”
II.
Hastily with line and rule
Work they out the cloister’s plan;
Hastily with eager tool
Delve foundations in the sod,
Where shall stand the house of God.
Never resting night or day,
Building, ever building, they
Hurry on the work alway.
But what in the day has grown,
In the night is overthrown.
Next day, next, and next again,
What within the hours of light
They have reared with toil and pain,
Falls to ruin in the night,
And all labor is in vain;
For the pile will not remain,
Falling nightly down again.
Wondering and wrathful then
Doth the prince the builders call,
Raging, threatens once again
He will build them, build them all,
Build them in beneath the wall.
And the master builders nine,
Thus, their wretched lives at stake,
Quaking toil, and toiling quake,
All throughout the summer light,
Till the day gives way to night.
But Manoll upon a day
Puts the irksome task away,
Lays him down to sleep, and thus
Dream he dreameth marvellous,
Which, awak’ning from repose,
Straightway doth he then disclose:
“Hear my story, masters mine,
Ye my fellow-craftsmen nine;
Hearken to me while I tell
Dream in sleep that me befell:
From the height of heaven clear
Was it borne upon my ear.
Ever we shall build in vain,
Crumbling still our work again,
Till together swear we all
To immure within the wall
Her who at the peep of day
Chances first to come this way
Hither, who is sent by fate,
Bearing food for swain or mate,
Wife or sweetheart though it be,
Maid or matron equally.
Therefore listen, comrades mine:
Would you build this holy shrine—
Would you to enduring fame
Evermore transmit your name—
Vow we all a solemn vow,
As we stand together now,
Whosoever it shall be
That his lovèd one shall see,
Chancing here her way to take
When the morrow’s light doth break,
Will as victim bid her fall,
Buried living in the wall!”
III.
Smiling doth the morning break;
With the dawn Manoll, awake,
Scaling the enclosure’s bound,
Mounts the scaffold; all around,
Hill and dale, with glance of fear,
Anxious searcheth far and near.
What is this that greets his eyes?
Who is it that hither hies?
’Tis his wife he doth behold,
Sweetest blossom of the wold;
She it is that hasteth here,
Bringing for her husband dear
Meat and wine his heart to cheer.
Sure too awful is the sight!
Can his senses witness right?
Leaps his heart and reels his brain
In an agony of pain.
Then on bended knees he falls,
Desperate on Heaven calls:
“O Lord my God,
That rul’st on high,
Ope thou the flood-gates
Of the sky;
Down upon earth
Thy torrents pour,
Till brook and river
Rise and roar,
Till raging floods
My wife shall stay,
Shall turn her back
The homeward way!”
Lo! in pity God has hearkened—
That which he has asked is done;
Clouds the heaven’s face have darkened,
They have blotted out the sun;
Down the rains in torrents pour,
Brook and river rage and roar.
But nor storm nor flood can stay
Manoll’s wife upon her way;
Pressing onward, halting never,
Plunging through the foaming river,
Knowing naught of doubt or fear,
Near she hasteth, and more near.
The poem goes on to say how Manoll a second time implores the Creator
to send a hurricane which shall ravage the face of nature and impede
her progress. Once more his prayer is granted, and a mighty wind, which,
Sighing loud and moaning,
Thundering and droning,
Down the plane-trees bending,
And the pines uprending,
rages over the land.
But no earthly force
Checks her steady course,
And all vainly passed
By the furious blast,
In the storm she quavers,
But yet never wavers,
And, oh, hapless lot!
Soon has reached the spot.
The fourth canto relates how the nine master masons are filled with joy
at sight of this heaven-sent victim. Manoll alone is sad, as, kissing
his wife, he takes her in his arms and carries her up the scaffolding.
There he places her in a niche, explaining that they are going to
pretend to build her in merely as a joke; while the poor young wife,
scenting no danger, claps her hands in childish pleasure at the idea.
But her spouse, with gloomy face,
Speaks no word, and works apace;
Of his dream he thinks alone,
As they pile up stone on stone.
And the church walls upward shoot,
Cover soon her dainty foot,
Reaching then above the knee;
Where is vanished all her glee?
As, becoming deadly pale,
Thus the wife begins to wail:
“Manolli, dear Manolli!
Master, master Manolli!
Prithee, now this joking cease,
And thy wife from here release;
See, the wall is closing fast,
In its grip am I compassed.
Manolli, dear Manolli!
Master, master Manolli!”
But Manoll makes no reply,
Works with restless energy.
Higher and yet higher
Grows the wall entire,
Grows with lightning haste,
Reaches soon her waist,
Reaches soon her breast;
She no more can jest,
Hardly can she speak,
With voice faint and weak:
“Manolli, dear Manolli!
Master, master Manolli!
Stop this joke and set me free—
Soon a mother shall I be;
See, the wall is crushing me,
These hard stones my babe will kill;
With salt tears my bosom fill.”
But Manoll makes no reply,
Works with restless energy.
Higher and yet higher
Grows the wall entire;
O’er her dainty foot
Fast the church walls shoot;
Fair Annika’s knee
Soon no more they see,
Building on in haste
To her lithesome waist;
Hidden is her breast,
By the stones compressed;
Hidden now her eye,
As the wall grows high;
Building on apace,
Hidden soon her face!
And the hapless woman, she
Laughs no longer now in glee,
But from out the cruel wall
Still the feeble voice doth call:
“Manolli, dear Manolli!
Master, master Manolli!
See the wall is closing quite,
Vanished the last ray of light.”
There is still a fifth canto to this ballad, but of such decidedly
inferior merit as to suggest the idea that it is a piece of patchwork
added on at a later period. The prince, delighted at the success of the
building, asks the master masons whether they could undertake to raise
a second church of yet nobler, loftier proportions than the first. This
question being answered in the affirmative, the tyrannical Voyvod,
probably afraid of their embellishing some other country with the work
of their genius, orders the ladders and scaffolding to be removed from
the building, so that the ten illustrious architects are left standing
on the roof, there to perish of starvation. Hoping to escape this doom,
each of the master masons constructs for himself a pair of artificial
wings, or rather a sort of parachute, out of light wooden shingles,
and by means of which he hopes safely to reach the ground. But the
parachutes are a miserable failure, and crashing down with violence,
the nine master masons are turned into as many stones. Manoll, the last
to descend, and distracted at hearing the wailing voice of his dying
wife calling upon him, falls likewise; but the tears welling up from
his breast cause him to be transformed into a spring of crystal water
flowing near the church, and to this day known by the name of Manolli’s
well.
“Miora,” or “The Lamb,” is another popular ballad, which, sung
and recited throughout Roumania and Transylvania, is gracefully
illustrative of the idyllic bond by which shepherd and flock are united:
MIORA.
Where the mountains open, there
Runs a path-way passing fair,
And along this flowery way
Shepherds came one summer day.
Snowy flocks were three,
Led by shepherds three.
One from Magyarland had come,
Wrantscha was another’s home,
From Moldavia one had come;
But the one from Magyarland,
And from Wrantscha—hand in hand,
Council held they secretly,
And resolved deceitfully,
When behind the hill
Sank the sun, to kill
The Moldavian herd, for he
Was the richest of the three.
Strongest were his rams,
Fattest were his dams,
Whitest were his lambs,
And his dogs the fiercest,
And his horse the fleetest.
But a lambkin white,
With eyes soft and bright,
Since the break of day
Bleats so piteously,
Does not cease to bleat,
No more grass will eat.
“Little lambkin white,
Thou my favorite,
Why since break of day
Bleat so piteously?
Never cease to bleat,
No more grass wiltst eat,
O my lambkin sweet,
Wherefore dost complain?
Say, dost suffer pain?”
“Gentle shepherd, master dear,
Prithee but my warning hear;
Lead away thy flock of sheep
Where the woodland shades are deep;
There in peace can we abide—
Forests dense there are to hide.
Shepherd, shepherd! list to me;
Call thy dog to follow thee;
Choose the fiercest one of all,
Ear most watchful to thy call,
For the other herds have sworn
Thou shalt die before the morn!”
“Little lamb, if true dost say,
Hast the gift to prophesy,
And if it must come to pass
That I thus shall die, alas!
Is it written that my life
Thus shall end a cruel knife,
Tell the shepherds where to lay
My cold body in the clay.
Near unto my sheep
Would I wish to sleep,
From the grave to hark
When the sheep-dogs bark.
On the mound I pray
Three new flutes to lay:
One of beech-wood fine be made,
Sings of love that cannot fade;
One carved out of whitest bone,
For my broken heart makes moan;
One of elder-wood let be,
For its tones are proud and free.
When at evenfall
’Gin the winds to call,
List’ning to the sound,
Gather then around
All my faithful sheep,
Bloody tears to weep.
But that I am dead
Let no word be said:
Tell them that a queen
Passing fair was seen,
Took me for her mate;
That we sit in state
On a lofty throne;
That the sun and moon
Held the golden crown,
And a star fell down
Straight above my head.
Say, when I was wed,
Oak-tree, beech, and pine,
All were guests of mine
At the wedding-feast;
And the holy priest
Was a mountain high.
Made sweet melody
Thousand birds from near and far,
Every torch a golden star.
But if thou shouldst meet,
Oh, if thou shouldst meet,
A poor haggard matron,
Torn her scarlet apron,
Wet with tears her eyes,
Hoarse with choking sighs,
’Tis my mother old,
Running o’er the wold,
Asking every one,
‘Have you seen my son?
In the whole land none
Other was so fair,
With such raven hair,
Soft to feel as silk;
Like the purest milk,
None had skin so white;
None had eyes so bright,
As a pair of sloes.
And where’er he goes,
Shepherd none there be
Half so fair as he!’
Lamb, oh pity take,
Else her heart will break.
Tell her that a queen
Passing fair was seen,
Took me for her mate;
That we sit in state
On a lofty throne;
That the sun and moon
Held the golden crown,
And a star fell down
Straight above my head.
Say, when I was wed,
Oak-tree, beech, and pine,
All were guests of mine
At the wedding-feast;
And the holy priest
Was a mountain high.
Made sweet melody
Thousand birds from near and far,
Every torch a golden star.”[27]
The third and last of those folk songs which limited space permits me
here to quote is one I have selected as being peculiarly characteristic
of the tender and clinging affection these people bear to their
progeny. Devoid of poetical merit it may perhaps be, but surely the
unsatisfied yearnings of a childless woman have seldom been more
pathetically rendered.
THE ROUMANIAN’S DESIRE.
Would it but th’ Almighty please
This my yearning heart to ease,
But to send a little son,
Little cherub for mine own.
All the day and all the night
Would I rock my angel bright;
Gently shielded it should rest
Ever on my happy breast.
I would feed it, I would tend it,
From each peril I’d defend it;
Whisp’ring with the voice of love,
Suck, my chick, my lamb, my dove.
Did but Heaven hear my voice,
Evermore would I rejoice;
Golden gifts so bright and rare,
Little baby soft and fair.
Love that on him I’d bestow,
Other child did never know;
Such his loveliness and worth,
Ne’er was like him child on earth.
Lips like coral, skin like snow,
Eyes like those of mountain roe;
And the roses on his cheek
Elsewhere you in vain would seek.
Mouth so sweet, and eyes so bright,
Would I kiss from morn to night;
Kiss his cheek and kiss his hair,
Singing, “How my child is fair!”
Every holy prayer I know
Should secure my child from woe;
Every magic herb I’d pluck,
For to bring him endless luck.[28]
Surely, then, he’d grow apace,
Strong of limb and fair of face,
And a hero such as he
Earth before did never see!
It is not easy to classify the cultivated Roumanian writers of the
present day, still less so is it to select appropriate specimens from
their works. Roumanian literature is in a transition state at present,
and, despite much talent and energy on the part of its representatives,
has not as yet regained any fixed national character. Perhaps, indeed,
it would be more correct to say that precisely the talent and energy of
some of the most gifted writers have harmed Roumanian literature more
than they have assisted it, by dragging into fashion a dozen different
modes utterly incongruous with one another, and with the mainsprings
of Roumanian thought and feeling. No doubt the custom of sending their
children to be educated outside the country is much to blame for this;
and, naturally enough, French poets have been imported into the land
along with Parisian fashions.
Béranger and Musset, along with Shakespeare, Goethe, Byron, and Heine,
have all been abused in this manner by men who should have understood
that the strength of any literature does not lie in the successful
imitation of foreign models, however excellent, but rather in the
intelligent exploitation of its own historical and artistic treasures.
Even Basil Alexandri, the first and most national of Roumanian poets,
sometimes falls unconsciously into this error, still more perceptible
in the works of Rosetti, Negruzzi, and Cornea.
Odobescu, Gane, Alexi, and Dunca have acquired some fame as writers
of fiction; and Joan Slavici in particular may here be cited for his
charming sketches of rural life, which have something of the force and
delicacy of Turguenief’s hand.
FET LOGOFET[29] (_literally_, YOUNG FOOLHARDY).
Thou radiant young knight,
With glance full of light,
With golden-locked hair,
Oh, turn thy proud steed;
Of the forest take heed—
The dragon lies there.
Thou fairest of maids,
With silken-like braids,
So slender thy zone,
My good sword will pierce
The monster so fierce,
And fear I have none.
Thou wrestler, thou ranger,
Thou seeker of danger,
With eyes flashing fire;
Thy fate will be dolesome;
The dragon is loathsome,
And fearful his ire.
Thou coaxer, thou pleader,
Thou sweet interceder,
My star silver bright!
Both dragon and drake,
Before me they quake,
And fly at my sight.
Thou stealer of hearts,
With golden-tipped darts,
Yet list to my cry!
Thou canst not escape,
His open jaws gape,
Turn water to sky!
Thou angel-like child,
With blue eyes so mild,
Yet needst not to sigh;
For this my good steed
The wind can outspeed,
And rear heaven-high!
Oh, radiant young knight,
With eyes full of light,
That masterful shine;
Oh, hark to my prayer,
And do not go there—
My heart it is thine!
Yet needs I must ride
To win as my bride
Thou, maiden most sweet;
I must gain renown—
Either death or a crown—
To lay at thy feet.
THE FAULT IS NOT THINE.[30]
Full oft hast thou sworn that on this side the grave
Thy love and thy heart should forever be mine;
But thou hast forgotten, and I—I forgave,
For such is the world, and the fault is not thine.
And again was thy cry, “Thou beloved of my heart,
In heaven itself, without thee I’d pine!”
On earth still we dwell—yet dwell we apart;
’Tis the fault of our age, and the fault is not thine.
My arms they embraced thee, I drank with delight
The dew from thy lips like a nectar divine;
But the dew turned to venom, its freshness to blight,
For such is thy sex, and the fault is not thine.
Thy love and thine honor, thy virtue and troth,
Given now to another, were yesterday mine;
Thou knowest not Love! then why should I be wroth?
’Tis the fault of thy race, and the fault is not thine.
Far stronger than Love were both riches and pride,
And swiftly and surely thy faith did decline;
Thy wounds they are healed, thy tears they are dried,
Thou couldst not remember—the fault is not thine.
Yet though thou art faithless, and falsely hast left me,
My eyes can see naught but an angel divine;
My heart flutters wildly whenever I see thee—
’Tis the fault of my love, and the fault is not mine!
I do not suppose that any one with the slightest knowledge of Roumania
and Roumanians can fail to detect an alien note in both these
compositions, despite the grace of the originals; nor can one help
feeling that these authors should have been capable of far better
things.
And surely far better and grander things will come ere long from this
nation, at once so old and so young! when, having regained its lost
self-confidence, it comes to understand that more evil than good is
engendered by a blind conformity to foreign fashions.
Already a step in the right direction has been taken in the matter
of national dress, which, thanks to the praiseworthy example of the
Roumanian queen, has lately received much attention. And as in dress,
so in literature, does Carmen Sylva take the lead, and endeavor
to teach her people to value national productions above foreign
importations.
When, therefore, Roumanian writers begin to see that their force lies
not in the servile imitation of Western models, but in working out the
rich vein of their own folk-lore, and in bridging over the space which
takes them back to ancient pagan traditions, then, doubtless, a new
era will set in for the literature of the country. Let Roumanian poets
leave Béranger and Musset to moulder on their book-shelves, and consign
to oblivion Heinrich Heine, whose exquisitely morbid sentimentality is
far too fragile an article to bear importation; let them cease from
wandering abroad, and assuredly they will discover in their own forests
and mountains better and more vigorous material than Paris or Germany
can offer: the old stones around them will begin to speak, and the old
gods will let themselves be lured from out their hiding-places. Then
will it be seen that Apollo’s lyre has not ceased to vibrate, and the
lays of ancient Rome will arise and develop to new life.
FOOTNOTES:
[26] The Hospodar Negru, or Nyagou as he is sometimes called, reigned
from 1513 to 1521. Long detained as hostage at the Court of Sultan
Selim I., he had the opportunity of studying Oriental architecture,
and himself directed the building of a celebrated mosque which had,
we are told, no less than 999 windows and 366 minarets. This edifice
so delighted the Sultan that he set Nyagou at liberty, presenting him
with all the rich materials remaining over from the building of the
mosque, in order to erect a church in his native country. Returning
thither, he is said to have brought with him the celebrated architect
Manoll, or Manolli, by birth a Phanariot, who, with his wife Annika, is
immortalized in this ballad.
[27] A prose translation of this poem appeared in Stanley’s “Rouman
Anthology,” 1856.
[28] This allusion to prayer and magic in the same breath is thoroughly
characteristic of the Roumanian’s religion.
[29] By B. Alexandri.
[30] By K. A. Rosetti.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE ROUMANIANS: NATIONALITY AND ATROCITIES.
The Roumanians have often been called slavish and cringing, but,
considering their past history, it is not possible that they should be
otherwise, oppressed and trampled on, persecuted, and treated as vermin
by the surrounding races; and it should rather be matter for surprise
that they have been able to continue existing at all under such a
combination of adverse circumstances, which would assuredly have worn
out a less powerful nature.
Until little more than a century ago, it was illegal for any Wallachian
child to frequent a German or Hungarian school; while at that same
period the Wallachian clergy were compelled to carry the Calvinistic
bishop on their shoulders to and from his church, whenever he
thought fit to exact their services. Still more inhuman was a law
which continued in force up to the end of the sixteenth century,
ordaining that each Wallachian out of the district of Poplaka, in the
neighborhood of Hermanstadt, who injured a tree, if only by peeling
off the bark, was to be forthwith hung up to the same tree. “Should,
however, the culprit remain undiscovered,” prescribes the law, “then
shall the community of Poplaka be bound to deliver up for execution
some other Wallachian in his place.”
The faults of the Roumanians are the faults of all slaves. Like all
serfs, they are lazy, not being yet accustomed to work for themselves,
nor caring to work for a master; they have acquired cunning and
deceit as the only weapons wherewith to meet tyranny and oppression.
Sometimes, when goaded to passion, the Roumanian forgets himself, and
his eyes flash fiercely on his tormentor; but the gaze is instantly
corrected, and the eyes lowered again to their habitual expression of
abject humility.
Occasionally they have cast off the yoke and taken cruel revenge on
their real or imaginary oppressors, as in 1848, when, instigated
and stirred up by Austrian agents, they rose against their masters
the Hungarian noblemen, and perpetrated atrocities as numerous as
disgusting. They pillaged the country houses, setting everything
on fire, and put the nobles to death with many torturing devices,
crucifying some and burying others up to the neck, cutting off tongues
and plucking out eyes, as a diabolical fancy suggested.
This was all the more surprising, as the bond between serfs and masters
had always been of a most peaceful and patriarchal character, and it
was to his Hungarian landlord that the Wallachian had been always
accustomed to turn for counsel or assistance. True, the serf was forced
to pay certain tithes to his master; but in return, whenever the crops
failed, the master himself was obliged to sustain the serf, and provide
him with corn out of his own granaries.
A Hungarian lady related to me a very horrible instance of cruelty
which had happened on the property of a near relation of her own in the
revolution of 1848. This gentleman, one of the most generous and humane
landlords, did not usually reside at his country place, but had spent
much time in foreign travel, and was unknown to most of his people,
which, however, did not prevent them from resolving on his death.
Hearing of the riots which had broken out on his estate, the nobleman
was hastening to the spot; and the excited peasantry, informed of his
impending arrival, prepared to receive him with scythes and pickaxes.
The servants of the household had all fled the neighborhood at
the first alarm; but there remained behind at the chateau the
foster-daughter of the gentleman, a girl of sixteen, who, brought
up with the family, was warmly attached to her benefactor, whom she
called father. Shutting herself up in a turret-room, she tremblingly
awaited the _dénouement_ of the fearful drama which was being enacted
around her. From her window she could overlook the road by which her
foster-father was expected to arrive, and she stood thus all day at her
post, straining her eyes for what she feared to see, and praying God to
keep her benefactor away.
Twilight had set in, and the moon began to rise, when a solitary rider
was at last descried coming down the neighboring hill. The poor girl’s
heart sank within her, for she knew that this could be no other than
her father; and even had she doubted it, the wild-beast roar which
broke from the peasants at the sight of their long-expected prey
destroyed all remnant of hope. As in a horrible nightmare, she saw
them advance towards the horseman in a black, heaving mass, like a
crawling thunder-cloud, broken here and there by the sinister gleam
of a sharpened scythe. Paralyzed with horror, she yet was unable to
look away, and no merciful fainting-fit came to spare her the sight of
any of the horrible details which followed: how the hapless rider was
surrounded and speedily overpowered; how a dreadful scuffle ensued;
and after an interval which seemed like an eternity, how something was
hoisted up at the end of a long pole—something round in shape and
ghastly in hue—the head of her beloved benefactor!
By-and-by she was roused from her grief by the loud voices of rioters
approaching, and presently the front door being shaken and forced in
with a resounding crash, the bloody wretches proceeded to overrun the
house, and ransack the larders and cellar, laying hands on whatever
viands they could discover. In the large vaulted hall they began the
carouse, seated round the banqueting-table, and on a platter in the
centre was placed the head of their victim.
Two of the peasants who had been searching the upper apartments now
appeared on the scene, dragging between them a convulsively trembling
girl, who looked ready to die with terror. “They had found her
up-stairs in the turret,” they explained, “sobbing like a fool, and
calling out for her father, like a suckling whelp that has lost its
dam.”
“The old man’s daughter!” shouted one of the revellers; “let us cut off
her head as well—they will look fine together on the platter!”
“No,” said another; “she is not worth killing, she is half dead
already. Let her look at her dear father, since it is for him she is
crying;” and raising the dish from the table, he held it in horrible
proximity to her shrinking face.
The poor girl tightly closed her eyes in order to escape the dreadful
sight, but her persecutors were not inclined to let her off so easily.
Maddened alike by blood and drink, they grasped her roughly, and
seizing her long black eyelashes on either side, by main force they
compelled her to raise her eyelids and fix her swimming eyes on the
gory head.
At first she could distinguish nothing for the blinding tears which
obscured her vision, but suddenly the mist cleared away, and the cry
she then uttered was so sharp and piercing that it re-echoed again from
the vaulted roof, and caused the drinkers to pause for a minute, glass
in hand. Lucky it was for her and hers that the dull ear of the tipsy
murderers had failed to distinguish the meaning of that cry aright;
for in moments of intense emotion widely different feelings are apt
to resemble each other in expression, so that joy may be mistaken for
grief, and hope for despair—and it was hope, not despair, which had
given that piercing sharpness to her voice, for the ghastly grinning
head before her was the head of a stranger!
The joyful exclamation rising to her lips was checked just in time, as
her dazed brain began to recognize the urgency of the situation. She
must not undeceive these men, who were exulting over the death of their
landlord. Her father was not dead, it is true, but neither was the
danger yet past, and his safety might depend on keeping up the delusion
a little longer. By good-luck her confusion passed unnoticed by the
semi-tipsy revellers, who presently had no more thought but for their
bumpers, so that the young girl, enabled to creep away unobserved,
was ultimately the means of saving the nobleman’s life by sending a
messenger to warn him of his danger.
The man who had been executed in his place turned out to be a gentleman
from some neighboring district, who in the dusk had taken a wrong turn
on the road, thus occasioning the mistake which cost him his life.
* * * * *
Many such instances of cruelty, of which the Roumanians made themselves
guilty in the year ’48, have deprived them of the sympathy to which
they might have laid claim as a suffering and oppressed race; but
people who have a thorough knowledge of the Roumanian character, and
are able to estimate correctly all the influences brought to bear on
them at that time, do not hesitate to affirm that these people were
far more sinned against than sinning, and cannot be held responsible
for the atrocities they perpetrated. Even Hungarian nobles, themselves
the greatest sufferers by all that occurred during the revolution,
are wont to speak of them with a sort of pitying commiseration, as of
poor misguided creatures led astray by unscrupulous agents, and wholly
incapable of comprehending the heinousness of their behavior.
An amusing illustration has been given of the ignorance of these
revolutionary peasants in 1848. Some of them, having broken into a
nobleman’s mansion, discovered a packet of old letters in a drawer, and
believing these to be patents of nobility, they proceeded to burn them
in front of the portrait of one of the family ancestors, exclaiming,
tauntingly, “See, proud lord, how thy family becomes once more as
ignoble as we ourselves are!”
Few races possess in such a marked degree the blind and immovable
sense of nationality which characterizes the Roumanians: they hardly
ever mingle with the surrounding races, far less adopt manners and
customs foreign to their own; and it is a remarkable fact that the
seemingly stronger-minded and more manly Hungarians are absolutely
powerless to influence them even in cases of intermarriage. Thus the
Hungarian woman who weds a Roumanian husband will necessarily adopt
the dress and manners of his people, and her children will be as good
Roumanians as though they had no drop of Magyar blood in their veins;
while the Magyar who takes a Roumanian girl for his wife will not
only fail to convert her to his ideas, but himself, subdued by her
influence, will imperceptibly begin to lose his nationality. This is
a fact well known and much lamented by the Hungarians themselves, who
live in anticipated apprehension of seeing their people ultimately
dissolving into Roumanians. This singular tenacity of the Roumanians
to their own manners and customs is doubtless due to the influence of
their religion, which teaches them that any deviation from their own
established rules is sinful—which, as I have said before, is the whole
pivot of Roumanian thought and action.
In some districts where an attempt was made in the time of Maria
Theresa to replace the Greek popas by other clergymen belonging to
the united faith, the inhabitants simply absented themselves from
all church attendance or reception of the sacraments; and there are
instances on record of villages whose churches remained closed for over
thirty years, because the people could not be induced to accept the
change.
As to that portion of the Transylvanian Roumanians which in 1698
consented to embrace the united faith, their separation from their
schismatic brethren is but a skin-deep one after all, having no
influence whatsoever on their customs and superstitions, or on the
strong bond of nationality which holds them all together.
It is a notable fact that among all Oriental races the ideas of
religion and nationality are inextricably bound together. So with the
Roumanians, whose language has no other word wherewith to express
religion or confession but _lege_, law—obviously derived from the
Latin _lex_.
The deeply inrooted sense of Roumanian nationality has, moreover,
received fresh stimulus in the comprehension which of late years has
been slowly but surely dawning on the minds of these people—that
they are a nation like other nations, with a right to be governed
by a monarch of their own choice, instead of being bandied about,
backward and forward, changing masters at each European treaty. There
is no doubt that the bulk of Roumanians living to-day in Hungary
and Transylvania consider themselves to be serving in bondage, and
covertly gaze over the frontier for their real monarch; and who can
blame them for so doing? In the many Roumanian hovels I have visited
in Transylvania, I have frequently come across the portrait of the
King of Roumania hung up in the place of honor, but never once that
of his Austrian Majesty. Old wood-cuts representing Michel the Brave,
the great hero of the Roumanians, and of the rebel Hora,[31] are
also pretty sure to be found adorning the walls of many a hut. It is
likewise by no means uncommon to see village taverns bearing such
titles as, “To the King of Roumania,” or “To the United Roumanian
Kingdom,” etc.
A little incident which, taking place under my eyes, impressed me very
strongly at the time, helped me to understand this feeling more clearly
than I had done before. Two Roumanian generals engaged in some business
regarding the regulation of the frontier, being at Hermanstadt for a
few days, paid visits to the principal Austrian military authorities,
and were the object of much courteous attention. One evening the
Austrian commanding general had ordered the military band to play in
honor of his Roumanian _confrères_, and seated along with them on the
promenade, we were listening to the music. Presently two or three
private soldiers passing by stopped in front of us to stare at the
foreign uniforms. Apparently their curiosity was not easily satisfied,
for after five minutes had elapsed they still remained standing, as
though rooted to the spot, and other soldiers had joined them as well,
till the group soon numbered above a dozen heads.
Being engaged in conversation, I did not at the moment pay much
attention to this circumstance, but happening to turn round again some
minutes later, I was surprised to see that the spectators had become
doubled and quadrupled in the mean time, and were steadily increasing
every minute. Little short of a hundred soldiers were now standing in
front of us, all gazing intently. Why were they staring thus strangely?
what were they looking at? I asked myself confusedly, but luckily
checked the question rising to my lips, when it suddenly struck me
that _all_ these men had swarthy complexions, and _each_ one of them a
pair of dark eyes, and simultaneously I remembered that the infantry
regiment whose uniform they wore was recruited from Roumanian villages
round Hermanstadt.
They were perfectly quiet and submissive-looking, betraying no sign of
outward excitement or insubordination; but their expression was not
to be mistaken, and no attentive observer could have failed to read
its meaning aright. It was at _their own generals_ they were gazing in
that hungry, longing manner; and deep down in every dusky eye, piercing
through a thick layer of patience, stupidity, apathy, and military
discipline, there smouldered a spark of something vague and intangible,
the germ of a sort of fire which has often kindled revolutions and
sometimes overturned kingdoms.
Heaven alone knows what was passing in the clouded brain of these poor
ignorant men as they stood thus gaping and staring, in the intensity of
their rapt attention! Visions of glory and freedom perchance, dreams
of peace and of prosperity; dim far-off pictures of unattainable
happiness, of a golden age to come, and an Arcadian state of things no
more to be found on the dull surface of this weary world!
The Austrian generals tried not to look annoyed, the Roumanian generals
strove not to look elated, and the English looker-on endeavored (I
trust somewhat more successfully) to conceal her amusement at the
serio-comicality of the situation, which one and all we tacitly ignored
with that exquisite hypocrisy characterizing well-bred persons of every
nation.
FOOTNOTES:
[31] The real name of this celebrated Wallachian rebel, born in 1740,
was Nykulaj Urszu. Under the reign of the Emperor Joseph II. he became
the chief instigator of a revolution among the sorely oppressed
Transylvanian Wallachs, who, rising to the number of thirty thousand
men, proceeded to murder the Hungarian nobles, and plunder, sack, and
burn their possessions. Hora’s project was to raise himself to the
position of sovereign, and he had already adopted the title of King of
Dacia when he was captured, and, together with his confederate Kloska,
very cruelly put to death at Karlsburg in 1785.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE ROUMANIANS: DEATH AND BURIAL—VAMPIRES AND WERE-WOLVES.
Nowhere does the inherent superstition of the Roumanian peasant find
stronger expression than in his mourning and funeral rites, which are
based upon a totally original conception of death.
Among the various omens of approaching death are the groundless barking
of a dog, the shriek of an owl, the falling down of a picture from the
wall, and the crowing of a black hen. The influence of this latter may,
however, be annulled, and the catastrophe averted, if the bird be put
in a sack and carried sunwise thrice round the dwelling-house.
It is likewise prognostic of death to break off the smaller portion of
a fowl’s merry-thought, to dream of troubled water or of teeth falling
out,[32] or to be merry without apparent reason.
A falling star always denotes that a soul is leaving the earth—for,
according to Lithuanian mythology, to each star is attached the thread
of some man’s life, which, breaking at his death, causes the star to
fall. In some places it is considered unsafe to point at a falling star.
A dying man may be restored to life if he be laid on Holy Saturday
outside the church-door, where the priest passing with the procession
may step over him; or else let him eat of a root which has been
dug up from the church-yard on Good Friday; but if these and other
remedies prove inefficient, then must the doomed man be given a burning
candle into his hand, for it is considered to be the greatest of all
misfortunes if a man die without a light—a favor the Roumanian durst
not refuse to his deadliest enemy.
The corpse must be washed immediately after death, and the dirt, if
necessary, scraped off with knives, because the dead man will be
more likely to find favor above if he appear in a clean state before
the Creator. Then he is attired in his best clothes, in doing which
great care must be taken not to tie anything in a knot, for that would
disturb his rest by keeping him bound down to the earth. Nor must he be
suffered to carry away any particle of iron about his person, such as
buttons, boot-nails, etc., for that would assuredly prevent him from
reaching Paradise, the road to which is long, and, moreover, divided
off by several tolls or ferries. To enable the soul to pass through
these a piece of money must be laid in the hand, under the pillow, or
beneath the tongue of the corpse. In the neighborhood of Forgaras,
where the ferries or toll-bars are supposed to amount to twenty-five,
the hair of the defunct is divided into as many plaits, and a piece of
money secured in each. Likewise a small provision of needles, thread,
pins, etc., is put into the coffin, to enable the pilgrim to repair any
damages his clothes may receive on the way.
The family must also be careful not to leave a knife lying with the
sharpened edge uppermost as long as the corpse remains in the house, or
else the soul will be forced to ride on the blade.
The mourning songs, called _Bocete_, usually performed by paid
mourners, are directly addressed to the corpse, and sung into his ear
on either side. This is the last attempt made by the survivors to
wake the dead man to life by reminding him of all he is leaving, and
urging him to make a final effort to arouse his dormant faculties—the
thought which underlies these proceedings being that the dead man hears
and sees all that goes on around him, and that it only requires the
determined effort of a strong will in order to restore elasticity to
the stiffened limbs, and cause the torpid blood to flow anew in the
veins.
Here is a fragment of one of these mourning songs, which are often very
pathetic and fanciful:
“Mother dear, arise, arise,
Dry the tearful household’s eyes!
Waken, waken from thy trance,
Speak a word or cast a glance!
Pity thou thy children’s lot!
Rise, O mother, leave us not!
Death triumphant, woe is me,
From thy children snatcheth thee!
To the wall hast turned thee now,
Son nor daughter heedest thou.
Laid the church-yard sod beneath,
Thou shalt feel no breeze’s breath
On the surface of thy grave;
From thy brow shall grasses wave,
From those eyes so mild and true
Nodding harebells take their blue.”
Women alone are allowed to take part in these lamentations, and all
women related to the deceased by ties of blood or friendship are bound
to assist as mourners; likewise, those whose families have been on
unfriendly terms with the dead man now appear to ask his forgiveness.
The corpse must remain exposed a full day and night in the chamber of
death, and during that time must never be left alone, nor should the
lamentations be suffered to cease for a single moment. For this reason
it is customary to have hired women to act the part of mourners, by
relieving each other at intervals in singing the mourning songs. Often
the deceased himself, in his last testamentary disposition, has ordered
the details of his funeral, and fixed the payment—sometimes very
considerable—which the mourning women are to receive.
The men related to the deceased are also bound to spend the night in
the house, keeping watch over the corpse. This is called keeping the
_privegghia_, which, however, has not necessarily a mournful character,
as they mostly pass the time with various games, or else seated at
table with food and wine.
Before the funeral the priest is called in, who, reciting the words of
the fiftieth psalm, pours wine over the corpse. After this the coffin
is closed, and must not be reopened unless the deceased be suspected
to have died of a violent death, in which case the man accused of the
crime is confronted with the corpse of his supposed victim, whose
wounds will, at his sight, begin to bleed afresh.
In many places two openings corresponding to the ears of the deceased
are cut in the wood of the coffin, to enable him to hear the songs of
mourning which are sung on either side of him as he is carried to the
grave. This singing into the ears has passed into a proverb, and when
the Roumanian says, “_I-a-cantat la urechia_” (they have sung into his
ear), it is tantamount to saying that prayer, advice, and remonstrance
have all been used in vain.
Whoever dies unmarried must not be carried by married bearers to
the grave: a married man or woman is carried by married men, and a
youth by other youths, while a maiden is carried by other maidens
with hanging, dishevelled hair. In every case the rank of the bearer
should correspond to that of the deceased, and a fruntas can as little
be carried by mylocasi as the bearers of a codas may be higher than
himself in rank.
In many villages no funeral takes place in the forenoon, as the people
believe that the soul will reach its destination more easily by
following the march of the sinking sun.
The mass for the departed soul should, if possible, be said in the
open air; and when the coffin is lowered into the grave, the earthen
jar containing the water in which the corpse has been washed must be
shattered to atoms on the spot.
A thunder-storm during the funeral denotes that another death will
shortly follow.
It is often customary to place bread and wine on the fresh grave-mound;
and in the case of young people, small fir-trees or gay-colored flags
are placed beside the cross, to which in the case of a shepherd a tuft
of wool is always attached.
Seven copper coins, and seven loaves of bread with a lighted candle
sticking in each, are often distributed to seven poor people at the
grave. This also is intended to signify the tolls to be cleared on the
way to heaven.
In some places it is usual for the procession returning from a funeral
to take its way through a river or stream of running water, sometimes
going a mile or two out of their way to avoid all bridges, thus making
sure that the vagrant soul of the beloved deceased will not follow them
back to the house.
Earth taken from a fresh grave-mound and laid behind the neck at night
will bring pleasant dreams; it may also serve as a cure for fever if
made use of in the following manner: The person afflicted with fever
repairs to the grave of some beloved relative, where, calling upon the
defunct in the most tender terms, he begs of him or her the loan of a
winding-sheet for a strange and unwelcome guest. Taking, then, from the
grave a handful of earth, which he is careful to tie up tightly and
place inside his shirt, the sick man goes away, and for three days and
nights he carries this talisman about with him wherever he goes. On the
fourth day he returns to the grave by a different route, and replacing
the earth on the mound, thanks the dead man for the service rendered.
A still more efficacious remedy for fever is to lay a string or
thread the exact length of your own body into the coffin of some one
newly deceased, saying these words, “May I shiver only when this dead
man shivers.” Sore eyes may be cured by anointing them with the dew
gathered off the grass of the grave of a just man on a fine evening in
early spring; and a bone taken from the deceased’s right arm will cure
boils and sores by its touch. Whoever would keep sparrows off his field
must between eleven o’clock and midnight collect earth from off seven
different graves and scatter it over his field; while the same earth,
if thrown over a dog addicted to hunting, will cure him of this defect.
The _pomeana_, or funeral feast, is invariably held after the funeral,
for much of the peace of the defunct depends upon the strict observance
of this ancient custom. All the favorite dishes of the dead man are
served at this banquet, and each guest receives a cake, a jug of wine,
and a wax candle in his memory. Similar pomeanas are repeated after a
fortnight, six weeks, and on each anniversary of the death for the next
seven years. On the first anniversary it is usual to bring bread and
wine to the church-yard. The bread is distributed to the poor, and the
wine poured down through the earth into the grave.
During six weeks after the funeral the women of the family let their
hair hang uncombed and unplaited in sign of mourning. It is, moreover,
no uncommon thing for Roumanians to bind themselves down to a mourning
of ten or twenty years, or even for life, in memory of some beloved
deceased one. Thus in one of the villages there still lived, two years
ago, an old man who for the last forty years had worn no head-covering,
summer or winter, in memory of his only son, who had died in early
youth.
In the case of a man who has died a violent death, or in general of
all such as have expired without a light, none of these ceremonies
take place. Such a man has neither right to bocete, privegghia, mass,
or pomeana, nor is his body laid in consecrated ground. He is buried
wherever the body may be found, on the bleak hill-side or in the heart
of the forest where he met his death, his last resting-place only
marked by a heap of dry branches, to which each passer-by is expected
to add by throwing a handful of twigs—usually a thorny branch—on the
spot. This handful of thorns—_o mânâ de spini_, as the Roumanian calls
it—being the only mark of attention to which the deceased can lay
claim, therefore to the mind of this people no thought is so dreadful
as that of dying deprived of light.
The attentions due to such as have received orthodox burial often
extend even beyond the first seven years after death; for whenever the
defunct appears in a dream to any of the family, this likewise calls
for another pomeana, and when this condition is not complied with,
the soul thus neglected is apt to wander complaining about the earth,
unable to find rest.
This restlessness on the part of the defunct may either be caused by
his having concealed treasures during his lifetime, in which case he
is doomed to haunt the place where he has hidden his riches until they
are discovered; or else he may have died with some secret sin on his
conscience—such, for instance, as having removed the boundary stone
from a neighbor’s field in order to enlarge his own. He will then
probably be compelled to pilger about with a sack of the stolen earth
on his back until he has succeeded in selling the whole of it to the
people he meets in his nightly wanderings.
These restless spirits, called _strigoi_, are not malicious, but their
appearance bodes no good, and may be regarded as omens of sickness or
misfortune.
More decidedly evil is the _nosferatu_, or vampire, in which every
Roumanian peasant believes as firmly as he does in heaven or hell.
There are two sorts of vampires, living and dead. The living vampire is
generally the illegitimate offspring of two illegitimate persons; but
even a flawless pedigree will not insure any one against the intrusion
of a vampire into their family vault, since every person killed by a
nosferatu becomes likewise a vampire after death, and will continue
to suck the blood of other innocent persons till the spirit has been
exorcised by opening the grave of the suspected person, and either
driving a stake through the corpse, or else firing a pistol-shot into
the coffin. To walk smoking round the grave on each anniversary of
the death is also supposed to be effective in confining the vampire.
In very obstinate cases of vampirism it is recommended to cut off the
head, and replace it in the coffin with the mouth filled with garlic,
or to extract the heart and burn it, strewing its ashes over the grave.
That such remedies are often resorted to even now is a well-attested
fact, and there are probably few Roumanian villages where such have
not taken place within memory of the inhabitants. There is likewise
no Roumanian village which does not count among its inhabitants some
old woman (usually a midwife) versed in the precautions to be taken
in order to counteract vampires, and who makes of this science a
flourishing trade. She is frequently called in by the family who has
lost a member, and requested to “settle” the corpse securely in its
coffin, so as to insure it against wandering. The means by which she
endeavors to counteract any vampire-like instincts which may be lurking
are various. Sometimes she drives a nail through the forehead of the
deceased, or else rubs the body with the fat of a pig which has been
killed on the Feast of St. Ignatius, five days before Christmas. It is
also very usual to lay the thorny branch of a wild-rose bush across the
body to prevent it leaving the coffin.
First-cousin to the vampire, the long-exploded were-wolf of the
Germans, is here to be found lingering under the name of _prikolitsch_.
Sometimes it is a dog instead of a wolf whose form a man has taken,
or been compelled to take, as penance for his sins. In one village
a story is still told—and believed—of such a man, who, driving
home one Sunday with his wife, suddenly felt that the time for his
transformation had come. He therefore gave over the reins to her and
stepped aside into the bushes, where, murmuring the mystic formula, he
turned three somersaults over a ditch. Soon after, the woman, waiting
vainly for her husband, was attacked by a furious dog, which rushed
barking out of the bushes and succeeded in biting her severely as well
as tearing her dress. When, an hour or two later, the woman reached
home after giving up her husband as lost, she was surprised to see him
come smiling to meet her; but when between his teeth she caught sight
of the shreds of her dress bitten out by the dog, the horror of this
discovery caused her to faint away.
Another man used gravely to assert that for several years he had gone
about in the form of a wolf, leading on a troop of these animals, till
a hunter, in striking off his head, restored him to his natural shape.
This superstition once proved nearly fatal to a harmless botanist, who,
while collecting plants on a hill-side many years ago, was observed by
some peasants, and, in consequence of his crouching attitude, mistaken
for a wolf. Before they had time to reach him, however, he had risen to
his feet and disclosed himself in the form of a man; but this in the
minds of the Roumanians, who now regarded him as an aggravated case of
wolf, was but additional motive for attacking him. They were quite sure
that he must be a prikolitsch, for only such could change his shape in
this unaccountable manner; and in another minute they were all in full
cry after the wretched victim of science, who might have fared badly
indeed had he not succeeded in gaining a carriage on the high-road
before his pursuers came up.
I once inquired of an old Saxon woman, whom I had visited with a view
to extracting various pieces of superstitious information, whether she
had ever come across a prikolitsch herself.
“Bless you!” she said, “when I was young there was no village without
two or three of them at least, but now there seem to be fewer.”
“So there is no prikolitsch in this village?” I asked, feeling
particularly anxious to make the acquaintance of a real live were-wolf.
“No,” she answered, doubtfully, “not that I know of for certain,
though of course there is no saying with those Roumanians. But close
by here in the next street, round the corner, there lives the widow
of a prikolitsch whom I knew. She is still a young woman, and lost
her husband five or six years ago. In ordinary life he was a quiet
enough fellow, rather weak and sickly-looking; but sometimes he used to
disappear for a week or ten days at a time, and though his wife tried
to deceive people by telling them that her husband was lying drunk in
the loft, of course we knew better, for those were the times when he
used to be away _wolving_ in the mountains.”
Thinking that the relict of a were-wolf was the next best thing to
the were-wolf himself, I determined on paying my respects to the
interesting widow; but on reaching her house the door was closed, and
I had the cruel disappointment of learning that Madame Prikolitsch was
not at home.
We do not require to go far for the explanation of the extraordinary
tenacity of the were-wolf legend in a country like Transylvania, where
real wolves still abound. Every winter here brings fresh proof of the
boldness and cunning of these terrible animals, whose attacks on flocks
and farms are often conducted with a skill which would do honor to
a human intellect. Sometimes a whole village is kept in trepidation
for weeks together by some particularly audacious leader of a flock
of wolves, to whom the peasants not unnaturally attribute a more
than animal nature; and it is safe to prophesy that as long as the
flesh-and-blood wolf continues to haunt the Transylvanian forests, so
long will his spectre brother survive in the minds of the people.
FOOTNOTES:
[32] Both Greeks and Romans attached an ominous meaning to a dream of
falling-out teeth.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ROUMANIAN SUPERSTITION: DAYS AND HOURS.
Grimm has said that “superstition in all its multifariousness
constitutes a species of religion applicable to all the common
household necessities of daily life;”[33] and if we view it as such,
particular forms of superstition may very well serve as guide to
the character and habits of the particular nation in which they are
prevalent. In Transylvania, however, the task of classifying all the
superstitions that come under our notice is a peculiarly hard one,
for perhaps nowhere else does this curious crooked plant of delusion
flourish so persistently and in such bewildering variety as in the land
beyond the forest; and it would almost seem as though the whole species
of demons, pixies, witches, and hobgoblins, driven from the rest of
Europe by the wand of science, had taken refuge within this mountain
rampart, aware that here they would find secure lurking-places whence
to defy their persecutors yet a while.
There are many reasons why such fabulous beings should retain an
abnormally firm hold on the soil of these parts, and looking at
the matter closely, we find no less than three distinct sources of
superstition:
First, there is what may be called the indigenous superstition of the
country, the scenery of which is particularly adapted to serve as
background to all sorts of supernatural beings. There are innumerable
caverns whose depths seem made to harbor whole legions of evil
spirits; forest glades, fit only for fairy folk on moonlight nights;
solitary lakes, which instinctively call up visions of water-sprites;
golden treasures lying hidden in mountain chasms—all of which
things have gradually insinuated themselves into the minds of the
oldest inhabitants, the Roumanians, so that these people, by nature
imaginative and poetically inclined, have built up for themselves, out
of the surrounding materials, a whole code of fanciful superstition,
to which they adhere as closely as to their religion itself.
Secondly, there is here the imported superstition—that is to say, the
old German customs and beliefs brought hither by the Saxon colonists
from their native land, and, like many other things, preserved here in
greater perfection than in the original country.
Thirdly, there is the influence of the wandering superstition of the
gypsy tribes, themselves a race of fortune-tellers and witches, whose
ambulatory caravans cover the country as with a net-work, and whose
less vagrant members fill up the suburbs of towns and villages.
All these kinds of superstition have twined and intermingled, acted
and reacted upon each other, so that in many cases it becomes a
difficult matter to determine the exact parentage of some particular
belief or custom; but in a general way the three sources I have named
may be admitted as a rough sort of classification in dealing with the
principal superstitions here afloat.
* * * * *
Few races offer such an interesting field for research in their
folk-lore as the Roumanians, in whose traditions we find side by side
elements of Celtic, Slav, and Roman mythology—a subject well worth a
closer attention than it has hitherto received. The existence of the
Celtic element has been explained by the assumption (believed by many
historians to be well founded), that as the present Roumanians are a
mixed race originating in the fusion of Romans with Dacians, so were
these latter themselves a complex nationality composed of Slav and
Celtic ingredients.
The spirit of evil—or, not to put too fine a point on it, the
devil—plays a conspicuous part in the Roumanian code of superstition,
and such designations as _Gaura Draculuj_[34] (devil’s hole), _Gregyna
Draculuj_ (devil’s garden), _Jadu Draculuj_ (devil’s abyss), frequently
found attached to rocks, caverns, and heights, attest that these people
believe themselves to be surrounded on all sides by whole legions
of evil spirits. These devils are furthermore assisted by _ismejus_
(another sort of dragon), witches, and goblins, and to each of these
dangerous beings are ascribed particular powers on particular days and
at certain places. Many and curious are therefore the means by which
the Roumanians endeavor to counteract these baleful influences; and
a whole complicated study, about as laborious as the mastering of an
unknown language, is required in order to teach an unfortunate peasant
to steer clear of the dangers by which he supposes himself to be beset
on all sides. The bringing up of a common domestic cow is apparently
as difficult a task as the rearing of any “dear gazelle,” and even the
well-doing of a simple turnip or potato about as precarious as that of
the most tender exotic plant.
Of the seven days of the week, Wednesday (Miercuri) and Friday (Vinere)
are considered suspicious days, on which it is not allowed to use
needle or scissors, or to bake bread; neither is it wise to sow flax on
these days. No bargain should ever be concluded on a Friday; and Venus
(here called Paraschiva), to whom the Friday is sacred, punishes all
infractions of this rule by causing conflagrations.
Tuesday, however—or Marti, named from Mars, the bloody god of war—is
a decidedly unlucky day, on which spinning is utterly prohibited; and
even such seemingly harmless actions as washing the hands and combing
the hair are not unattended by danger. About sunset on Tuesday the evil
spirit of that day is at its fullest force, and many people refrain
from leaving their huts between sunset and midnight. “May the _mar
sara_ (spirit of Tuesday evening) carry you off!” is here equivalent to
saying, “May the devil take you!”
It must not, however, be supposed that Monday, Thursday, and Saturday
are unconditionally lucky days, on which the Roumanian is at liberty to
do as he pleases. Thus every well-informed Roumanian matron knows that
she may wash on Thursday and spin on Saturday, but that it would be a
fatal mistake to reverse the order of these proceedings; and though
Thursday is a lucky day for marriage,[35] and is on that account mostly
chosen for weddings, it is proportionately unfavorable to agriculture.
In many places it is considered unsafe to work in the fields on all
Thursdays between Easter and Pentecost, for it is believed that if
these days be not kept as days of rest, ravaging hail-storms will be
the inevitable consequence. Many of the more enlightened Roumanian
popas have preached in vain against this belief; and some years ago
the inhabitants of a village presented an official complaint to the
bishop, requesting the removal of their popa, on the ground that he not
only gave scandal by working on the prohibited days, but had actually
caused them serious material damage by the hail-storms his sinful
behavior had provoked. This respect of the Thursday would seem to be
the result of a deeply rooted, though now unconscious, worship of
Jupiter (Joi), who gives his name to the day.
To different hours of the day are likewise ascribed different
influences, favorable or the reverse. Thus it is always considered
unlucky to look at one’s self in the mirror after sunset; neither is
it wise to sweep dust over the threshold in the evening, or to restore
a whip borrowed of a neighbor. The exact hour of noon is precarious,
because of the evil spirit _Pripolniza_;[36] and so is midnight,
because of the _miase nopte_ (night spirit); and it is safer to remain
in-doors at these hours. If, however, some misguided peasant does
happen to leave his home at midnight, and espies (as very likely he
may) a flaming dragon in the sky, he need not necessarily give himself
up as lost, for if he have the presence of mind to stick a fork
into the ground alongside of him, the fiery monster will thereby be
prevented from carrying him off.
The advent of the new moon is always more or less fraught with danger,
and nothing may be sown or planted at that time.
The Oriental Church has an abnormal number of feast-days, to each of
which peculiar customs and superstitions are attached, a few of which
may here find place.
On New-year’s Day it is customary for the Roumanian to interrogate his
fate by placing a leaf of evergreen on the freshly swept and heated
hearth-stone. If the leaf takes a gyratory movement, he will be lucky;
but if it shrivels up where it lies, then he may expect misfortune
during the coming year.[37] To insure the welfare of the cattle, it is
advisable to place a gold or silver piece in the water-trough out of
which they drink for the first time on New-year’s morning.
The Feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings (_tre crai_), is one of the
oldest festivals, and was solemnized by the Oriental Church as early
as the second century. On this day, which popular belief regards as the
coldest in the winter, the blessing of the waters, known as the Feast
of the _Jordan_ or _Bobetasu_ (baptism), takes place. The priests,
attired in full vestments, proceed to the shore of the nearest river
or lake, and there bless the waters, which have been unclosed by
cutting a Greek cross, some six to eight feet long, in the ice. Every
pious Roumanian is careful to fill a bottle with this consecrated
water before the surface freezes over again, and keeps it tightly
corked and sealed up, as a remedy in case of illness. On this day the
principal food in most Roumanian houses consists of a sort of jelly;
and in the evening the popa, coming to each house in order to bless the
cattle, which he does by sprinkling holy-water with a bunch of wild
basil-weed,[38] finds a table with food and drink awaiting him, from
which a dish of boiled plums must never be wanting.
He who dies on that day is considered particularly lucky, for he will
be sure to go straight to heaven, the gate of which is believed to
stand open all day, in memory of the descent of the Holy Ghost at the
baptism of Christ.
The Feast of St. Theodore, January 11th (corresponding to our 23d of
January), is a day of rest for the girls, those transgressing this rule
being liable to be carried off by the saint, who sometimes appears
in the shape of a beautiful youth, sometimes in that of a terrible
monster. No decent girl should leave her house unescorted on this
day, for fear of the terrible Theodore.[39] In some districts youths
and maidens choose this day for swearing friendship, which bonds are
inaugurated by a tree being hung over with little circular cakes, and
danced round with songs and music, after which each cake is broken in
two and divided between a youth and a maiden.[40]
On the Wednesday in Holy Week the Easter loaves and cakes are baked,
which next day are blessed, and some of the hallowed crumbs mixed up
with the cows’ fodder. Woe to the woman who indulges in a nap to-day;
for the whole year she will not be able to shake off her drowsiness. In
the evening the young men bind as many wreaths as there are persons in
their family, and each of these, marked with the name of an individual,
is thrown up on the roof, the wreaths which fall to the ground
indicating those who will die that year.
Skin diseases are cured by taking a bath on Good Friday in a stream
or river which flows towards the east. This will not only cure the
patient, but prevent the disease recurring within the year.[41]
In the night preceding Easter Sunday witches and demons are abroad, and
hidden treasures are said to betray their site by a glowing flame. No
God-fearing peasant will, however, allow himself to be tempted by the
hope of such riches, which he cannot on that day appropriate without
sin. He must not omit to attend the midnight church-service, and his
devotion will be rewarded by the mystic qualities attached to the wax
candle he has carried in his hand, and which, when lighted hereafter
during a thunder-storm, will keep the lightning from striking his house.
The greatest luck which can befall a mortal is to be born on Easter
Sunday, and this luck is increased if the birth take place at mid-day
when the bells are ringing; but it is not lucky to die on that day.
Egg-shells are glued up against the doors in memory of the Israelites,
who anointed the door-posts with the lambs’ blood at their flight
from Egypt; and the wooden spoon with which the Easter eggs have
been removed from the boiling pot is carefully treasured up by each
shepherd, for, worn in his belt, it gives him the power to distinguish
the witches who seek to molest his flocks. Witches may also be descried
by the man who on Easter Monday takes up his stand on a bridge above
running water, remaining there from sunrise to sunset.
Perhaps the most important day in the Roumanian’s year is that of St.
George, April 24th (May 6th), the eve of which is said to be still
frequently kept up by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely
caverns or within ruined walls, and where all the ceremonies usual to
the celebration of a witches’ Sabbath are put into practice. This night
is the great one to beware of witches, to counteract whose influence
square-cut blocks of turf (to which are sometimes added thorny
branches) are placed in front of each door and window.[42] This is
supposed effectually to bar their entrance to house or stables; but for
still greater precaution it is usual for the peasants to keep watch all
night near the sleeping cattle. This same night is likewise the best
one for seeking treasures.
The Feast of St. George, being the day when most flocks are first
driven out to pasture, is in a special manner the feast of all
shepherds and cow-herds, and on this day only is it allowed for the
Roumanian shepherd to count his flocks and assure himself of the exact
number of sheep—these numbers being, in general, but approximately
guessed at and vaguely described. Thus, when interrogated as to the
number of his master’s sheep, the Roumanian shepherd will probably
inform you that they are as numerous as the stars of heaven, or as the
daisies which dot the meadows.
The custom of throwing up wreaths on to the roof, as described above,
is in some districts practised on the Feast of St. John the Baptist,
June 24th (July 6th), instead of on the Wednesday in Holy Week. This is
the day when the sun, having reached its zenith, begins its backward
course (according to the people) with a trembling, dancing movement, in
the same way as the sun is said to dance on Easter Sunday. The gate-way
of each house is decorated with a wreath of field-flowers; and at night
fires lighted on the mountain heights are supposed to keep away evil
spirits from the flocks. This custom of the St. John fires is, however,
to be found in many other countries, and is undoubtedly a remnant of
the old sun-worship practised by Greeks, Romans, Scandinavians, Celts,
Slavs, Indians, Parsees, etc.
The Feast of St. Elias, July 20th (August 1st), is a very unlucky day,
on which the lightning may be expected to strike.[43] Every year—so we
are told in an ancient legend—St. Elias appears in heaven before the
throne of the Almighty, and humbly inquires when his feast-day is to
be. He is invariably put off with divers excuses, being sometimes told
that his feast-day has not yet come, sometimes that the date for it is
already past. At this the saint grows angry, and wishing to punish the
human race for thus forgetting him, he hurls down his thunderbolts upon
the earth.
The Feast of St. Spiridion, December 13th (January 24th), is an ominous
day, especially for housewives; and this saint often destroys those who
desecrate his feast by manual labor.
That the cattle are endowed with speech during the Christmas night is
a general belief, but it is not considered wise to pry upon them, or
try to overhear what they say, as the listener will rarely overhear
any good. This night is likewise favorable to the discovery of hidden
treasures, and the man who has courage to conjure up the evil one will
be sure to see him if he call upon him at midnight. Three burning coals
placed on the threshold will prevent the devil from carrying him off.
A round cake baked at Christmas goes by the name of the _rota_ (wheel),
and is probably symbolic of the sun’s rotation.
The girl whose thoughts are turned towards love and matrimony has many
approved methods of testing her fate on the new-year’s night. First of
all, she may, by cracking her finger-joints, accurately ascertain the
number of her admirers; also a fresh-laid egg broken into a glass of
water will give much clew to the events in store for her by the shape
it assumes; and a swine’s bristle stuck in a straw and thrown on the
heated hearth-stone is reliable as a talisman which disperses love or
jealousy.[44] To form a conjecture as to the figure and build of her
future husband, she is recommended to throw an armful of firewood as
far as she can backward over her shoulder; the piece which has gone
farthest will be the image of her intended, according as the stick
happens to be long or short, broad or slender, straight or crooked.
Another such game is to place on the table a row of earthen pots
upside down. Under each of these is concealed something different—as
corn, salt, wool, coals, or money—and the girl is desired to make her
choice; thus money stands for a rich husband, and wool for an old one;
corn signifies an agriculturist, and salt connubial happiness; but
coals are prophetic of misfortune.
If these general indications do not suffice, and the maiden desire to
see the reflection of her bridegroom’s face in the water, she has only
to step naked at midnight into the nearest lake or river; or if she
not unnaturally shrink from this chilly oracle, let her take her stand
on the more congenial dunghill, with a piece of Christmas cake in her
mouth, and, as the clock strikes twelve, listen attentively for the
first sound of a dog’s bark which reaches her ear. From whichever side
it proceeds will also come the expected suitor.
It is likewise on the last day of the year that the agriculturist seeks
a prognostic of the weather for the coming year, by making what is
called the onion calendar, which consists in putting salt into twelve
hollowed-out onions and giving to each the name of a month. Those
onions in which the salt has melted by the following morning will be
rainy months.[45]
FOOTNOTES:
[33] “Der Aberglaube in seiner bunten Mannigfaltigkeit bildet
gewissermassen eine Religion für den ganzen neideren Hausbedarf.”
[34] _Dracu_, which in Roumanian does duty for the word devil, really
means dragon; as for devil proper the word is wanting.
One writer, speaking of the Roumanians, observes that they swear by the
dragon, which gives their oaths a painful sense of unreality.
[35] This would seem to suggest a German or Scandinavian element—the
thunder-god Donar, or Thor, who with his hammer confirms unions.
[36] This spirit corresponds to the Polednice of the Bohemians and the
Poludnica of Poles and Russians. Grimm, in speaking of the Russians
in his “German Mythology,” quotes from Boschorn’s “Resp. Moscov.:”
“Dæmonem quoque meridianum Moscovitæ et colunt.”
[37] Also practised by the Saxons.
[38] This plant, _Ocimum basilicum_, is much used by the Roumanians,
who ascribe to it both medicinal and magic properties.
[39] The Serbs have also a corresponding day, called the Theodor
Saturday (_Todoroma Sumbota_), on which no work is done, on account of
the sintotere, a monster, half man half horse, who rides upon whoever
falls in his power.
[40] Similar customs exist among the Hindoos, Slavs, and Serbs.
[41] Also believed by most Slav races.
[42] Also usual in Moldavia.
[43] St. Elias is also known in Serbia as “Thunderer;” Bohemians and
Russians have a thunder-god named Perum; the Poles, Piorun; the old
Russians had Perkun, and the Lithuanians Perkunos—all of which may be
assumed to be derived from the Indian sun-god, Surjar, or Mihirar, who,
as personification of fire, is also named Perus.
[44] Swine have been regarded as sacred animals by various people,
which is probably the explanation of the German expression of
_sauglück_ (sow’s luck), and of the _glückschweinchen_ (little
luck-pigs) which have lately become fashionable as charms to hang to
the watch-chain.
[45] Also practised by the Saxons.
CHAPTER XXVII.
ROUMANIAN SUPERSTITION—CONTINUED: ANIMALS, WEATHER, MIXED
SUPERSTITIONS, SPIRITS, SHADOWS, ETC.
Of the household animals the sheep is the most highly prized by the
Roumanian, who makes of it his companion, and frequently his oracle, as
by its bearing it is often supposed to give warning when danger is near.
The swallows here, as elsewhere, are luck-bringing birds, and go by
the name of _galinele lui Dieu_—fowls of the Lord. There is always a
treasure to be found where the first swallow has been espied.
The crow, on the contrary, is a bird of evil omen, and is particularly
ominous when it flies straight over the head of any man.[46]
The magpie, when perched on a roof, gives notice of the approach of
guests,[47] but a shrieking magpie meeting or accompanying a traveller
denotes death.
The cuckoo is an oracle to be consulted in manifold contingencies. This
bird plays a great part in Roumanian poetry, and is frequently supposed
to be the spirit of an unfortunate lover.
It is never permissible to kill a spider, but a toad taking up its
residence in a cow-byre should be stoned to death, as assuredly
standing in the service of a witch, and sent there to purloin the milk.
The same liberty must not, however, be taken with the equally
pernicious weasel, and when these animals are found to inhabit a barn
or stable, the peasant endeavors to render them harmless by diverting
their thoughts into a safer channel. To this end a tiny thrashing-flail
is prepared for the male weasel, and a distaff for his female partner,
and these are laid at some place the animals are known to frequent.
Those houses which can boast of a house-snake are particularly
lucky.[48] Food is regularly placed for it near the hole; and killing
it would entail dire misfortune to the family.
The skull of a horse placed over the gate of the court-yard,[49] or the
bones of fallen animals buried under the door-step, are preservatives
against ghosts.
The place where a horse has rolled on the ground is unwholesome, and
the man who steps upon it will be visited by eruptions, boils, or other
skin diseases.
Black fowls are always viewed with suspicion, as possibly standing in
the service of a witch; and the Brahmapootra fowl is, curiously enough,
believed to be the offspring of the devil and a Jewish girl.
The best remedy for a murrain among the cattle is with an axe to behead
a living pig, hoisting up its head on the end of a long pole at the
village entrance. This, however, is only efficacious when it is the
cattle or sheep which are thus afflicted; and should an illness have
broken out among the swine themselves, the only remedy for it will be
for the herd, divested of his clothes, to lead his drove to pasture in
the early morning.[50]
The skull of a ram is often stuck up at the boundary of a parish, and
if turned towards the east is supposed to be efficacious in keeping off
cattle diseases.
A cow that has wandered can be insured against wolves if the owner
recollect to stick a pair of scissors in the centre cross-beam of the
dwelling-room.
A whirlwind always denotes that the devil is dancing with a witch, and
whoever approaches too near to the dangerous circle may be carried off
bodily to hell, and sometimes only barely escapes by losing his cap.
As a matter of course, such places as church-yards, gallows-trees, and
cross-roads are to be avoided; but even the left bank of a river may,
under circumstances, become equally dangerous.
The finger which points at a rainbow will be seized by a gnawing
disease, and a rainbow appearing in December always bodes misfortune.
Pointing at an approaching thunder-storm is also considered unsafe, and
whoever stands over-long gazing at the summer lightning will go mad.
If a house struck by lightning begins to burn, it is not allowed to put
out the flames, because God has lit the fire, and it were presumption
for man to dare meddle with his work.[51] In some places it is supposed
that a fire kindled by lightning can only be extinguished with milk.
An approved method for averting the lightning from striking a house is
to form a top by sticking a knife through a loaf of bread, and spin it
on the floor of the loft while the storm lasts. The ringing of bells
is also efficacious in dispersing a storm, provided, however, that the
bell in question has been cast under a perfectly cloudless sky.
As I am on the subject of thunder-storms, I may as well here mention
the _scholomance_, or school, supposed to exist somewhere in the
heart of the mountains, and where the secrets of nature, the language
of animals, and all magic spells are taught by the devil in person.
Only ten scholars are admitted at a time, and when the course of
learning has expired, and nine of them are released to return to
their homes, the tenth scholar is detained by the devil as payment,
and, mounted upon an _ismeju_, or dragon, becomes henceforward the
devil’s aide-de-camp, and assists him in “making the weather”—that is,
preparing the thunder-bolts.
A small lake, immeasurably deep, and lying high up in the mountains
to the south of Hermanstadt, is supposed to be the caldron where is
brewed the thunder, under whose water the dragon lies sleeping in fair
weather. Roumanian peasants anxiously warn the traveller to beware of
throwing a stone into this lake, lest it should wake the dragon and
provoke a thunder-storm. It is, however, no mere superstition that
in summer there occur almost daily thunder-storms at this spot, and
numerous stone cairns on the shores attest the fact that many people
have here found their death by lightning. On this account the place is
shunned, and no true Roumanian will venture to rest here at the hour of
noon.
Whoever turns three somersaults the first time he hears the thunder
will be free from pains in the back during a twelvemonth; and the man
who wishes to be insured against headache has only to rub his forehead
with a piece of iron or stone on that same occasion.
A comet is sign of war; and an earthquake denotes that the fish on
which the earth is supposed to rest has moved. Another version informs
us that originally the world was balanced on the backs of four fishes,
one of which was drowned in the flood, so that the earth, now lacking
support at one corner, has sunk down and is covered by the sea.
The Slav custom of decking out a girl at harvest-time with a wreath of
corn-ears, and leading her in procession to the house of the priest or
the landed proprietor, is likewise practised here, with the difference
that, instead of the songs customary in Poland, the girl is here
followed by loud shouts of _Prihu! Prihu!_ or else _Priku!_[52] and
that whoever meets her on the way is bound to sprinkle her with water.
If this detail be neglected, the next year’s crops will assuredly fail.
It is also customary to keep the wreaths till next sowing-time, when
the corn, if shaken out and mingled with the grain to be sown afresh,
will insure a rich harvest.
Every fresh-baked loaf of wheaten bread is sacred, and should a piece
inadvertently fall to the ground, it is hastily picked up, carefully
wiped and kissed, and if soiled thrown into the fire—partly as an
offering to the dead, and partly because it were a heavy sin to throw
away or tread upon any particle of it.
It is unfortunate to meet an old woman or a Roumanian popa, but the
meeting of a Catholic or Protestant clergyman is indifferent, and
brings neither good nor evil.
To be met by a gypsy the first thing in the morning is particularly
lucky.
It is bad-luck if your path be traversed by a hare, but a fox or wolf
crossing the way is a good omen.
Likewise, it is lucky to meet a woman with a jugful of water, while an
empty jug or pail is unlucky; therefore the Roumanian maiden meeting
you on the way back from the well will smilingly display her brimming
pitcher as she passes, with a pleased consciousness of bringing
good-luck; while the girl whose pitcher is empty will slink past
shamefacedly, as though she had a crime to conceal.
The Roumanian is always very particular about the exact way he meets
any one. If he happens to be placed to the right of the comer, he will
be careful not to cross over to the left, or _vice versa_. Should,
however, his way lead him straight across the path of another higher
in rank, he will stop and wait till the latter has passed. These
precautions are taken in order not to cut or disturb the thread of a
person’s good-luck.
Every orthodox Roumanian woman is careful to do homage to the _wodna
zena_, or _zona_, residing in each spring, by spilling a few drops
on the ground after she has filled her jug, and it is regarded as
an insult to offer drink to a Roumanian without observing this
ceremony. She will never venture to draw water against the current,
for that would strike the spirit home and provoke her anger, nor is
it allowable, without very special necessity, to draw water in the
night-time; and whoever is obliged to do so should nowise neglect to
blow three times over the brimming jug to undo all evil spells, as well
as to pour a few drops on to the glowing embers.
The vicinity of deep pools of water, more especially whirlpools, is
to be avoided, for here resides the dreadful _balaur_, or the _wodna
muz_—the cruel waterman who lies in wait for human victims.
Each forest has likewise its own particular spirit, its _mama
padura_,[53] or forest mother. This fairy is generally supposed to be
good-natured, especially towards children who have lost their way in
the wood.
Less to be trusted is _Panusch_,[54] who haunts the forest glades and
lies in wait for helpless maidens.
In deep forests and wild mountain-gorges there wanders about a wild
huntsman of superhuman size and mysterious personality, but rarely
seen by living eyes. Oftenest he is met by huntsmen, to whom he has
frequently given good advice. He once appeared to a peasant who had
already shot ninety-nine bears, and warned him now to desist, for no
man can shoot the hundredth bear. But the passion for sport was too
strong within the peasant; so, disregarding the advice, he shot at
the next bear he met, and missing his aim, was torn to pieces by the
infuriated animal. Another hunter to whom he appeared learned from him
the secret that if he loaded his gun on New-year’s night with a live
adder, the whole of that year he would never miss a shot.
Another and more malevolent forest-spectre is the wild man—or, as
the Roumanian calls him, the _om ren_—usually seen in winter, when
he is the terror of all hunters and shepherds. Whoever may be found
dead in the forest is supposed to have fallen a prey to his vengeance,
which pursues all such as venture to chase his deer and wild-boar,
or approach too near the cavern where he resides. His rage sometimes
takes the form of uprooting pine-trees, with which to strike dead the
intruder; or else he throws his victims down a precipice, or rolls down
massive rocks on the top of them.
_Oameni micuti_ (small men), as the Roumanian calls them, are
gray-bearded dwarfs, who, attired like miners, with axe and lantern,
haunt the Transylvanian gold and silver mines. They seldom do harm
to a miner, but give warning to his wife when he has perished by
three knocks on her door. They are, however, very quarrelsome among
themselves, and may often be heard hitting at one another with their
sharp axes, or blowing their horns as signal of battle.
Also the mountain monk plays a great part in mining districts, but is
to be classed among the malevolent spirits. He delights in kicking over
water-pails, putting out lamps, and breaking tools, and will sometimes
even strangle or suffocate workmen to whom he has taken aversion.
Occasionally, but rarely, he has been known to help distressed miners
in replenishing the oil in their lamps, or guiding those who have lost
their way; but woe to the man who relates these circumstances, for he
will be sure to suffer for it.
The _gana_ is the name of a beautiful but malicious witch who presides
over the evil spirits holding their meetings on the eve of the first
of May. Gana is said to have been the mistress of Transylvania before
the Christian era. Her beauty bewitched many; but whoever succumbed to
her charms, and let himself be lured into quaffing mead from her ure-ox
drinking-horn, was doomed. Once the handsome Maldovan, the Roumanian
national hero, when riding home from visiting his bride, waylaid by the
siren, and beguiled into drinking from the horn, reached his mountain
fortress a sick and dying man, and was a corpse before next morning.
Ravaging diseases like the pest, cholera, etc., are attributed to a
spirit called the _dschuma_, to whom is sometimes given the shape of
a toothless old hag, sometimes that of a fierce virgin, only to be
appeased by the gift of clothing of some sort. Oftenest the spirit is
supposed to be naked and suffering from cold, and its complaining voice
may be heard at night crying out for clothing whenever the disease is
at its highest. When this voice is heard, the inhabitants of a village
hasten to comply with its summons by preparing the required clothing.
Sometimes it is seven old women who are to spin, weave, and sew a
scarlet shirt all in one night, and without breaking silence; sometimes
the maidens are to make garments and hang them out at the entrance of
the afflicted village. Mr. Paget mentions having once seen a coarse
linen pair of trousers suspended by means of a rope straight across the
road where he was driving, and on inquiring being informed that this
was to pacify the cholera spirit.
Some places, moreover, can boast of a perpetually naked spirit, who
requires a new suit of clothes every year. These are furnished by the
inhabitants, who on each New-year’s night lay them out in readiness
near some place supposed to be haunted by the spirit.
In a Wallachian village in the county of Bihar, during the prevalence
of the cholera in 1866, the following precautions were taken to protect
the village from the epidemic: six maidens and six unmarried youths,
having first laid aside their clothes, with a new ploughshare traced a
furrow round the village, thus forming a charmed circle, over which the
cholera demon was supposed to be unable to pass.
When the land is suffering from protracted and obstinate droughts, the
Roumanian not unfrequently ascribes the evil to the Tziganes, who by
occult means procure the dry weather in order to favor their own trade
of brickmaking. In such cases, when the necessary rain has not been
produced by soundly beating the guilty Tziganes, the peasants sometimes
resort to the _papaluga_, or rain-maiden. This is done by stripping a
young Tzigane girl quite naked, and dressing her up with garlands of
flowers and leaves, which entirely cover her, leaving only the head
visible. Thus adorned, the papaluga is conducted round the village to
the sound of music, each person hastening to pour water over her as
she passes. The part of the papaluga may also be enacted by Roumanian
maidens, when there is no particular reason to suspect the Tziganes of
being concerned in the drought. The custom of the rain-maiden is also
to be found in Serbia, and I believe in Croatia.
Killing a frog is sometimes effectual in bringing on rain; but if this
also fails in the desired effect, then the evil must evidently be of
deeper nature, and is to be attributed to a vampire, who must be sought
out and destroyed, as before described.
The body of a drowned man can be recovered only by sticking a lighted
candle into a hollowed-out loaf of bread, and setting it afloat
at night on the lake or river: there, where the light comes to a
stand-still, the corpse will be found. Till this has been done the
water will continue to rise and the rain to fall.
At the birth of a child each one present takes a stone and throws it
behind him, saying, “This into the jaws of the strigoi”—a custom which
would seem to suggest Saturn and the swaddled-up stones. As long as the
child is unbaptized it must be carefully watched over for fear of being
changed or harmed by a witch. A piece of iron or a broom laid beneath
the pillow will keep spirits away.
Even the Roumanian’s wedding-day is darkened by the shadow of
superstition. He can never be sure of his affection for his bride
being a natural, spontaneous feeling, since it may just as well have
been caused by the influence of a witch; and he lives in anticipated
dread lest the devil, in shape of a fiery comet, may appear any day
to make love to his wife. Likewise at church, when the priest offers
the blessed bread to the new-made couple, he will tremblingly compare
the relative sizes of the two pieces, for whoever chances to get the
smaller one will inevitably be the first to die.
Although it has been said of the Roumanian that his whole life is
taken up in devising talismans against the devil, yet he does not
always endeavor to keep the evil one at arm’s-length—sometimes, on
the contrary, directly invoking his aid, and entering into a regular
compact with him.
Supposing, for instance, that a man wishes to insure a flock, garden,
or field against thieves, wild beasts, or bad weather, the matter is
very simple. He has only to repair to a cross-road, at the junction
of which he takes his stand in the centre of a circle traced on the
ground. Here, after depositing a copper coin as payment, he summons the
demon with the following words:
“Satan, I give thee over my flock [garden, or field] to keep till ——
[such and such a term], that thou mayst defend and protect it for me,
and be my servant till this time has expired.”
He must, however, be careful to keep within the circle traced until
the devil, who may very likely have chosen to appear in the shape of a
goat, crow, toad, or serpent, has completely disappeared, otherwise the
unfortunate man is irretrievably lost. He is equally sure to lose his
soul if he die before the time of the contract has elapsed.
As long as the contract lasts, the peasant may be sure of the
devil’s services, who for the time being will put a particular
spirit—_spiridusui_—at his disposal. This spirit will serve him
faithfully in every contingency; but in return he expects to be given
the first mouthful of every dish partaken of by his master.[55]
Apothecaries in the towns say that they are often applied to for an
unknown magic potion called _spiridusch_ (that is, I suppose, a potion
compelling the services of the demon _spiridusui_), said to have the
property of disclosing hidden treasures to its lucky possessor. While I
was at Hermanstadt, an apothecary there received the following letter,
published in a local paper, and which I here give as literally as
possible:
WORTHY SIR,—I wish to ask you of something I have been told by
others—that is, that you have got for sale a thing they call
_spiridusch_, but which, to speak more plainly, is the devil
himself; and if this be true, I beg you to tell me if it be really
true, and how much it costs, for my poverty is so great that I must
ask the devil himself to help me. Those who told me were weak,
silly fellows, and were afraid; but I have no fear, and have seen
many things in my life—therefore I pray you to write me this, and
to take the greeting of an unknown and unhappy man.
N. N.
Besides the tale of the Arghisch monastery which I have quoted in a
former chapter, there are many other Roumanian legends which tell us
how every new church, or otherwise important building, became a human
grave, as it was thought indispensable to its stability to wall in
a living man or woman, whose spirit henceforth haunted the place.
In later times, people having become less cruel, or more probably
because murder is now attended with greater inconvenience to those
concerned, this custom underwent some modifications, and it became
usual, in place of a living man, to wall in his shadow. This is done by
measuring the shadow of a person with a long piece of cord, or a tape
made of strips of reed fastened together, and interring this measure
instead of the person himself, who, unconscious victim of the spell
thus cast upon him, will pine away and die within forty days. It is,
however, an indispensable condition to the success of this proceeding
that the chosen victim be ignorant of the part he is playing, wherefore
careless passers-by near a building in process of erection may chance
to hear the warning cry, “Beware lest they take thy shadow!” So deeply
ingrained is this superstition that not long ago there were still
professional shadow-traders, who made it their business to provide
architects with the victims necessary for securing their walls. “Of
course the man whose shadow is thus interred must die,” argues the
Roumanian, “but being unaware of his doom, he feels neither pain nor
anxiety, so it is less cruel than to wall in a living man.”
Similar to the legend of the Arghisch monastery is that told of
the fortress of Deva, in Transylvania, which twelve architects had
undertaken to build for the price of half a quarter of silver and half
a quarter of gold. They set to work, but what they built each morning
fell in before sunset, and what they built overnight was in ruins by
next morning. Then they held counsel as to what was to be done in order
to give strength to the building; and so it was resolved to seize the
first of their wives who should come to visit her husband, and, burning
her alive, mix up her ashes with the mortar to be used in building.
Soon after this the wife of Kelemen, the architect, resolving to visit
her husband, ordered the carriage to be got ready. On the way she is
overtaken by a heavy thunder-storm, and the coachman, an old family
servant, warns her against proceeding, for he has had an ominous dream
regarding her. She, however, persists in her resolve, and soon comes in
sight of the building. Her husband, on seeing her, prays to God that
the carriage might break down or the horses fall lame, in order to
hinder her arrival; but all is in vain, and the carriage soon reaches
its destination. The sorrowing husband now reveals to his wife the
terrible fate in store for her, to which she resigns herself, only
begging leave to say farewell to her little son and her friends. This
favor is granted, and returning the following day, she is burned.
Her ashes mixed with the mortar give solidity to the walls; the
building is completed, and the architects obtain the high price for
which they had contracted.
Meanwhile the unhappy widower, returning home, is questioned by his
little son as to where his mother stays so long. At first the father is
evasive, but subsequently confesses the truth, on learning which the
child falls dead of a broken heart.
Also, at Hermanstadt we are shown a point in the old town wall where a
live student, dressed in _ampel_ and _toga_, the costume of those days,
was walled in, in order to “make fast” the fortified wall.
If we compare these legends with the traditions of other countries we
find many instances of a like belief: so at Arta, in Albania, where,
according to Grimm, a thousand masons labored in vain at a bridge,
whose walls invariably crumbled away overnight. There was heard the
voice of an archangel saying, “If ye do not wall in a living person the
bridge will never stand; neither an orphan nor yet a stranger shall it
be, but the own wife of the master builder.” The master loves his wife,
but yet stronger is his ambition to see his name made famous by the
bridge; so when his wife comes to the spot he pretends to have dropped
a ring in the foundations, and asks her to seek for it, in doing which
she is seized upon and walled up. In dying she speaks a curse upon the
bridge, that it may ever tremble like the head of a flower on its stalk.
In Serbia there is a similar legend of the fortress Skoda; and at
Magdeburg, in Germany, the same is told of Margaretha, bondwoman of
the Empress Editha, wife of the Emperor Otto, who voluntarily gave up
her illegitimate child to be walled up in the gate-way of the newly
fortified town. Fifty years later, devoured by remorse, Margaretha
appears before the judges to confess her crime, and crave Christian
burial for the bones of her child. The wall being now opened at the
place she indicates, there steps forth a small wizened figure with
long, tangled gray beard and shrunken limbs—no other than the child
who, walled up here for half a century, had been miraculously kept
alive by the birds of the air bringing him food through an opening in
his narrow prison.
* * * * *
Sometimes, indeed, the Roumanian seeks covertly to compass the death
of a fellow-creature without the excuse of public benefit, and merely
from motives of personal revenge. In such cases it is recommended to
send gifts of unleavened bread to nine different churches to be used
simultaneously on the same Sunday at mass. This will insure the death
of the victim.
To the hand of a man who has committed murder from revenge is ascribed
the virtue of healing pains in the side.
FOOTNOTES:
[46] Likewise in Bavaria.
[47] Believed by most Slav races.
[48] Likewise in Poland.
[49] The original signification of this seems to have gone astray, but
was probably based on some former worship of the horse, long regarded
as a sacred animal by Indians, Parsees, Arabs, and Germans.
[50] See “Saxon Superstition,” chap. xxix.
[51] Also believed by most Slav races.
[52] Archæologists have derived this word from _Pri_, which in Sanscrit
means fruitful, and _Hu_, the god of the Celtic deluge tradition, and
likewise regarded as the personification of fruitful nature.
[53] So in India the Matris, known also among Egyptians, Chaldeans, and
Mexicans. A corresponding spirit is likewise found in Scandinavian and
Lithuanian mythology; in the latter, under the name of the _medziajna_.
[54] Surely a corruption of “great Pan,” who, it would seem, is not
dead after all, but merely banished to the land beyond the forest.
[55] The ancients used likewise to cook for their household demons
(_cæna dæmonum_).—Plaut. Pseudol. Also, the Hindoos prepared food for
the house-spirit.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SAXON SUPERSTITION: REMEDIES, WITCHES, WEATHER-MAKERS.
The superstitions afloat among Saxon peasants are of less poetical
character than those _en vogue_ with the Roumanians; there is more
of the quack and less of the romantic element here to be found, and
the invisible spiritual world plays less part in their beliefs, which
oftenest relate to household matters, such as the well-being of cattle
and poultry, the cure of diseases, and the success of harvest and
vintage.
Innumerable are the recipes for curing the ague, or _frīr_ as it is
termed in Saxon dialect. So, for instance:
1. To cover up the patient during his shivering-fit with nine articles
of clothing, each of a different color and material.
2. To go into an inn or public-house, and after having drunk a glass
of wine go out again without breaking silence or paying, but leaving
behind some article of clothing which is of greater value than the wine
taken.
3. Drinking in turn out of nine different wells.
4. To go into the garden when no one is looking, shake a young tree,
and return to the house without glancing back. The fever will then have
passed into the tree.
5. Any article of clothing purposely dropped on the ground will
convey the fever to whoever finds it. This method is, however, to
be distrusted, we are told by village authorities, for the finder
may avert the spell by thrice spitting on the article in question.
According to Saxon notions, you can apparently never go wrong in
spitting on each and every occasion, this being a prime recipe for
averting evil of all sorts. “When in doubt, play trumps,” we are told
in the rules for whist; and in the same way the Saxon would seem to
say, “When in doubt, spit.”
6. A spoonful of mortar taken from three different corner houses in
the village, and, dissolved in vinegar, given to the patient to drink
before the paroxysm.
7. If it be a child that is suffering from the fever, it may be rolled
at sunrise over the grave-mounds in the church-yard, particular
formulas being murmured the while.
8. The first three corn-ears seen in spring will, if gathered and
eaten, keep off the ague during that whole year.
9. Take a kreuzer (farthing), an egg, and a handful of salt, and with
these walk backward to the nearest cross-way, without looking back or
breaking silence, and laying them down at the place where the roads
join, speak the following words: “When these three things return to me,
then may likewise the fever come back.”
10. Or else go to a stream or river, and throw something into it over
the shoulder without looking back.
The intermittent fever recurring on every third day is here called the
_schweins-fieber_ (swine-fever), and for recovery it is recommended to
eat with the pigs out of their trough, and to lie down on the threshold
of the pigsty, where the swine may walk over the prostrate body.
To shake off drowsiness, it is advised to swallow some drops of the
water which falls back from the horses’ mouths when they drink at the
trough.
A person afflicted with warts can take as many dried peas as there are
warts, and, standing before the fire, count backward, thus: “Five,
four, three, two, one, none,” and with the last word throw all the peas
on to the glowing embers, running away quickly, so as not to hear the
crackling sound of the bursting peas, which would counteract the spell.
Another method is to lay a piece of bacon on the top of a hedge or
paling, saying these words:
“This meat I give to the crow,
That away the warts may go.”
Rheumatism is cured by wearing a little bag filled with garlic and
incense, or putting a knife under the pillow; and water taken from the
spot where two ditches cross is good for sore eyes.
An approved love-charm is to take the two hind-legs of a green
tree-frog, bury these in an ant-hill till all the flesh is removed,
then securely tie up the bones in a linen cloth. Whoever then touches
this cloth will be at once seized with love for its owner.
Still more infallible is it to procure a piece of stocking or shoe-lace
of the person you desire to captivate, boil it in water, and wear this
token night and day against your heart. This recipe has passed into
a proverb, for it is here said of any man known to be desperately in
love, that “she must have secretly boiled his stockings.”
It is usually considered lucky to dream of pigs, except in some
villages, where there is a prevalent belief that such a dream is
prognostic of a death in the family.
To avert any illnesses which may occur to the pigs, it is still
customary in some places for the swine-herd to dispense with his
clothes the first time he drives out his pigs to pasture in spring. A
newly elected Saxon pastor, regarding this practice as immoral, tried
to prohibit it in his parish, but was sternly asked by the village Hann
whether he were prepared to pay for all the pigs which would assuredly
die that year in consequence of the omission.
The same absence of costume is recommended to women assisting a cow to
calve for the first time.
When the cows are first driven to pasture in spring they should be made
to step over a ploughshare placed across the threshold of the byre.
Three new-laid eggs, deposited each at the junction of a different
cross-road, will likewise bring luck to the herd.
If a swallow flies under a cow feeding in the meadow it is believed
that the milk will turn bloody. In some villages the skin of a weasel
is kept in every byre, with which to rub the udder when the milk is
bloody.
The ancient belief that certain old village matrons have the power
surreptitiously to purloin their neighbors’ milk is prevalent
throughout Transylvania, as I have had occasion over and over again to
learn. “They mostly do it out of revenge,” I was informed by a village
oracle, to whom I owe much information on this and other subjects, “and
are apt to molest those houses whose children have mocked at or played
tricks upon them; but just leave them alone, and they are not likely to
do you any harm.”
In former days, however, people in Transylvania were by no means
inclined to “leave alone” those suspected of such occult proficiency,
and witch-burning was a thing of quite every-day occurrence. In the
neighborhood of Reps alone, in the seventeenth century, the number
of unfortunates who thus perished in the flames was upwards of
twenty-five; and in 1697, Michael Hirling, member of the Schässburg
Council, has, with significant brevity, noted down in his diary under
such and such a date, “Went to Keisd, burned a witch,” just as a
sportsman of to-day might note down in his game-book that he shot a
hare or a pheasant.
The widow of the Saxon Comes and Royal Judge Valentin Seraphim had a
similar fate in 1659 at Hermanstadt, and there is mention of another
witch destroyed in 1669 in the same town. The very last witch-burning
in Transylvania took place at Maros-Vasharhely in 1752.
The following is an extract from the account of a witch’s trial at
Mühlbach in the last century:
“A woman had engaged two laborers by the day to assist her in working
in the vineyard. After the mid-day meal all three lay down to rest a
little, as is customary. An hour later the workmen got up and wanted to
wake the woman, who lay there immovable on her back, with open mouth;
but their efforts to rouse her were all in vain, for she neither seemed
to feel them when they shook her, nor to hear them shouting in her
ear. So the men let her lie, and went about their work. Coming back
to the spot about sunset, they found the woman still lying as they
had left her, like a corpse. And as they gazed at her wonderingly, a
big fly came buzzing past, which one of the men caught and shut up
in his leathern pouch. Then they renewed their attempts to awake the
woman, but with no better success than before. After about an hour they
released the fly, which straightway flew into the mouth of the sleeping
woman, who immediately woke up and opened her eyes. On seeing this the
two workmen had no further doubt that she was a witch.”
Also, in the year 1734, an Austrian officer who had been in
Transylvania related the following story as authentic: Once when the
roll was called on Sunday morning a soldier was missing. The corporal
being sent to fetch him, the soldier called down from the window of
the house where he was billeted, “I cannot go to church, for I have
only one boot.” Hereupon the corporal went up-stairs, and the soldier
explained how, seeking for something wherewith to grease his boots in
the absence of the Saxon housewife, he had found some ointment in an
old broken pot concealed in a corner; but scarcely had he rubbed the
first boot with it, when the boot flew out of his hand and straight up
the chimney. In the corporal’s presence the soldier now proceeded to
grease the second boot, which disappeared in the same way as the first.
The corporal reported these circumstances to his officer, “who had no
difficulty in discerning the Saxon housewife to be a dangerous and
malignant witch, of whom there are but too many in the land.”
The woman, called to account, consented to pay for new boots for the
soldier, but warned the officer against prosecuting her, “else he
should repent it.”
Another class of sorcerers, the _wettermacher_ (weather-makers), are
those who have power to conjure up thunder and hail storms at will or
to disperse them.
My old village oracle told me many stories about a man she had known,
who used to go about the country with a small black bag in which were
a book, a little stick, and a bunch of herbs. Whenever a storm was
brewing he was to be seen standing on some rising piece of ground, and
repeating his formulas against the gathering clouds. “People used to
abuse him,” she said, “and to say that he was in league with the devil;
but I never saw him do any harm, and now that he is dead there are many
who regret him, for since then we have had heavier hail-storms than
ever were known in his time.”[56]
We are also told that many years ago, in the village of Wermesch, there
lived a peasant who, whenever a thunder-storm was seen approaching,
used to take his stand in front of it armed with an axe, by which
means he always turned the storm aside. One day, when an unusually
heavy storm was seen approaching, the weather-maker, as usual, placed
himself in front of it, and hurled the axe up into the clouds. The
storm passed by, but the axe did not fall down to the earth again. Many
years later, the same peasant, taking a journey farther into the land,
entered the hut of a Wallachian, and there to his astonishment found
the axe he had thrown into the thunder-clouds several years previously.
This Wallachian was a still greater sorcerer in weather-making than the
Wermesch peasant, and had therefore succeeded in getting the axe down
again from the sky.
There are many old formulas and incantations bearing on this subject
to be found in ancient chronicles, of which the following one bears a
date of the sixteenth century:
FORMULA.
And the Lord went forth down a long and ancient road, and there was
met by an exceeding large black cloud; and the Lord spoke thus to it,
“Where goest thou, thou large black cloud? Where dost thou go?” Then
spoke the cloud, “I am sent to do an injury to the poor man—to wash
away the roots of his corn and to throw down the corn-ears; also to
wash away the roots of his vines, and to overthrow the grapes.” But the
Lord spoke, “Turn back, turn back, thou big black cloud, and do not
wander forth to do an injury to the poor man, but go to the wild forest
and wash away the roots of the big oak-tree and overthrow its leaves.
St. Peter, do thou draw thy sharp sword and cut in twain the big black
cloud, that it may not go forth to do an injury to the poor men.”
Underneath this incantation the writer has put the following
memorandum, “Probatum an sit me latet probet quicunque vult.”
In many houses it is still customary to burn juniper-berries during
a thunder-storm, or to stick a knife in the ground before the house.
Like the Roumanian, the Saxon also considers it unsafe to point at an
approaching thunder-storm; but this is a belief shared by many people,
I understand.
FOOTNOTES:
[56] Instances of weather-makers are also common in Germany. We are
told that there used to live in Suabia long ago a pastor renowned for
his proficiency in exorcising the weather, and whenever a thunder-storm
came on he would stand at the open window invoking the clouds till they
had all dispersed. But the work was heavy and difficult to do, and the
pastor used frequently to be so exhausted after dispersing a storm that
large drops of perspiration would trickle down his face.
CHAPTER XXIX.
SAXON SUPERSTITION—CONTINUED: ANIMALS, PLANTS, DAYS.
The cat, dedicated to Frouma, Frezja, or Holda, in old German times,
still plays a considerable part in Saxon superstition. Thus, to render
fruitful a tree which refuses to bear, it will suffice to bury a cat
among its roots.[57] Epileptic people may be cured by cutting off the
ears of a cat and anointing them with the blood; and an eruption at the
mouth is healed by passing the cat’s tail between the lips.
When the cat washes its face visitors may be expected, and as long as
the cat is healthy and in good looks the cattle will likewise prosper.
A runaway cat, when recovered, must be swung three times round the
hearth to attach it to the dwelling; and the same is done to a stolen
cat by the thief who would retain it. In entering a new house, it is
recommended to throw in a cat (sometimes also a dog) before any member
of the family step over the threshold, else one of them will die.
The dog is of less importance than the cat, except for its power of
giving warning of approaching death by unnatural howling.
Here are some other Saxon superstitions of mixed character:
1. Who can blow back the flame into a candle will become pastor.
2. New servants must be suffered to eat freely the first day they enter
service, else their hunger will never be stilled.
3. Who visits a neighbor’s house must sit down, even were it but for
a moment, or he will deprive the inhabitants of their sleep. (Why,
then, do Saxon peasants never offer one a chair? or is a stranger too
insignificant to have the power of destroying sleep?)
4. It is dangerous to stare down long into a well, for the well-dame
who dwells at the bottom of each is easily offended. But children are
often curious, and, hoping to get a look at her face, they bend over
the edge, calling out mockingly, “Brannefrà, Brannefrà, zieh mich än de
Brännen” (Dame of the well, pull me down into the well); but quickly
they draw back their heads, afraid of their own audacity, lest their
wish be in truth realized.
5. It is not good to count the beehives, or the loaves when they are
put in the oven.
6. Neither is it good to whitewash the house when the moon is
decreasing, for that produces bugs.
7. Who eats mouldy bread will live long.
8. Licking the platter clean at table brings fine weather.
9. On the occasion of each merrymaking, such as weddings, christenings,
etc., some piece of glass or crockery must be broken to avert
misfortune.[58]
10. Salt thrown on the back of a departing guest will prevent him from
carrying away the luck of the house. Neither salt nor garlic should
ever be given away, as with them the luck goes.
11. A broom put upside down behind the door will keep off the witches.
12. It is bad-luck to lay a loaf on the table upside down.
13. When foxes and wolves meet in the market-place, their prices will
rise (of course, as these animals could only be thus bold during the
severest cold, when prices of eggs, butter, etc., are at their highest).
14. A piece of bread found lying in the field or road should never be
eaten by the finder; nor should he untie a knotted-up cloth or a rag he
chances to discover, for the knot perhaps contains an illness.
15. Whoever has been robbed of anything, and wishes to discover the
thief, must select a black hen, and for nine consecutive Fridays must,
together with his hen, abstain from all food. The thief will then
either die or bring back the stolen goods. This is called taking up the
black fast against a person.
On this last subject an anecdote is told of a peasant of the village
of Petersdorf, who returned one day from the town of Bistritz, bearing
two hundred florins, which he had received as the price for a team of
oxen. Reaching home in a somewhat inebriated state, he wished to sleep
off his tipsiness, and laid himself down behind the stove, but took the
precaution of first hiding the money in a hole in the kitchen wall.
Next morning, on waking up, the peasant searched for his money, but
was unable to find it, having completely forgotten where he had put it
in his intoxication; so, in the firm belief that some one had stolen
the two hundred florins, he went to consult an old Wallachian versed
in magic, and begged him to take up the black fast against the man who
had abstracted the money. Before long people began to notice how the
peasant himself grew daily weaker and seemed to pine away. At last,
by some chance, he hit upon the place where the money was hidden, and
joyfully hurried to the Wallachian to counter-order the black fast. But
it was now too late, for the charm had already worked, and before long
the man was dead.
There is also a whole set of rhymes and formulas for exorcising
thieves, and forcing them to return whatever they have taken; but these
would be too lengthy to record here.
Of the plants which play a part in Saxon superstition, first and
foremost is the fulsome garlic—not only employed against witches, but
likewise regarded as a remedy in manifold illnesses and as an antidote
against poison. Garlic put into the money-bag will prevent the witches
from getting at it, and in the stables will keep the milk from being
abstracted, while rubbed over the body it will defend a person against
the pest.
To the lime-tree are also attached magic qualities, and in some
villages it is usual to plant a lime-tree before the house to keep
witches from entering.
Much prized is the lilac-bush. Its blossoms, made into tea, are good
for the fever; and the bush itself is often reverently saluted with
bent knee and uncovered head. Many of the formulas against sickness are
directed to be recited while walking thrice round a bush of lilac.
The first strawberry-blossom, if swallowed by whoever finds it, will
keep him free from sickness during that year.
The four-leaved shamrock here, as elsewhere, is considered to confer
particular luck on the finder, but only when he carries it home without
having to cross over water of any sort. Laid in the prayer-book, a
four-leaved shamrock will enable its possessor to distinguish witches
in church.
The common houseleek, here called _donnerkraut_ (thunder-herb), will
protect from lightning the roof on which it grows.
Animals beaten with a switch of privet or dog-wood will die or fall
sick.
Larkspur hung over the stable door will keep witches from entering.
The _Atropa belladonna_ (called here _buchert_) renders mad whoever
tastes of it, and in his madness he will be compelled blindly to obey
the will of whoever has given him of this herb to eat; therefore it
is here said of a man who behaves insanely that “he must have eaten
buchert.”
Whoever kills an adder under a white-hazel bush, plants a pea in the
head of this adder, and then buries it in the earth so that the pea can
strike root, has only to gather the first flower which grows from the
pea and wear it in his cap in order henceforward to have power over
all witches in the neighborhood. But let him beware of the witches,
who, knowing this, are ever on the lookout to catch him without the
pea-flower and to do him an injury.
A particular growth of vine-leaf, whose exact definition I have not
succeeded in rightly ascertaining, is eagerly sought for by Saxon girls
in some villages. Whoever finds it sticks it in her hair, and thus
decorated she has the right to kiss the first man she meets on her
homeward way. This will insure her speedy marriage. A story is related
of a girl who, meeting a nobleman driving in a handsome four-in-hand
carriage, stopped the horses, and begged leave to kiss him, to the
gentleman’s no small astonishment. He resigned himself, however, with
a good grace when he had grasped the situation, and gave the kiss as
well as a golden piece to the fair suppliant. The proper romantic
_dénouement_ of this episode would have been for the gentleman to lead
home as bride the maiden thus cast in his path by fate, but we are not
told that he pushed his complacence quite so far.
A whole volume might be written on the subject of agrarian
superstition, of which let a few examples here suffice.
In many villages it is customary for the ploughman, going to work for
the first time that year in the field, to drive his plough over a
broomstick laid on the threshold of the court-yard.
The first person who sows each year will have meagre crops. During the
whole sowing-time no one should give a kindling out of the house. It is
never allowable to sow in Holy Week.
To insure the wheat against being eaten by birds, the sowing should be
done in silence before sunrise, and without looking over the shoulder.
Also earth taken from the church-yard will keep birds off the field.
Whoever lies down to sleep in a new-ploughed furrow will fall ill; nor
must the women be allowed to sew or spin in the cornfield, for that
would occasion thunder-storms; while washing the hands in the field
will cause the house to burn.
In obstinate droughts it is customary in some places for several girls,
led by an old woman, and all of them absolutely naked, to repair at
midnight to the court-yard of some neighboring peasant, whose harrow
they must steal, and with it proceed across the field to the nearest
stream, where the harrow is put afloat with a burning light on each
corner.
The harvest will be bad if the cuckoo comes into the village and cries
there.
In bringing in the corn a few heads of garlic bound up in the first
sheaf will keep off witches.
* * * * *
The most important days in Saxon superstition are Sunday, Tuesday, and
Friday.
Whoever wears a shirt sewed by his mother on a Sunday will die.
According to another version, however, a shirt which has been spun,
woven, and sewed entirely on Sundays is a powerful talisman, which will
render all enemies powerless against the wearer, and bring him safely
through every battle.
Wood cut on a Sunday serves to heat the fire of hell. Sunday children
are lucky, and can discover hidden treasures.
In some districts no cow or swine herd would lead his animals to
pasture on any other day but a Tuesday.[59]
Thursday is in many places the luckiest day for marriages, also for
markets.
On Friday the weather is apt to change. It is a good day for sowing
and for making vinegar, but a bad one for baking, or for starting on a
journey. In some places it is considered unsafe to comb the hair on a
Friday—therefore the village school on that day presents a somewhat
rough and unkempt appearance.
Rain upon Good Friday is a favorable omen.
On Easter Monday the lads run about the towns and villages sprinkling
with water all the girls and women they meet. This is supposed to
insure the flax growing well. On the following day the girls return the
attention by watering the boys.[60]
On Easter Monday the cruel sport of cock-shooting is still kept up in
many Saxon villages. The cock is tied to a post and shot at till it
dies a horrible lingering death. Sometimes the sport is diversified by
blindfolding the actors, who strike at their victim with wooden clubs.
Between Easter and Pentecost none should either marry or change their
domicile.
On Pentecost Monday it is sometimes customary to elect three of the
girls as queens, who, dressed up in their finest clothes, preside at
church and at the afternoon dance.
In one village it is usual on Pentecost Sunday at mid-day, when the
bells are ringing, to encircle each fruit-tree with a rope made of
twisted straw.
The fires on St. John’s Day, and the belief that hidden treasures are
to be found, are also prevalent among the Saxons.
No one should bathe or wade into a river on the 29th of June, Feast of
SS. Peter and Paul, for fear of drowning, it being supposed that this
day requires the sacrifice of a human victim.
Before the 24th of August no corn should be garnered, because only
after that date do the thunder-storms cease, or as the people say, “the
thunder-clouds go home.”
The night of St. Thomas (December 21st), popularly considered to
be the longest night in the year, is the date consecrated by Saxon
superstition to the celebration of the games which elsewhere are usual
on All-Halloween. Every girl puts her fate to the test on that evening,
and there are various ways of so doing, with onions, flowers, shoes,
etc.
One way of interrogating Fate is with a sharp knife to cut an apple in
two. If in doing so no seed has been split, then the wish of your heart
will be fulfilled.
Similar games are also practised on Sylvester night (December 31st),
which night is also otherwise prophetic of what is to happen during
the coming year. If it be clear, then the fowls will lay many eggs
that year, and bright moonlight means full granaries. A red dawn on
New-year’s Day means war, and wind is significant of the pest or
cholera.
FOOTNOTES:
[57] An old German saying, “Hier liegt der Hund begraben”—and which
is equivalent to saying, That now we penetrate the true meaning of
something not previously understood—has been explained in the same way
in Büchner’s “Geflügelte Worte:” There the dog lies buried; that is why
the tree bears fruit.
[58] The Greeks also observed this at their banquets in order to
appease the gods.
[59] In the Harz and Westphalia Tuesday is considered the luckiest day
for entering on a new service.
[60] This custom, which appears to be a very old one, is also prevalent
among various Slav peoples, Poles, Serbs, etc. In Poland it used to be
_de rigueur_ that the water be poured over a girl who was still asleep;
so in each house a victim, usually a servant-maid, was selected, who
had to feign sleep, and patiently receive the cold shower-bath which
was to insure the luck of the family during that year. The custom
has now become modified to suit a more delicate age, and instead of
formidable horse-buckets of water, dainty little perfume-squirts have
come to be used in many places.
CHAPTER XXX.
SAXON CUSTOMS AND DRAMAS.
Some of the Saxon customs are peculiarly interesting, as being
obviously remnants of paganism, and offer curious proof of the force of
verbal tradition, which in this case has not only borne transmigration
from a distant country, but likewise weathered the storm of two
successive changes of religion.
It speaks strongly for the tenacity of pagan habits and trains of
thought, that although at the time these Saxon colonists appeared in
Transylvania they had already belonged to the Christian Church for
over three hundred years, yet many points of the landscape in their
new country received from them pagan appellations. Thus we find the
_Götzenberg_, or mountain of the gods,[61] which rises above the
village of Heltau; and the _Wodesch_ and _Wolenk_ applied to woods and
plains, both evidently derived from Woden.
Another remnant of paganism is the _feurix_ or _feuriswolf_, which
yet lingers in the minds of these people. According to ancient German
mythology, the feuriswolf is a monster which on the last day is to
open his mouth so wide that the upper jaw will touch the sky and the
lower one the earth; and not long ago a Saxon woman bitterly complained
in a court of justice that her husband had cursed her over-strongly
in saying, “Der Wärlthangd saul dich frieszen!”—literally, “May the
world-dog swallow thee!”
Many old pagan ceremonies are likewise still clearly to be
distinguished through the flimsy shrouding of a later period—their
origin piercing unmistakably through the surface-varnish of
Christianity, thought necessary to adapt them to newer circumstances,
and, like a clumsily remodelled garment, the original cut asserting
itself despite the fashionable trimmings now adorning it. Thus, for
instance, in many popular rhymes and dialogues it has been clearly
proved that those parts now assigned to the Saviour and St. Peter
originally belonged to the old gods Thor and Loki, while the faithless
apostle Judas has had thrust upon him the personification of a whole
horde of German demons. As to St. Elias, who in some parts of Hungary,
as well as in Roumania, Serbia, and Croatia, is supposed to have the
working of the thunder-bolts, there can be little doubt that he is
verily no other than the old thunder-god Thor under a Christian mask.
One of the most striking of the aforementioned Christianized dramas is
the _Tod-Austragen_, or throwing out the Death—a custom still extant
in several Transylvanian villages, and which may likewise still be
found existing in some remote parts of Germany.
The Feast of the Ascension is the day on which this ceremony takes
place in a village near Hermanstadt, and it is conducted in the
following manner:
After forenoon church on that day all the school-girls repair to the
house of one of their companions, and there proceed to dress up the
“Death.” This is done by tying up a thrashed-out corn-sheaf into the
rough semblance of a head and body, while the arms are simulated by a
broomstick stuck horizontally. This being done, the figure is dressed
in the Sunday clothes of a young village matron, and the head adorned
with the customary cap and veil, fastened by silver pins. Two large
black beads or black-headed pins represent the eyes; and thus equipped
the figure is displayed at the open window, in order that all people
may see it on their way to afternoon church. The conclusion of the
vespers is the signal for the girls to seize on the figure and open
the procession round the village. Two of the eldest school-girls hold
the “Death” between them; the others follow in regular order, two and
two, singing a Church hymn. The boys are excluded from the procession,
and must content themselves with admiring the _Schöner Tod_ (beautiful
Death) from a distance. When the whole village has been traversed in
this manner from end to end, the girls repair to another house, whose
door is locked against the besieging troop of boys. The figure of Death
is here stripped of its gaudy attire, and the naked straw bundle thrown
out of the window, whereupon it is seized by the boys and carried off
in triumph, to be thrown into the nearest stream or river.
This is the first part of the drama; while the second consists in one
of the girls being solemnly invested with the clothes and ornaments
previously worn by the figure, and, like it, being led in procession
round the village to the singing of the same hymns as before. The
ceremony terminates by a feast at the house of the parents whose
daughter has acted the principal part, and from which, as before, the
boys are excluded.
According to popular belief, it is allowed to eat fruit only after
this day, as now the “Death”—that is, the unwholesomeness—has been
expelled from them. Also, the river in which the Death has been drowned
may now be considered fit for public bathing.
If this ceremony be ever neglected in the village where it is
customary, such neglect is supposed to entail death to one of the young
people, or loss of virtue to a girl.
This same custom may, as I have said, be found still lingering in
various other parts, everywhere with slight variations. Thus there
are places where the figure is burned instead of drowned; and Passion
Sunday (often called the Dead Sunday), or else the 25th of March, is
the day sometimes fixed for its accomplishment.
[Illustration: SAXON GIRL IN FULL DRESS.]
In some places it was usual for the figure to be attired in the shirt
of the last person who had died, and with the veil of the most recent
bride on its head. Also, the figure is occasionally pelted with
stones by the youths of both sexes—those who succeed in hitting it
being secured against death for the coming year.
At Nuremberg little girls dressed in white used to go in procession
through the town, carrying a small open coffin in which a doll was laid
out in state, or sometimes only a stick dressed up, and with an apple
to represent the head.
In most of these places the rhymes sung apply to the departure of
winter and the advent of summer, such as the following:
“And now we have chased the Death away,
And brought in the summer so warm and gay—
The summer and the month of May.
We bring sweet flowers full many a one,
We bring the rays of the golden sun,
For the dreary Death at last is gone.”
Or else:
“Come all of you and do not tarry,
The evil Death away to carry;
Come, spring, once more, with us to dwell—
Welcome, O spring, in wood and dell!”
And there is no doubt that similar rhymes used also to be sung in
Transylvania, until they were replaced by Lutheran hymns after the
Reformation.
Some German archæologists have attempted to prove the Death in these
games to be of more recent introduction, and to have replaced the
winter of former times, so as to give the ceremony a more Christian
coloring by the allusion to the triumph of Christ over death on
his resurrection and ascension into heaven. Without presuming to
contradict the many well-known authorities who have taken this view
of the question, I cannot help thinking that it hardly requires such
explanation to account for the presence of Death in these dramas.
Nowadays, when civilization and luxury have done so much towards
equalizing all seasons, so that we can never be deprived of flowers
in winter nor want for ice in summer, it is difficult to realize the
enormous gulf which in olden times separated winter from summer. In
winter not only were all means of communication cut off for a large
proportion of people, but their very existence was, so to say, frozen
up; and when the granaries were scantily filled, or the inclement
season prolonged by some weeks, death was literally standing at the
door of millions of poor wretches. No wonder, then, that winter and
death became identical in their minds, and that they hailed the advent
of spring with delirious joy, dancing round the first violet, and
following about the first cockchafer in solemn procession. It was the
feast of Nature which they celebrated then as now—Nature mighty and
eternal, always essentially the same, whether decked out in pagan or in
Christian garb.
* * * * *
Another drama of somewhat more precise form is the _Königslied_, or
_Todtentanz_ (King’s Song, or Dance of Death), a rhymed dialogue still
often represented in Saxon villages all over Transylvania.
Dramatic representations of the Dance of Death were first introduced
into Germany before the fifteenth century by the Dominican order,
but do not seem there to have taken any very firm root, since we
hear no more mention of such performance existing after the middle
of the fifteenth century. It is therefore probable that this drama
was transmitted, as long as five hundred years ago at least, to the
Transylvanian Saxons, who thus have retained it intact long after it
had elsewhere fallen into disuse.
The personages consist of an Angel, robed in white, and with a
golden wand; the King, attired in purple or scarlet cloak, crown,
and sceptre, and followed by a train of courtiers; then Death, who
is sometimes clothed in black, sometimes in a white sheet, and who
either bears a scythe or a bow and arrows in his hand. On either side
of him, by way of adjutants, stand two mute personages, a doctor and
an apothecary—the first with powdered head, hanging plait, tricorn
hat, and snuffbox in his hand; the latter bearing a basket containing
medicine phials. The whole is sung, and the Angel opens the performance
with these lines:
_Angel._ Good people all, come list to me—
New tidings to you will I sing;
’Tis of a mighty King
Who on the open market-place
With Death met face to face.
_Death._ All hail, thou rich and mighty King!
Great news to thee this day I bring;
Thy death-hour it has struck,
’Tis time for thee to join my band—
I wander thus from land to land.
_King._ Thou haughty man, who mayest be,
That I should have to follow thee?
What is thy land, thy name?
Art thou a lord? thy rank proclaim,
Else shaltst be put to shame.
_Death._ ’Twere well for thee my name to know;
Thy pride soon will I overthrow.
The people here they call me Death;
Of young or old I take no heed,
Alike they wither at my breath.
_King._ Of Death I oft have heard, indeed,
But cannot of thee now take heed.
Quick from my land begone!
Or shaltst be fettered foot and hand,
And in a dungeon thrown.
_Angel._ Then Death he shot a deadly dart,
And pierced the King unto the heart.
_Death._ O foolish mortal, proud and blind!
See now, where is thy vaunted power
In iron fetters Death to bind?
_Angel._ The King he turneth deadly pale,
And feels his strength about to fail.
_King._ Lord, mercif’ly my life prolong,
Thus wofully not let me die;
Hast plenty poor to choose among.
_Death._ More than I list of poor I have;
But rich men also do I crave
My ranks to ornament,
As bishops, princes, mighty kings—
These fill me with content.
_King._ Great is thy power—
_Angel._ The King did say,
Out-stretched as on his bed he lay—
_King._ O Death, unto thy power I bow;
But still one hope I cherish yet,
A favor last grant to me now.
_Death._ Then speak—
_Angel._ Said Death unto the King—
_Death._ Let’s hear what is this mighty thing.
_King._ But twelve years longer let me live;
Twelve thousand pounds of heaviest gold
In payment to thee will I give.
_Death._ For all thy gold I little care;
Do thou at once for death prepare.
’Tis vain to pray, ’tis vain to grieve;
Come in my ranks, for thou art mine—
Thy gold behind to others leave.
_King._ But give to me—
_Angel._ The King did say—
_King._ But half a year and yet a day;
I fain would build a castle new
Of massive stone, with lofty tower,
From which my kingdom I may view.
_Death._ Leave those to build who list to build;
For thee thy span of life is filled.
Come in my ranks and tarry not,
We must to-day a measure tread;
’Twill cause thee small delight, I wot.
_King._ Yet will I yet for something pray;
This only wish do not gainsay:
If only thou wiltst let me live,
A beggar humble will I be;
My royal crown to thee I give.
_Death._ O King, why useless words thus waste?
Prepare to go, and make thee haste,
Nor seek me idly to detain;
Still many thousand men must I
To-day invite to join my train.
_King._ Oh, hurry not—
_Angel._ The King did say—
_King._ But grant me yet another day.
To make my will still let me bide;
My silver, gold, and jewels rare,
I fain would righteously divide.
_Angel._ But Death then spoke.
_Death._ It cannot be;
Conform must thou to my decree.
Prepare to start without reprieve;
Thy silver, gold, and jewels rare,
Must be content behind to leave.
_King._ Then is it all in vain I pray?
_Death._ Lament and prayer all useless be.
_King._ Shall I not see another day?
_Death._ Not one. To judgment come with me.
_King._ Oh, grant me but one little hour!
_Death._ To grant aught is not in my power.
_King._ Have patience but three words to hear.
_Death._ Patience ’s an herb[62] which grows not here.
_Angel._ The King upon his couch down sinks:
His haughty form all helpless shrinks;
To ashy white has turned his lip.
Both rich and poor the strangler thus
With iron hand alike doth grip.
Thus stealthy Death will oft appear,
When no one deems that he is near,
With deadly aim to shoot his dart.
So live in God, his laws observe,
That mayst in peace depart.
[_The KING sinks down lifeless, and DEATH disappears. The soldiers
raise up the dead body and lay it on a bier, singing_—
_Soldiers._ Why value crown or power,
Since neither can we own
But for a passing hour?
No sceptre and no throne
Grim Death away can scare,
Nor gold nor jewels rare.
_Angel_ [_reappearing_]. By Providence as herald sent,
Touched by the sound of dire lament;
The monarch to his land restore
Will I, in pity for your grief.
King, for thy kingdom live once more.
[_The ANGEL touches the KING’S breast, who, waking apparently from
a deep slumber, sits up and sings_—
_King._ How is’t I feel? and can it be
That once again the earth I see?
What miracle of grace!
Who art thou, Lord? I knew thee not;
Deign to reveal thy face.
_Angel._ The Lord who sent me to this land,
He is a Lord of mighty hand.
He gives, he taketh life,
As thou hast seen, O King, this day;
To do his will must strive alway.
[_The KING, now standing up, takes the crown from his head, and
accompanied by the chorus, sings_—
_King._ Lord of the world, the crown is thine,
Who rulest us with power divine.
Oh, what is man! He is but dust,
And fall a prey to death he must.
Let none be proud of lofty rank,
For ’tis indeed but idle prank.
Guide thou us, Lord, upon our way;
Our souls receive in grace some day.
Grimm is of opinion that this drama is also allegorical of the triumph
of spring over winter, which opinion he chiefly supports by the
incident of the King’s resurrection, and of the allusion to the garden.
This view has, however, been strongly combated by other authorities,
who remind us that in many old pictures Death is often represented as a
gardener, and armed with bow and arrows.
* * * * *
“Herodes” is the name of a Christmas drama acted by the Transylvanian
Saxons; but as, though undoubtedly ancient, it is totally wanting in
humor and originality, I do not here reproduce it. Most probably such
qualities as this drama may once have possessed have been pruned away
by the over-vigorous knife of some ruthless reformer.
The Song of the Three Kings, beginning,
“Through storm and wind, through weather wild,
We come to seek the new-born child,”
is sung by little boys, who at Christmas-time go about from house to
house with tinsel crowns on their heads, one of them having his face
blackened to represent the negro king, and who expect a few coins and
some victuals as reward for their performance.
At Hermanstadt these three kings threatened to become somewhat of a
nuisance in Christmas-week, there being several sets of them who were
continually walking uninvited into our rooms. At last one day when
we had already received the visit of several such royal parties, our
footman opened the door and inquired in a tone of mild exasperation,
“Please, madam, the holy three kings are there again; had I not better
kick them down-stairs?”
FOOTNOTES:
[61] The word _Götzen_ in German is exclusively used to express pagan
gods.
[62] In the original the phrase runs:
“This grows not in my garden.”
CHAPTER XXXI.
BURIED TREASURES.
Few things possess such powerful attraction as the thought of buried
treasures which may be lying unsuspected around us. To think that
the golden buttercups which dot a meadow are, perchance, but the
reflections of other golden pieces lying beneath the surface; to
suppose the crumbling gray walls of some ancient tower to be the dingy
casket enshrouding priceless gems, there secreted by long-vanished
hands—is surely enough to set imagination on fire, and engender the
wild, delirious hope that to you alone, favored among ten thousand
other mortals who have passed by the spot unknowing, may be destined
the triumph of finding that golden key.
Vain and futile as such researches mostly are, yet they have in
Transylvania a somewhat greater semblance of reason than in most other
countries, for nowhere else, perhaps, have so many successive nations
been forced to secrete their riches in flying from an enemy, to say
nothing of the numerous, yet undiscovered, veins of gold and silver
which must be seaming the country in all directions. Not a year passes
without bringing to light some earthen jar containing old Dacian coins,
or golden ornaments of Roman origin—which discoveries all serve to
feed and keep up the national superstitions connected with treasures
and treasure-finders.
The night of St. George, the 24th of April (corresponding to our 6th
of May), is of all others the most favorable in the year for such
researches, and many Roumanian peasants spend these hours in wandering
about the hills, trying to probe the earth for the gold it contains;
for in this night (so say the legends) all these treasures begin to
burn, or, to speak in technical, mystic language, “to bloom,” in the
bosom of the earth, and the light they give forth, described as a
bluish flame, resembling the color of burning spirits of wine, serves
to guide favored mortals to their place of concealment.
The conditions to the successful raising of a treasure are manifold and
difficult of accomplishment. In the first place, it is by no means
easy for a common mortal who has not been born on a Sunday, nor even
at mid-day when the bells are ringing, to hit upon a treasure at all.
If he does, however, chance to catch sight of a flame such as I have
described, he must quickly pierce through the swaddling rags of his
right foot with a knife, and then throw it in the direction of the
flame seen. If two people are together during this discovery, they must
on no account break silence till the treasure is raised; neither is it
allowed to fill up the hole from which anything has been taken, for
that would entail the death of one of the finders. Another important
feature to be noted is that the lights seen before midnight on St.
George’s Day denote treasures kept by good spirits, while those which
appear at a later hour are unquestionably of a pernicious nature.
For the comfort of less favored mortals who do not happen to have been
born either on a Sunday nor to the sound of bells, I must here mention
that these deficiencies may to some extent be condoned for and the
mental vision sharpened by the consumption of mouldy bread; so that
whoever has, during the preceding year, been careful to feed upon
decayed loaves only, may (if he survive this trying diet) become the
fortunate discoverer of hidden treasures.
Sometimes the power of finding a particular treasure is supposed
only to be possessed by members of some particular family. A curious
instance of this was lately recorded in Roumania, relating to an old
ruined convent, where, according to a popular legend, a large sum of
gold is concealed. A deputation of peasants, at considerable trouble
and expense, found out the last surviving member of the family supposed
to possess the mystic power, and offered him unconditionally a very
handsome sum merely for the benefit of his personal attendance on the
spot. The gentleman in question being old, and probably sceptical,
declined the offer, to the peasants’ great disappointment.
There is hardly a ruin, mountain, or forest in Transylvania which has
not got some legend of a hidden treasure attached to it. These are
often supposed to be guarded by some animal, as a serpent, turkey,
dog, or pig; or sometimes the devil himself, in the shape of a black
buffalo, haunts the place at night and carries off those who attempt
to raise the treasure. Out of the many such tales there afloat I shall
here quote only a few, which have been collected and written down from
the words of old villagers in different places:
THE TREASURE OF DARIUS
is one of the principal treasures supposed to be somewhere concealed
on Transylvanian ground. It is said to be of immense value, and is
believed to have been secreted when the Persian king was compelled to
fly before the Scythian forces; but opinions are divided as to the
exact locality where it lies. One version, which places the treasure
in a forest in the neighborhood of Hamlesch, relates of it that fifty
years ago a poor German workman, sleeping in the forest one night,
discovered the treasure, and being versed in the formalities to be
observed on such occasions, laid upon it some article of clothing
marked with his name in token of taking possession. Then, as he did not
trust the country people, he went off to Germany to fetch his relations
to assist him in raising the treasure. But, hardly arrived at his
house, he fell ill and died; and though on his death-bed he exactly
described the place where he had seen the gold, and gave directions for
finding it, his relations were never able to hit upon the place.
Another story declares the treasure to have been hidden in the
Sacsorer Burg, an old ruined fortress, where some centuries ago it
was discovered by six Hungarian burghers, who swore to keep the
secret among themselves; and once in each year they went and carried
off a sack of gold and silver pieces, which they divided. Only after
five of them had died did the last survivor in his testament leave
directions how to reach the place. To approach the treasure (so runs
the legend), one must pass through a strong iron door lying towards the
west. This door can be opened from the outside, but whoever is not in
possession of the secret is sure to fall down through a trap-door into
a terrible abyss, where he will be cut to pieces by a thousand swords
set in motion by machinery; therefore it is necessary to bridge over
the trap-door with several stout planks before entering. After this a
second iron door is reached, in front of which are lying two life-sized
lions of massive silver. This second door leads into a large hall,
where round a long table are sitting the figures of King Darius, and
of twelve other kings whom he had vanquished in battle. King Darius
himself, who sits at the head of the table, is formed of purest gold,
while the other monarchs, six on either side, are of silver. This hall
leads into a cellar, where are ranged twenty-four barrels bound with
hoops of silver; half of these barrels contain gold, the other half
silver pieces.
It is likewise asserted that towards the end of the last century a
Wallachian hermit was known to reside in those same ruins, in whose
possession were often seen gold and silver coins stamped with the image
of King Darius, but that when questioned on the subject he would never
reveal how he had come by them.
Finally, it is said that within the memory of people still living
there came hither from Switzerland three men with an ancient parchment
document, out of which they professed to have deciphered the directions
for finding the treasure of Darius, but after spending several days in
digging about the place they had to go empty-handed away.
* * * * *
After writing those lines I have unexpectedly come across a new version
of the treasure of Darius, as I read in a current newspaper, dated
November 24, 1886, that only a few weeks ago an old Roumanian peasant
woman formally applied to the Government at Klausenburg for leave to
dig for the treasure of Darius, which, as a sorcerer had revealed to
her, lay buried at Hideg Szamos.
The directions she had received were to dig, at the spot indicated,
as deep as the height of the Klausenburg church steeple, when stone
steps and an iron door would be disclosed. The latter can be opened by
a blow from an axe which had been dipped in holy-water. A large stone
vault with twelve more iron doors will then appear. Twelve golden keys
hang on the wall, and each door being opened will lead to a chamber
filled to overflowing with solid gold-pieces. Three people only were
permitted to dig simultaneously for the treasure, the sorcerer himself
disinterestedly disclaiming any part in the matter, as he professes to
have renounced all earthly goods.
The prosaic Klausenburg officials could not, however, be induced to
share the woman’s enthusiasm, and tried to convince her of the folly of
such search; but all in vain, for, dispensing with the permission she
had failed to obtain, she has now engaged three day-laborers, who since
the 15th of November, 1886, are said to be engaged on this stupendous
task.
Perhaps we shall some day hear the result of their labors.
THE TREASURE OF DECEBALUS
is also among those to which Transylvania lays claim. When Trajan
went forth for the second time against the Dacian king, Decebalus,
vanquished in the fight near his capital, Zarmiszegthusa, retired
to a stronghold in the mountains, where he was again pursued by the
conqueror, and, after a second defeat, perished by his own hand, in
order to escape the ignominy of captivity. But before these reverses
Decebalus had taken care to secure his immense riches. For this purpose
he caused the river Sargetia,[63] which flowed past his residence,
to be diverted from its course at great toil and expense; in the dry
river-bed strong vaulted cellars were constructed, in which all the
gold, silver, and precious stones were stowed away, the whole being
then covered up with earth and gravel, and the river brought back to
its original course.
The work had been executed by prisoners, who were all either massacred
or deprived of their eyesight to avoid betrayal. But a confidant of
the Dacian king, Bicilis, or Biculus, who afterwards fell into Roman
captivity, revealed to the Emperor what he knew of it, and Trajan thus
succeeded in appropriating a considerable portion of the secreted
treasure, but not the whole, it is said.
In the year 1543 some Wallachian fishermen, when mooring their boat on
the banks of the river Strell, became aware of something shining in the
water at the place where a tree had lately been uprooted. Pursuing the
search, they brought to light more than forty thousand gold-pieces,
each of them as heavy as three ducats, and stamped with the image of
King Decebalus on one side, and that of the Goddess of Victory on the
other. This treasure was delivered up to the monk Martinuzzi, the
counsellor of Queen Isabella, and the most powerful man in Transylvania
of that time. Part of the money was sent to the Roman emperor,
Ferdinand I.; but many people declare the treasure of Decebalus not to
be exhausted even now, and prophesy that we have not yet heard the last
of it.
THE TREASURE ON THE KOND.
The Kond is a gloomy wooded plain near to the town of Regen. Great
riches are said to be here concealed, but they are difficult to obtain,
for the place is haunted by coal-black buffaloes, which may be seen
running backward and forward at night, especially about the time of
St. George and St. Thomas. A citizen named Simon Hill, who once caught
sight of the subterraneous fire, marked the place, resolving to raise
the treasure the following night. But distrusting his own strength and
courage, he confided his purpose to a neighbor called Martin Rosenau,
asking him to come to the place that night at twelve o’clock.
This neighbor, however, was faithless, being one of those who pray
against the Catechism; so he resolved to cheat his friend. Instead,
therefore, of waking his neighbor, as had been agreed, at ten o’clock,
he repaired alone to the spot, where, digging, he found nothing but a
horse’s skull filled with dead frogs. Full of anger at his bad-luck,
he took the skull and flung it along with the frogs in at the open
window of his sleeping friend. But what was the surprise of this latter
when, waking in the morning, he found the whole room strewn with golden
ducats, and in the midst the horse’s skull, likewise half full of
gold. Happy beyond measure, Simon Hill ran to his neighbor to tell him
the joyful news how God had sent him the gold in his sleep; but the
faithless Martin, on hearing the tale, was so seized with grief and
anger that a stroke of apoplexy put an end to his life.
GOLD-DUST.
An old man at Nadesch relates how in his youth he missed a chance of
becoming a rich man for life. Going once to the forest, he saw on the
steep bank near a stream the handle of some sort of earthen-ware jar
peeping out of the soil. Curious to investigate it, he climbed up the
steep bank; but hardly had he seized the handle and drawn the heavy
jar out of the earth, when, the ground giving way under his feet, he
rolled to the bottom of the incline still holding the jar in his hand.
But finding that it contained nothing but a dull yellow dust, which
had partly been spilled in falling, he threw it as worthless into the
stream. Often in later days did he regret this rash act, for, as he was
told by others, this yellow powder could have been nothing else but
gold-dust.
Other ancient vessels which have been sometimes discovered filled
with ashes[64] are believed by the people to have contained golden
treasures, thus changed by the devil to ashes.
There is a plant which is believed by both Saxons and Roumanians to
possess the virtue of opening every lock and breaking iron fetters,
as well as helping to the discovery of hidden treasures. The
Roumanians call it _jarbe cherului_ (iron grass or herb), and it is
only efficacious when it has sprouted at the spot where a rainbow has
touched the earth. The rainbow is the bridge on which the angels go
backward and forward between earth and heaven, and the flower grows
there where an angel has dropped his golden key of Paradise on to the
earth. The Germans call the flower _schlüssel blume_ (key-flower), and
it may be recognized by having a heart-shaped leaf on which is a spot
like a drop of gold or blood. There are several places in Transylvania
where the plant is supposed to grow, but he who walks over it unheeding
will be sure to lose his way. In order to find it, it is recommended to
go out at daybreak and creep on all fours over the grass. Who finds it
should cut open the ball of his left hand and let the leaf grow into
the wound; he will then have power to break fetters and open locks.
The celebrated robber F—— is said to have been in possession of such
a leaf, till the police destroyed his powers by cutting it out of
his hand. Horses whose fore-legs are tethered together by chains are
sometimes set free when they happen to tread on the jarbe cherului;
and in the village of Heltau a Saxon peasant once hit upon the device
of putting his wife in chains and thus driving her over the fields,
expecting to find the flower where the fetters should fall off.
Whoever sells land in certain parts of the country where gold is
supposed to be buried is always careful to indorse the reservation of
eventual treasures to be found on the spot.
But the people say that it is rarely good to seek for hidden treasures,
for much of the gold buried in the country has been secured by a
heavy curse, so that he who raises it will be pursued by illness or
misfortune to himself and his family, unless he is descended in direct
line from the man who buried the treasure. Only such treasures as lie
above-ground exposed to the light of day may be appropriated without
misgiving. Many men have lost their reason, or have become crippled
or blind, but few indeed were ever made happy by gold dug out of the
earth.
FOOTNOTES:
[63] The present river Strell.
[64] Evidently funeral urns.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE TZIGANES: LISZT AND LENAU.
Among the many writers who have made of this singular race their
special study, none, to my thinking, has succeeded in understanding
them so perfectly as Liszt. Other authors have analyzed and described
the gypsies with scientific accuracy, but their opinions are mostly
tinged by prejudice or enthusiasm; for while Grellman approaches the
subject with evident repugnance, like a naturalist dissecting some
nauseous reptile in the interest of science, Borrow, on the contrary,
idealizes his figures almost beyond recognition. Perhaps it needed a
Hungarian to do justice to this subject, for the Hungarian is the only
man who, to some extent, is united by sympathetic bonds to the Tzigane;
he alone has succeeded in identifying himself with the gypsy mind, and
comprehending all the strange contradictions of this living paradox.
I cannot, therefore, do better than quote (in somewhat free
translation) some passages from Liszt’s valuable work on gypsy music,
which, far more vividly than any words of mine, will serve to sketch
the portrait of the Hungarian Tzigane.
“There started up one day betwixt the European nations an unknown
tribe, a strange people of whom none was able to say who they were
nor whence they had come. They spread themselves over our continent,
manifesting, however, neither desire of conquest nor ambition to
acquire the right of a fixed domicile; not attempting to lay claim
to so much as an inch of land, but not suffering themselves to be
deprived of a single hour of their time: not caring to command, they
neither chose to obey. They had nothing to give of their own, and were
content to owe nothing to others. They never spoke of their native
land, and gave no clew as to from which Asiatic or African plains they
had wandered, nor what troubles or persecutions had necessitated their
expatriation. Strangers alike to memory as to hope, they kept aloof
from the benefits of colonization; and too proud of their melancholy
race to suffer admixture with other nations, they lived on, satisfied
with the rejection of every foreign element. Deriving no advantage
from the Christian civilization around them, they regarded with equal
repugnance every other form of religion.
“This singular race, so strange as to resemble no other—possessing
neither country, history, religion, nor any sort of codex—seems only
to continue to exist because it does not choose to cease to be, and
only cares to exist such as it has always been.
[Illustration: GYPSY TYPE.]
“Instruction, authority, persuasion, and persecution have alike been
powerless to reform, modify, or exterminate the gypsies. Broken up into
wandering tribes and hordes, roving hither and thither as chance or
fancy directs, without means of communication, and mostly ignoring one
another’s existence, they nevertheless betray their common relationship
by unmistakable signs—the self-same type of feature, the same
language, the identical habits and customs.
“With a senseless or sublime contempt for whatever binds or hampers,
the Tziganes ask nothing from the earth but life, and preserve their
individuality from constant intercourse with nature, as well as by
absolute indifference to all those not belonging to their race, with
whom they commune only as far as requisite for obtaining the common
necessities of life.
“Like the Jews they have natural taste and ability for fraud; but,
unlike them, it is without systematic hatred or malice. Hatred and
revenge are with them only personal and accidental feelings, never
premeditated ones. Harmless when their immediate wants are satisfied,
they are incapable of preconceived intention of injuring, only wishing
to preserve a freedom akin to that of the wild horse of the plains, and
not comprehending how any one can prefer a roof, be it ever so fine, to
the shelter of the forest canopy.
“Authority, rules, laws, principles, duties, and obligations are alike
incomprehensible ideas to this singular race—partly from indolence
of spirit, partly from indifference to the evils engendered by their
irregular mode of life.
“Such only as it is, the Tzigane loves his life, and would exchange it
for no other. He loves his life when slumbering in a copse of young
birch-trees: he fancies himself surrounded by a group of slender
maidens, their long floating hair bestrewed with shining sapphire
stones, their graceful figures swayed by the breeze into voluptuous
and coquettish gestures, as though each were trembling and thrilling
under the kiss of an invisible lover. The Tzigane loves his life
when for hours together his eyes idly follow the geometrical figures
described in the sky overhead by the strategical evolutions of a flight
of rooks; when he gauges his cunning against that of the wary bustard,
or overcomes the silvery trout in a trial of lightning-like agility.
He loves his life when, shaking the wild crab-apple-tree, he causes
a hail-storm of ruddy fruit to come pouring down upon him; when he
picks the unripe berries from off a thorny branch, leaving the sandy
earth flecked with drops of gory red, like a deserted battle-field;
when bending over a murmuring woodland spring, whose grateful coolness
refreshes his parched throat as its gurgling music delights his ear;
when he hears the woodpecker tapping a hollow stem, or can distinguish
the faint sound of a distant mill-wheel. He loves his life when, gazing
on the gray-green waters of some lonely mountain lake, its surface
spellbound in the dawning presentiment of approaching frost, he lets
his vagrant fancy float hither and thither unchecked; when reclining
high up on the branch of some lofty forest-tree, hammock-like he is
rocked to and fro, while each leaf around him seems quivering with
ecstasy at the song of the nightingale. He loves his life when, out of
the myriads of ever-twinkling stars in the illimitable space overhead,
he chooses out one to be his own particular sweetheart; when he falls
in love, to-day with a gorgeous lilac-bush of overwhelming perfume,
to-morrow with a slender hawthorn or graceful eglantine, to be as
quickly forgotten at sight of a brilliant peacock-feather, with which,
as with a victorious war-trophy, he adorns his cap; when he sits by
the smouldering camp-fire under ancient oaks or massive beeches; when,
lying awake at night, he hears the call of the stag and the lowing
of the respondent doe; when he has no other society but the forest
animals, with whom he forms friendships and enmities—caressing or
tormenting them, depriving them of liberty or setting them free,
revelling in the treasures of Nature like a wanton child despoiling his
parent’s riches, but well knowing their wealth to be inexhaustible.
“What he calls life is to inhale the breath of Nature with every pore
of his body; to surfeit his eye with all her forms and colors; with
his ear greedily to absorb all her chords and harmonics. Life for him
is to multiply the possession of all these things by the kaleidoscopic
and phantasmagorial effects of alcohol, then to sing and play, shout,
laugh, and dance, till utter exhaustion.
“Having neither Bible nor Gospels to go by, the Tziganes do not see the
necessity of fatiguing their brain by the contemplation of abstract
ideas; and obeying their instincts only, their intelligence naturally
grows rusty. Conscious of their harmlessness they bask in the rays of
the sun, content in the satisfaction of a few primitive and elementary
passions—the _sans-gêne_ of their soul fettered by no conventional
virtues.
“What strength of indolence! what utter want of all social instinct
must these people possess in order to live as they have done for
centuries, like that strange plant, native of the sandy desert, so
aptly termed the wind’s bride, which, by nature devoid of root, and
blown from side to side by every breeze, yet bears flower and fruit
wherever it goes, continuing to put out shoots under the most unlikely
conditions!
“And whenever the Tziganes have endeavored to bring themselves to
a settled mode of life and to adopt domestic habits, have they not
invariably sooner or later returned to their hard couch on the cold
ground, to their miserable rags, to their rough comrades, and the brown
beauty of their women?—to the sombre shades of the virgin forests,
to the murmur of unknown fountains, to their glowing camp-fires and
their improvised concerts under a starlit sky?—to their intoxicating
dances in the lighting of a forest glade, to the merry knavery of their
thievish pranks—in a word, to the hundred excitements they cannot do
without?
“Nature, when once indulged in to the extent of becoming a necessity,
becomes tyrannical like any other passion; and the charms of such an
existence can neither be explained nor coldly analyzed—only he who
has tasted of them can value their power aright. He must needs have
slumbered often beneath the canopy of the starry heavens; have been
oft awakened by the darts of the rising sun shooting like fiery arrows
between his eyelids; have felt, without horror, the glossy serpent coil
itself caressingly round a naked limb; must have spent full many a long
summer day reclining immovable on the sward, overlapped by billowy
waves of flowery grasses which have never felt the mower’s scythe; he
must often have listened to the rich orchestral effects and tempestuous
melodies which the hurricane loves to draw from vibrating pine-stems,
or slender quaking reeds; he must be able to recognize each tree by its
perfume, be initiated into all the varied languages of the feathered
tribes, of merry finches, and of chattering grasshoppers; full often
must he have ridden at close of day over the barren wold, when the rays
of the setting sun cast a golden glamour over the atmosphere, and all
around is plunged in a bath of living fire; he must have watched the
red-hot moon rise out of the sable night over lonely plains whence all
life seems to have fled away; he must, in short, have lived like the
Tzigane in order to comprehend that it is impossible to exist without
the balmy perfumes exhaled by the forests; that one cannot find rest
within stone-built prisons; that a breast accustomed to draw full
draughts of the purest ozone feels weighed down and crushed beneath a
sheltering roof; that the eye which has daily looked on the rising sun
breaking out through pearly clouds must weep, forsooth, when met on all
sides by dull, opaque walls; that the ear hungers when deprived of the
loud modulations, of the exquisite harmonies, of which the mountain
breeze alone has the secret.
“What have our cities to offer to senses surfeited with such
ever-varied effects and emotions? What in such eyes can ever equal the
bloody drama of a dying sun? What can rival in voluptuous sweetness
the rosy halo of early dawn? What other voice can equal in majesty the
thunder-roll of a midsummer storm, to which the woodland echoes respond
as the voice of a mighty chorus? What elegy so exquisite as the
autumn wind stripping the foliage from the blighted forest? What power
can equal the frigid majesty of the cruel frost, like an implacable
tyrant bidding the sap of trees to stand still, and rendering silent
the voices of singing birds and babbling streams? To those accustomed
to quaff of this bottomless tankard, must not all other pleasures by
comparison appear empty and meaningless?
“Indifferent to the minute and complicated passions by which educated
mankind is swayed, callous to the panting, gasping effects of such
microscopic and supercultured vices as vanity, ambition, intrigue, and
avarice, the Tzigane only comprehends the simplest requirements of
a primitive nature. Music, dancing, drinking, and love, diversified
by a childish and humorous delight in petty thieving and cheating,
constitute his whole _répertoire_ of passions, beyond whose limited
horizon he does not care to look.”
* * * * *
Having begun this chapter with the words of Liszt, let me finish it
with those of the German poet Lenau, who, in his short poem, “Die
Drei Zigeuner” (“The Three Gypsies”), traces a perfect picture of the
indolent enjoyment of the gypsy’s existence:
“One day, in the shade of a willow-tree laid,
I came upon gypsies three,
As through the sand of wild moorland
My cart toiled wearily.
“Giving to naught but himself a thought,
His fiddle the first did hold,
While ’mid the blaze of the evening rays
A fiery lay he trolled.
“His pipe with the lip the second did grip,
A-watching the smoke that curled,
As void of care as nothing there were
Could better him in the world.
“The third in sleep lay slumbering deep,
On a branch swung his guitar;
Through its strings did stray the winds at play,
His soul was ’mid dreams afar.
“With a patch or two of rainbow hue,
Tattered their garb and torn;
But little recked they what the world might say,
Repaying its scorn with scorn.
“And they taught to me, these gypsies three,
When life is saddened and cold,
How to dream or play or puff it away,
Despising it threefold!
“And oft on my track I would fain cast back
A glance behind me there—
A glance at that crew of tawny hue,
With their swarthy shocks of hair.”
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE TZIGANES: THEIR LIFE AND OCCUPATIONS.
In every other country where the gypsies made their appearance they
were oppressed and persecuted—treated as slaves or hunted down like
wild beasts. So in Prussia in 1725 an edict was issued ordering that
each gypsy found within the confines of the country should be forthwith
executed; and in Wallachia, until quite lately, they were regarded
as slaves or beasts of burden, and bought and sold like any other
marketable animal. Thus a Bucharest newspaper of 1845 advertises for
sale two hundred gypsy families, to be disposed of in batches of five
families—a handsome deduction being offered to wholesale purchasers.
In Moldavia, up to 1825, a master who killed one of his own gypsies was
never punished by law, but only if he killed one which was the property
of another man—the crime in that case not being considered to be
murder, but merely injury to another man’s property.
In Hungary alone these wanderers found themselves neither oppressed
nor repulsed, and if the gypsy can be said to feel at home anywhere
on the face of the globe it is surely here; and although Hungarians
are apt to resent the designation, Tissot was not far wrong when he
named their country “Le pays des Tziganes,” for the Tziganes are in
Hungary a picturesque feature—a decorative adjunct inseparable alike
from the solitude of its plains as from the dissipation of its cities.
Like a gleam of dusky gems they serve to set off every picture of
Hungarian life, and to play to it a running accompaniment in plaintive
minor chords. No one can travel many days in Hungary without becoming
familiar with the strains of the gypsy bands. And who has journeyed by
night without noting the ruddy light of their myriad camp-fires, which,
like so many gigantic glowworms, dot the country in all directions?
At the present time there are in Hungary above one hundred and fifty
thousand Tziganes, of which about eighty thousand fall to the share
of Transylvania, which therefore in still more special degree may be
termed the land of gypsies.
The Transylvanian gypsies used to stand under the nominal authority of
a nobleman bearing the title of a Gypsy Count, chosen by the reigning
prince; as also in Hungary proper the Palatine had the right of naming
four gypsy Woywods. To this Gypsy Count the chieftains of the separate
hordes or bands were bound to submit, besides paying to him a yearly
tribute of one florin per head of each member of the band; and every
seventh year they assembled round him to receive his orders. The minor
chieftains were elected by the votes of the separate communities; and
to this day every wandering troop has its own self-elected leader,
although these have no longer any recognized position in the eyes of
the law.
The election usually takes place in the open field, often on the
occasion of some public fair; and the successful candidate is thrice
raised in the air on the shoulders of the people, presented with gifts,
and invested with a silver-headed staff as badge of his dignity. Also,
his wife or partner receives similar honors, and the festivities
conclude with much heavy drinking.
Strictly speaking, only such Tziganes are supposed to be eligible as
are descended from a Woywod family; but in point of fact the gypsies
mostly choose whoever happens to be best dressed on the occasion.
Being of handsome build, and not over-young, are likewise points in a
candidate’s favor; but such superfluous qualities as goodness or wisdom
are not taken into account.
This leader—who is sometimes called the Captain, sometimes the
_Vagda_, or else the _Gako_, or uncle—governs his band, confirms
marriages and divorces, dictates punishments, and settles disputes;
and as the gypsies are a very quarrelsome race the chief of a large
band has got his hands pretty full. He has likewise the power to
excommunicate a member of the band, as well as to reinstate him in
honor and confidence by letting him drink out of his own tankard.
Certain taxes are paid to the Gako; also, he is entitled to percentages
on all booty and theft. In return it is his duty to protect and defend
his people to the best of his ability, whenever their irregularities
have brought them within reach of the law.
Whether, besides the chieftains of the separate hordes, there yet
exists in Hungary a chief judge or monarch of the Tziganes, cannot be
positively asserted; but many people aver such to be the case, and
designate either Mikolcz or Schemnitz as the seat of his residence.
In his hands are said to be deposited large sums of money for secret
purposes, and he alone has the right to condemn to death, and with his
own hands to put his sentence into execution.
No Tzigane durst ever accept the position of a gendarme or policeman,
for fear of being obliged to punish his own folk; and only very rarely
is it allowed for one of them to become a game-keeper or wood-ranger.
Only the necessity of obtaining a piece of bread to still his hunger,
or of providing himself with a rag to cover his nakedness, occasionally
obliges the Tzigane to turn his hand to labor of some kind. Most
sorts of work are distasteful to him—more especially all work of a
calm, monotonous character. For that reason the idyllic calm of a
shepherd’s existence, which the Roumanian so dearly loves, could never
satisfy the Tzigane; and equally unpalatable he finds the sweating
toils of the agriculturist. He requires some occupation which gives
scope to the imagination and amuses the fancy while his hands are
employed—conditions he finds united in the trade of a blacksmith,
which he oftenest plies on the banks of a stream or river outside the
village, where he has been driven by necessity. The snorting bellows
seem to him like a companionable monster; the equal cadence of the
hammer against the anvil falls in with melodies floating in his brain;
the myriads of flying sparks, in which he loves to discern all sorts of
fantastic figures, fill him with delight; horses and oxen coming to be
shod, and the varied incidents to which these operations give rise, are
never-tiring sources of interest and amusement.
Instinctively expert at some sorts of work, the Tzigane will be found
to be as curiously awkward and incapable with others. Thus he is always
handy at throwing up earthworks, which he seems to do as naturally as
a mole or rabbit digs its burrow; but as carpenter or locksmith he is
comparatively useless, and though an apt reaper with the sickle he is
incapable of using the scythe.
[Illustration: GYPSY TINKER.]
All brickmaking in Hungary and Transylvania is in the hands of the
Tziganes, and formerly they were charged with the gold-washing
in the Transylvanian rivers, and were in return exempted from
military service. They are also flayers, broom-binders, rat-catchers,
basket-makers, tinkers, and occasionally tooth-pullers—dentist is too
ambitious a denomination.
[Illustration: BASKET-MAKER.]
Up to the end of the sixteenth century in Transylvania the part of
hangman was always enacted by a gypsy, usually taken on the spot. On
one occasion the individual to be hanged happening to be himself a
gypsy, there was some difficulty in finding an executioner, and the
only one produced was a feeble old man, quite unequal to the job. A
table placed under a tree was to serve as scaffold, and with trembling
fingers the old man proceeded to attach the rope round the neck of
his victim. All his efforts were, however, vain to fix this rope to
the branch above, and the doomed man, at last losing patience at the
protracted delay, gave a vigorous box on the ear to his would-be
hangman, which knocked him off the table. Instantly all the spectators,
terrified, took to their heels; whereon the culprit, securely fastening
the rope to the branch above, proceeded unaided to hang himself in the
most correct fashion.
When obliged to work under supervision, the Tzigane groans and moans
piteously, as though he were enduring the most acute tortures; and
a single Tzigane locked up in jail will howl so despairingly as to
deprive a whole village of sleep.
The Tzigane makes a bad soldier but a good spy; his cowardice has
passed into a proverb, which says that “with a wet rag you can put to
flight a whole village of gypsies.”
The Tziganes are by no means dainty with regard to food, and have a
decided leaning towards carrion, indiscriminately eating of the flesh
of all fallen animals, or, as they term it, whatever has been killed by
“God,” and consider themselves much aggrieved when forced at the point
of the bayonet to abandon the rotting carcass of a sheep or cow, over
which they had been holding a harmless revelry.
A hedgehog divested of its spikes is considered a prime delicacy;
likewise a fox baked under the ashes, after having been laid in running
water for two days to reduce the flavor. Horse-flesh alone they do not
touch.
The only animals whose training the gypsy cares to undertake are the
horse and bear. For the first he entertains a sort of respectful
veneration, while the second he regards as an amusing _bajazzo_. He
teaches a young bear to dance by placing it on a sheet of heated iron,
playing the while on his fiddle a strongly accentuated piece of dance
music. The bear, lifting up its legs alternately to escape the heat,
unconsciously observes the time marked by the music. Later on, the
heated iron is suppressed when the animal has learned its lesson, and
whenever the Tzigane begins to play on the fiddle the young bear lifts
its legs in regular time to the music.
Of the tricks practised upon horses, in order to sell them at fairs,
many stories are told of the gypsies. Sometimes, it is said, they will
make an incision in the animal’s skin, and blow in air with the bellows
in order to make it appear fat; or else they introduce a living eel
into its body under the tail, which serves to give an appearance of
liveliness to the hind-quarters. For the same reason live toads are
forced down a donkey’s throat, which, moving about in the stomach,
produce a sort of fever which keeps it lively for several days.
The gypsies are attached to their children, but in a senseless animal
fashion, alternately devouring them with caresses and violently
ill-treating them. I have seen a father throw large, heavy stones
at his ten-year-old daughter for some trifling misdemeanor—stones
as large as good-sized turnips, any one of which would have been
sufficient to kill her if it had happened to hit; and only her agility
in dodging these missiles—which she did, grinning and chuckling as
though it were the best joke in the world—saved her from serious
injury.
They are a singularly quarrelsome people, and the gypsy camp is the
scene of many a pitched battle, in which men, women, children, and dogs
indiscriminately take part with turbulent enjoyment. When in a passion
all weapons are good that come to the gypsy’s hand, and, _faute de
mieux_, unfortunate infants are sometimes bandied backward and forward
as _improvisé_ cannon-balls. A German traveller mentions having been
eye-witness to a quarrel between a Tzigane man and woman, the latter
having a baby on the breast. Passing from words to blows, and seeing
neither stick nor stone within handy reach, the man seized the baby
by the feet, and with it belabored the woman so violently that when
the by-standers were able to interpose the wretched infant had already
given up the ghost.
[Illustration: BEAR DRIVER.]
The old-fashioned belief that gypsies are in the habit of stealing
children has long since been proved to be utterly without foundation.
Why, indeed, should gypsies, already endowed with a numerous progeny,
seek to burden themselves with foreign elements which can bring them
no sort of profit? That they frequently have beguiled children out
of reach in order to strip them of their clothes and ornaments has
probably given rise to this mistake; and when, as occasionally, we
come across a light-complexioned child in a gypsy camp, it is more
natural to suppose its mother to have been the passing fancy of some
fair-haired stranger than itself to have been abstracted from wealthy
parents.
Tzigane babies are at once inured to the utmost extremes of heat
and cold. If they are born in winter they are rubbed with snow; if
in summer, anointed with grease and laid in the burning sun. Though
trained to resist all weathers, the Tzigane has a marked antipathy
for wind, which seems for the time to weaken his physical and mental
powers, and deprive him of all life and energy. Cold he patiently
endures; but only in summer can he really be said to live and enjoy
his life. There is a legend which tells how the gypsies, pining under
the heavy frosts and snows with which the earth was visited, appealed
to God to have pity on them, and to grant them always twice as many
summers as winters. The Almighty, in answer to this request, spoke as
follows: “Two summers shall you have to every winter; but as it would
disturb the order of nature if both summers came one on the back of the
other, I shall always give you two summers with a winter between to
divide them.” The gypsies humbly thanked the Almighty for the granted
favor, and never again complained of the cold, for, as they say, they
have now always two summers to every winter.
Another legend relates how the Tziganes once used to have cornfields
of their own, and how, when the green corn had grown high for the
first time, the wind caused it to wave and shake like ripples on the
water, which seeing, a gypsy boy came running in alarm to his parents,
crying, “Father, father! quick, make haste! the corn is running
away!” On hearing this the gypsies all hastened forth with knives and
sickles to cut down the fugitive corn, which of course never ripened,
and discouraged by their first agricultural essay the gypsies never
attempted to sow or reap again.
Both Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. did much to induce the
Transylvanian gypsies to renounce their vagrant habits and settle
down as respectable citizens, but their efforts did not meet with the
success they deserved. The system of Maria Theresa was no less than to
recast the whole gypsy nature in a new mould, and by fusion with other
races to cause them by degrees to lose their own identity; the very
name of gypsy was to be forgotten, and the Empress had ordained that
henceforward they were to be known by the appellation of _Neubauer_
(new peasants). With a view to this all marriages between gypsies were
forbidden, and the Empress undertook to _dot_ every young gypsy girl
who married a person of another race. The Tziganes, however, too often
accepted these favors, and took the earliest opportunity of deserting
the partners thus forced upon them; while the houses built expressly
for their use were frequently used for the pigs or cattle, the gypsies
themselves preferring to sleep outside in the open air.
A gypsy girl, who had married a young Slovack peasant some years ago,
used to run away and sleep in the woods whenever her husband was
absent from home; while in another village, where the Saxon pastor
had with difficulty induced a wandering Tzigane family to take up
their residence in a vacant peasant house, he found them oddly enough
established in their old ragged tent, which had been set up _inside_
the empty dwelling-room. A story is also told of a gypsy man who,
having attained a high military rank in the Austrian army, disappeared
one day, and was later recognized with a strolling band.
There is, I am told, a certain method in the seemingly aimless roamings
of each nomadic gypsy tribe, which always pursues its wanderings in a
given circle, keeping to the self-same paths and the identical places
of bivouac in plain or forest; so that it can mostly be calculated with
tolerable accuracy in precisely how many years such and such a band
will come round again to any particular neighborhood.
Nowadays the proportion of resident gypsies in towns and villages is,
of course, considerably larger than it used to be, and nearly each
Saxon or Hungarian town and village has a _faubourg_ of miserable
earth-hovels tacked on to it at one end. It is not uncommon, in
these gypsy hovels, to find touches of luxury strangely out of
keeping with the rest of the surroundings: pieces of rare old china,
embroidered pillow-cases, sometimes even a silver goblet or platter of
distinct value—to which things they often cling with a sort of blind
superstition, always contriving to reclaim from the pawnbroker whatever
of these articles they have been compelled to deposit there in a season
of necessity. In the same way it is alleged that many of the wandering
gypsy hordes in Hungary and Transylvania have in their possession
valuable gold and silver vessels (some of these engraved in ancient
Indian characters), which they carry about wherever they go, and bury
in the earth wherever they pitch their temporary camp.
In order to count the treasures of one of the resident gypsies, it
suffices to watch him when there is a fire in the village; ten to one
it will be his fiddle which he first takes care to save, and next his
bed and pillows—a soft swelling bed and numerous downy pillows being
among the principal luxuries to which he is addicted.
Characteristic of the Tzigane’s utter incomprehension of all social
organization and privileges is an anecdote related by a Transylvanian
proprietor. “In 1848,” he told me, “when serfdom was abolished in
Austria, and the gypsies residing in my village became aware that
henceforward they were free, they were at first highly delighted at
the news, and spent three days and nights in joyful carousing. On the
fourth day, however, when the novelty of being free had worn off, they
were at a loss what use to make of their novel dignity, and numbers of
them came trooping to me begging to be taken back. They did not care to
be free after all, they said, and would rather be serfs again.”
Of their past history the only memory the Tziganes have preserved
is that of the disastrous day of Nagy Ida, when a thousand of their
people were slain. This was in 1557, when Perenyi, in want of soldiers,
had intrusted to a thousand gypsies the fortress of Nagy Ida, which
they defended so valiantly that the imperial troops beat a retreat.
But, intoxicated with their triumph, the Tziganes called after the
retreating enemy, that but for the lack of gunpowder they would have
served them still worse. On hearing this the army turned round again,
and easily forcing an entrance into the castle cut down the gypsies to
the last man.
All Hungarian gypsies keep the anniversary of this day as a day of
mourning, and have a particular melody in which they bewail the loss of
their heroes. This tune, or _nota_, they never play before a stranger,
and the mere mention of it is sufficient to sadden them.
Only the higher class of Tzigane musicians (of which hereafter) are
fond of calling themselves Hungarians, and of wearing the Hungarian
national costume. This reminds me of a story I heard of a gypsy player
who, brought to justice for a murder he had committed, obstinately
persisted in denying his crime.
“Come, be a good fellow,” said the judge at last, fixing on the weak
side of the culprit; “show what a good Hungarian you are by speaking
the truth. A true Hungarian never tells a lie.”
The poor gypsy was so much flattered at being called a Hungarian that
he instantly confessed the murder, and was, of course, hanged as the
reward of his veracity.
Though without any regular social organization, the Hungarian gypsies
may yet be loosely divided into five classes, which range as follows:
1. The musicians.
2. The gold-washers, who also make bricks and spoons.
3. The smiths.
4. The daily laborers, such as whitewashers, masons, etc.
5. The nomadic tent gypsies.
If, however, we reverse the order of things, and turn the social ladder
upside down, these latter may well be ranked as the first, and so they
deem themselves to be, for do they not enjoy privileges unknown to most
respectable citizens?—free as the birds of the air, paying no taxes,
acknowledging no laws, and making the whole world their own!
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE TZIGANES: HUMOR, PROVERBS, RELIGION, AND MORALITY.
The word Tzigane is used throughout Hungary and Transylvania as an
opprobrious term by the other inhabitants whenever they want to
designate anything as false, worthless, dirty, adulterated, etc.
“False as a Tzigane,” “Dirty as a Tzigane,” are common figures of
speech. Likewise to describe a quarrelsome couple, “They live like the
gypsies.” And if some one is given to useless lamentation, it is said
of him, “He moans like a guilty Tzigane.”
Of a liar it is said that “he knows how to plough with the Tzigane,” or
that “he understands how to ride the Tzigane horse.”
To call any one’s behavior “gypsified” is to stamp it as dishonest. “He
knows the Tzigane trade” is “he knows how to steal.”
A showery April day is called “Tzigane weather;” adulterated honey,
“Tzigane honey;” coriander-leaves, “Tzigane parsley;” a poor sort of
wild-duck is the “Tzigane duck;” the _bromus scalinus_ is the “Tzigane
corn;” but why the little green burrs are called “Tzigane lice” is not
very evident, for surely in this case the imitation has decidedly the
advantage of the genuine article.
These phrases must not, however, be taken to express hatred, but rather
a good-natured sort of contempt and indulgence for the Tzigane as a
large, importunate, and troublesome child, who frequently requires
to be chastised and pushed back, but whose vagaries cannot be taken
seriously, or provoke anger.
The Tziganes are rarely wanting in a certain sense of humor and power
of repartee, which often disarms the anger they have justly provoked.
In a travelling menagerie the keeper, showing off his animals to a
large audience, pointed to the cage where a furious lion was pawing the
ground, and pompously announced that he was ready to give a thousand
florins to whoever would enter that cage.
“I will,” said a starved-looking gypsy, stepping forward.
“You will!” said the keeper, looking contemptuously at the small, puny
figure. “Very well; please yourself, and walk in,” and he made a feint
of opening the door. “Step in; why are you not coming?”
“Certainly,” said the Tzigane; “I have not the slightest objection, and
am only waiting till you remove that very unpleasant-looking animal
which occupies the cage at present.”
Of course the laugh was turned against the showman, who, in his speech,
had only spoken of the cage without mentioning the lion.
A peasant, accusing a Tzigane of having stolen his horse, declared that
he could produce half a dozen witnesses who had seen him in the act.
“What are half a dozen witnesses?” said the gypsy. “I can produce a
whole dozen who have not seen it!”
A starving and shivering Tzigane once, craving hospitality, was told to
choose between food and warmth. Would he have something to eat; or did
he prefer to warm himself at the hearth? “If you please,” he answered,
“I would like best to toast myself a piece of bacon at the fire.”
When asked which was his favorite bird a Tzigane made reply, “The pig,
if it had only wings.”
Another gypsy, asked whether, for the remuneration of five florins, he
would undertake the office of hangman on a single victim, answered,
joyfully, “Oh, that is far too high a price! For five florins I would
undertake to hang all the officials into the bargain!”
Some Tzigane proverbs are as follows:
“Better a donkey which lets you ride than a fine horse which throws you
off.”
“Those are the fattest fishes which fall back from the line into the
water.”
“It is not good to choose women or cloth by candlelight.”
“What is the use of a kiss unless there be two to share it?”
“Who would steal potatoes must not forget the sack.”
“Two hard stones do not grind smooth.”
“Polite words cost little and do much.”
“Who flatters you has either cheated you or hopes to do so.”
“Who waits till another calls him to supper often remains hungry.”
“If you have lost your horse, you had better throw away saddle and
bridle as well.”
“The best smith cannot make more than one ring at a time.”
“A pleasant smile smooths away wrinkles.”
“Nothing is so bad but it is good enough for some one.”
“Do we keep the fast-days? Yes, when there is neither bread nor bacon
in the cupboard.”
“It is of no use to teach science to children, unless we explain it by
means of the broomstick.”
“Let nothing on earth sadden you as long as you still can love.”
“It is easier to inherit than to earn.”
“As long as there are poorer people than yourself in the world, thank
God even if you go about with bare feet.”
“When the bridge is gone, then even the narrowest plank becomes
precious.”
“Only the deaf and the blind are obliged to believe.”
“Bacon makes bold.”
“After misfortune comes fortune.”
“Who has got luck need only sit at home with his mouth open.”
“Never despair of your luck, for it needs only a moment to bring it.”
* * * * *
There is no such thing as a gypsy church, and a legend current in
Transylvania explains the reason of this:
“Once upon a time,” so it runs, “the Tziganes had a right good church,
solidly built of brick and stone like other churches. The Wallachs, who
had neither stones nor bricks, had at that same time built themselves a
church out of cheese and bacon, with sausage rafters and pancake roof.
“This building filled the greedy Tziganes with envy, causing them
to lick their lips whenever they passed that way, and at last they
proposed an exchange of churches to the Wallachs, who gladly accepted
the bargain. But when the winter came the hungry Tziganes began to
nibble at the pancake roof of their church; next they attacked the
rafters, and there soon remained nothing more of the whole building.
That is why since that time there has never been a Tzigane church,
and why the gypsies, whenever they go to any place of worship at all,
prefer to go to the Roumanian church, because, as they say, they like
to remember that it once belonged to them.”
This story has passed into a proverb, used to describe a man without
religion, by saying, “He eats his faith, as the gypsies ate their
church.”
Their religion is of the vaguest description. They generally agree
as to the existence of a God, but it is a God whom they fear without
loving. “God cannot be good,” they say, “or else he would not make us
die.” The devil they also believe in to a certain extent, but consider
him to be a weak, silly fellow, incapable of doing much harm.
A Tzigane, questioned as to whether he believed in the immortality of
the soul and the resurrection of the body, scoffed at the idea. “How
could I be so foolish as to believe this?” he said, with unconscious
philosophy. “We have been quite wretched enough and wicked enough in
this world already. Why should we begin again in another?”
Sometimes their confused notions of Christianity take the form of
believing in a God, and in his Son the young God; but while many are of
opinion that the old God is dead, and that his Son now reigns in his
place, others declare the old God to be not really dead, but merely
to have abdicated in favor of his Son. Others, again, suppose this
latter to be not really the Son of the old God, but only that of a poor
carpenter, and are wont to say contemptuously that “the carpenter’s son
has usurped the throne.”
The resident Tziganes often nominally adopt the religion of the landed
proprietor—principally, it seems, because in former days they thus
secured the privilege of being buried at his expense. Whenever they
happen to have a quarrel with their landlord, they are fond of abruptly
changing their religion, ostentatiously going to some other place of
worship in order to mark their displeasure.
Two clergymen, the one Catholic, the other Protestant, visiting a
Tzigane confined in prison, were each endeavoring with much eloquence
to convert him to their respective religions. The gypsy appeared to be
listening to their arguments with great attention, and when both had
finished speaking he eagerly inquired, “Which of the two gentlemen can
give me a cigar?” One of these being in the advantageous position of
gratifying this modest request, the scale was thereby turned in favor
of the Church he recommended, and the other clergyman was sent away,
doubtless with the bitter reflection that for lack of a pennyworth of
tobacco he had failed to secure an immortal soul!
Another gypsy, in prison for having sworn falsely, was visited by a
priest, who tried to convince him of the sinfulness of his conduct in
swearing to what he had not seen.
“You are loading a heavy sin on your soul,” said the priest.
“Have I got a soul?” asked the Tzigane, innocently.
“Of course you have got a soul; every man has one.”
“Can your reverence swear that I have got a soul?”
“To be sure I can.”
“Yet your reverence cannot see my soul, so why should it be wrong to
swear to what one has not seen?”
A gypsy condemned to be hung bethought himself at the last moment of
asking to be baptized. He wished to die a Christian, he said, having
professed no religion all his life. His plan was successful, for the
execution was suspended, and all sympathies enlisted in his favor.
When, however, all was ready for the baptism, the gypsy occasioned
much surprise by asking to be received into the Calvinistic faith. Why
not choose the Catholic religion, which was that of the place, he was
asked, since there was no apparent reason to the contrary. “No, no,”
returned the cautious Tzigane; “I will keep the Catholic religion for
another time.”
Though rarely believing in the immortality of the soul, the Tzigane
usually holds with the doctrine of transmigration, and often supposes
the spirit of some particular gypsy to have passed into a bat or a
bird; further believing that when that animal is killed, the spirit
passes back to another new-born gypsy.
However miserable their lives, the Tziganes never commit suicide; only
one solitary instance is recorded by some traveller, whose name I
forget, of an old gypsy woman, who, to escape her persecutors, begged a
shepherd to bury her alive.
When a Tzigane dies, men and women assemble with loud howling, and the
corpse, after having been prepared for burial, is carried on horseback
to the grave, which is made in some lonely spot, often deep in the
forest. A chieftain is buried with much pomp, his people tearing their
hair and scratching their faces in sign of mourning.
The abrupt transitions of joy to grief, and _vice versâ_, so
characteristic of the Tzigane nature, are nowhere more apparent than
in their rejoicings and their mournings. Thus each funeral ends with
dancing and joyful songs, while every wedding terminates in howling and
moaning.
The relations between the sexes are mostly free, and unrestrained
by any attempt at morality. Unions oftenest take place without any
attendant formalities, but in some hordes a sort of barbaric ceremony
is kept up. The man, or rather boy—for he is often not more than
fourteen or fifteen years of age—selects the girl happening to please
him best, without any particular regard for relationship, and leads
her before the Gako, where she breaks an earthen-ware jar or dish at
the feet of the man to whom she gives herself. Each party collects a
portion of the broken pieces and keeps them carefully. If these pieces
are lost, either by accident or voluntarily, then both parties are
free, and the union thus dissolved can only be renewed by the breaking
of another vessel in the same manner.
[Illustration: GYPSY GIRL.]
The number of pieces into which the earthen-ware has been shattered is
supposed to denote the number of years the couple will live together;
and when the girl is anxious to pay a compliment to her bridegroom she
stamps upon the fragments, in order to increase their number.
Sometimes, but rarely, the Tzigane is capable of violent and enduring
love; and cases where lovers have killed their sweethearts out of
jealousy are not unknown.
The Tziganes assimilate more easily with the Roumanians than with any
of the neighboring races; and marriages between them, although not
frequent, yet sometimes take place.
Some twelve or fifteen years ago, an Austrian officer, garrisoned in a
small Transylvanian town, fell violently in love with a beautiful gypsy
girl belonging to a wandering tribe. He carried his infatuation so far
as to offer to marry her. The beautiful bohemian, however, refused to
abandon her roving comrades; and at last the lover, seeing that he
could not win her in any other way, and being convinced that he could
not possibly exist without her, gave up his military rank, and for her
sake became a gypsy himself, wandering about with the band, and sharing
all their hardships and privations. How this peculiar union turned out
in the end, and whether _à la longue_ the gentleman remained of opinion
that the world was well lost for love, is unknown; but several years
later the _cidevant_ officer was recognized as a member of a roving
band of gypsies somewhere in northern Greece.
A touching instance of a young girl’s devotion was related to me on
good authority. Her lover had been confined in the village lockup,
presumably for some flagrant offence; and looking out of the small
grated window, on a burning summer’s day, he was bewailing his unhappy
fate and the parching thirst which devoured him. Presently his dark
slender sweetheart, attracted by the sound of his voice, drew near,
and standing at the other side of a dried-up moat, she could see her
lover at the grated window. She held in her hand a ripe juicy apple;
but the only way to reach him lay through the moat. The girl was naked,
not having the smallest rag to cover her brown and shining skin, and
the moat was full of prickly thistles and tall stinging nettles. She
hesitated for a moment, but only for one; then plunging bravely into
the sea of fire, she handed up the precious apple through the close
grating.
When she regained the opposite bank, the gypsy girl’s skin was all
blistered, and bleeding at places; but she did not seem to feel any
pain, in the delight with which she watched her captive lover devour
the apple.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE GYPSY FORTUNE-TELLER.
The ever-recurring excitements and excesses of which these people’s
life is made up cannot fail to have a deteriorating effect on mind
and body—early undermined constitutions and premature death or
dotage being the penalty paid by many for the unbridled and senseless
gratification of their passions. This life, however, while it destroys
many, sharpens the faculties of those whose stronger natures have
enabled them to defy these ravages, bestowing a singular power of
penetration in all matters relating to the senses and passions.
More especially is this the case with regard to the women, who, already
gifted by nature with keener perceptions, and prematurely ripened in
what may be termed a tropical atmosphere of passion, develop an almost
supernatural power of clairvoyance, which enables them with incredible
celerity to unravel hitherto undisclosed secrets by means only of
intuitive deductions.
“The astounding vividness of their impressions” (again to quote Liszt
on the subject) “rarely fails to communicate itself like wildfire to
the hearers. As by the contagion of a deadly poison, the mere touch of
the gypsy fortune-teller is often sufficient to affect them with the
sensation of an electric shock or vibration.
“A few apt reflections strewed about in conversation, casual
exclamations of apparent simplicity, some primitive rhymes and verses
accentuated by passion, so to say hammered into relief like the raised
figures on a medal—such are the means which suffice to stir up in an
audience whatever elements may be there existing of secret wrath, of
latent rebellion, of characters bent but not broken, of affections
discouraged but not despairing.
[Illustration: GYPSY MOTHER AND CHILD.]
“The gypsy woman, herself well acquainted with all the signs and
workings of passion, distinguishes _à coup d’œil_ the cause of the
sallow cheek and the fevered eye of such another woman; she can feel
instinctively whether the hand from which she is expected to decipher
a fate be stretched towards her with the hasty gesture of hope or with
the hesitation of fear. Without difficulty she reads in disdainfully
curled lips or ominously drawn brows whether the youth before her be
chafing under a yoke or planning revenge; whether he craves love or has
already lost it. She can further distinguish at a glance the delusive
presumption of youth and beauty—the false security of possession which
thinks to defy misfortune. She knows the annihilating blows of fate
and the vulnerability of the human heart too well not to mistrust the
smile of over-conscious happiness, and prophesy misfortune to those who
refuse to believe in the instability of the future.
“She cannot be called a hypocrite, for she herself has faith in her
own diagnosis; believing that each man carries within him the germ of
his own fate, she is convinced that sooner or later her prognostics
must be fulfilled. Her only care is therefore to clothe her predictions
in a form which, easily captivating the imagination, and thereby
impressed on the memory, will spring again to life, along with the
image of the prophetess, whenever the latent emotions she has detected,
having reached their culminating point, bring about the success or the
catastrophe foreseen from the investigation of a hand and a heart.
“After all, why should we wonder that the secrets of the future can be
deciphered by one so intimately acquainted with the inmost folds of
the human soul, and the workings of different passions confined in the
human breast like so many caged lions or torpid slumbering reptiles?
“Passion always accompanied by a powerful sympathetic instinct quickly
divines the presence of a kindred passion. Apt to decipher the symptoms
inevitably betrayed in voice and gesture, and skilled to read in that
mystic book whose characters are so plainly impressed on the leaves of
a physiognomy which, betraying where it would fain conceal, becomes
the more impressive in proportion as the heart within is agitated by
tumultuous throbbings, the gypsy fortune-teller knows full well with
whom she has to deal, and can justly estimate what sort of characters
are those who seek her counsel.”
It is, I think, Balzac who has said, “Si le passé a laissé des traces,
il est à croire que l’avenir possède des racines;” and on the principle
that every man is master of his own fate, there is, after all, no
reason why these roots, invisible to the rest of the world, should not
be perceptible to such as have made of this subject the study of a
lifetime. Why should not the seer be able to proclaim the fruits to be
reaped from the recognition of germs which already exist?
The enlightened folk who sweepingly condemn the fortune-teller as a
liar and cheat are probably no less mistaken than witless rustics, who
blindly believe in her as an infallible oracle. Should not precisely
the superior enlightenment of which we boast be argument for, rather
than against, the fortune-teller? Why, if phrenology and graphology are
permitted to take rank as acknowledged sciences, should not the gypsy
woman’s power of divination be equally allowed to count as a shrewd
deciphering of character, coupled with logical deductions as to the
events likely to be evoked by the passions she has recognized, when
brought into combination with a given set of circumstances?
Ignorant people, surprised at the detection of secrets which they
had believed to be securely locked up in their own breasts, and not
understanding the process by which such conclusions were reached,
are ready to attribute the fortune-teller’s power of divination to
supernatural agency, which opinion is strengthened and confirmed by
the romantic conditions of the gypsy’s existence, and the cabalistic
glamour with which she contrives to invest herself.
But is not, in truth, this delicate and subtle perception in itself a
secret and undeniable power—a sudden inspiration, a positive intuition
of what will be from the rapid unveiling of what already is? And here,
again, Liszt is probably right in asserting this gift of prophecy,
so universally ascribed to the gypsies in all countries, to be a too
deeply rooted belief in the minds of the people not to have some
rational ground for its existence.
There is no doubt that the gypsy fortune-tellers in Transylvania
exercise considerable influence on their Saxon and Roumanian neighbors,
and it is a paradoxical fact that the self-same people who regard the
Tziganes as undoubted thieves, liars, and cheats in all the common
transactions of daily life, do not hesitate to confide in them blindly
for charmed medicines and love-potions, and are ready to attribute to
them unerring power in deciphering the mysteries of the future.
The Saxon peasant will, it is true, often drive away the fortune-teller
with blows and curses from his door, but his wife will as often
secretly beckon her in again by the back entrance, in order to be
consulted as to the illness of the cows, or beg from her a remedy
against the fever.
Wonderful potions and salves, composed of the fat of bears, dogs,
snakes, and snails, along with the oil of rain-worms, the bodies
of spiders and midges, rubbed into a paste, are concocted by these
cunning bohemians, who thus sometimes contrive to make thrice as much
money out of the carcass of a dead dog as another can realize from the
sale of a healthy pig or calf. There is not a village in Transylvania
which cannot boast of one or more such fortune-tellers, and living
in the suburbs of each town are many old women who make an easy and
comfortable livelihood out of the credulity of their fellow-creatures.
It has also been asserted that both Roumanian and Saxon mothers whose
sickly infants are believed to be suffering from the effects of the
evil eye, are often in the habit of giving the child to be nursed for
a period of nine days to some Tzigane woman supposed to have power to
undo the spell.
For my own part, I have seldom had inclination to confide the
deciphering of my fate to one of these wandering sibyls, and can
therefore only affirm that on the solitary occasion when, half in
jest, I chose to interrogate the future, I was favored with a piece of
intelligence so startling and improbable as could only be received with
a laugh of derision; yet before many days had elapsed this startling
and improbable event had actually come to pass, and the gypsy’s
prophecy was accomplished in the most unlooked-for manner.
Chance, probably, or coincidence, most people will say; and indeed
I do not myself see how it could have been anything but the veriest
coincidence. I merely state this fact as it occurred, and without
attempting to draw any general conclusions from the isolated instance
within my own personal range of observation.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE TZIGANE MUSICIAN.
There is a Transylvanian legend telling how a mother once pronounced on
her son a curse, the effect of which should continue until he succeeded
in giving a voice to a dry piece of wood.
The son left his mother, and went sorrowing into the pine forest, where
he cut down a tree, and made a fiddle on which he played; and his
mother, hearing the sound, came running by and took the curse from off
his head.
This story must surely have been written of a gypsy boy, for of none
other could it have been equally appropriate; and if to the gypsy woman
is given a certain power over the minds of her fellow-creatures, the
male Tzigane—at least in Hungary—is not without his sceptre, and this
sceptre is the bow with which he plies his fiddle.
Hungarian music and the Tzigane player are indispensable conditions
of each other’s existence. Hungarian music can only be rightly
interpreted by the Tzigane musician, who for his part can play none
other so well as the Hungarian music, into whose execution he throws
all his heart and his soul, all his latent passion and unconscious
poetry—the melancholy and dissatisfied yearnings of an outcast, the
deep despondency of an exile who has never known a home, and the wild
freedom of a savage who never owned a master.
Did the Tziganes bring their music ready-made into Hungary, or did they
find it there and merely adopt it? is a question which has occasioned
much learned controversy. Liszt inclines to the former opinion, which
would mean that no Hungarian music existed previous to the Tziganes’
arrival in the country in the fifteenth century. That this music is
essentially of an Asiatic character is, however, no positive proof
in favor of this theory, for are not the Hungarians themselves an
out-wandered Asiatic race? and what more natural than the supposition
that one Asiatic race should be the best interpreter of the music of
a kindred people? More likely, however, this music is an unconscious
joint production of the two, the Tzigane being the artist who has
sounded the depths of the Hungarian nature and given expression to it.
I remember once asking a distinguished Polish lady—Princess C——,
herself a notable musician and pupil of the great Chopin—whether
she ever played Hungarian music. “No,” she answered, “I cannot play
it; there is something in that music which I have not got—something
wanting in me.”
What was here wanting I came to understand later, when I became
familiar with Hungarian music as rendered by the Tzigane players. It
was the training of several generations of gypsy life which was here
wanting—a training which alone teaches the secret of deciphering those
wild strains which seem borrowed from the voice of the tempest, or
stolen from whispering reeds. In order to have played Hungarian music
aright she would have required to have slept on mountain-tops during
a score of years, to have been bathed over and over again in falling
dews, to have shared the food of eagles and squirrels, and have been
on equally intimate terms with stags and snakes—conditions which,
unfortunately, lie quite out of the reach of delicate Polish ladies!
Music was the only art within the Tzigane’s reach, for despite his
vividness of imagination and the continual state of inspiration in
which he may be said to live, he could never have been a poet, painter,
or sculptor to any eminent degree, because of the fitfulness of his
nature, and of his incapacity to clothe his inspirations in a precise
image, or reduce them to a given form. Every man has the impulse to
manifest his feelings in some way or other, and music was the only
way open to the Tzigane, as being the one solitary art which, _à la
rigueur_, can dispense with a scientific training and be taught by
instinct alone.
Devoid of printed notes the Tzigane is not forced to divide his
attention between a sheet of paper and his instrument, and there is
consequently nothing to detract from the utter abandonment with which
he absorbs himself in his playing. He seems to be sunk in an inner
world of his own; the instrument sobs and moans in his hands, and is
pressed tight against his heart as though it had grown and taken root
there. This is the true moment of inspiration, to which he rarely gives
way, and then only in the privacy of an intimate circle, never before
a numerous and unsympathetic audience. Himself spellbound by the power
of the tones he evokes, his head gradually sinking lower and lower over
the instrument, the body bent forward in an attitude of rapt attention,
and his ear seeming to hearken to far-off ghostly strains audible to
himself alone, the untaught Tzigane achieves a perfection of expression
unattainable by mere professional training.
This power of identification with his music is the real secret of the
Tzigane’s influence over his audience. Inspired and carried away by his
own strains, he must perforce carry his hearers with him as well; and
the Hungarian listener throws himself heart and soul into this species
of musical intoxication, which to him is the greatest delight on earth.
There is a proverb which says, “The Hungarian only requires a gypsy
fiddler and a glass of water in order to make him quite drunk;” and
indeed intoxication is the only word fittingly to describe the state
of exaltation into which I have seen a Hungarian audience thrown by a
gypsy band.
Sometimes, under the combined influence of music and wine, the
Tziganes become like creatures possessed; the wild cries and stamps of
an equally excited audience only stimulate them to greater exertions.
The whole atmosphere seems tossed by billows of passionate harmony;
we seem to catch sight of the electric sparks of inspiration flying
through the air. It is then that the Tzigane player gives forth
everything that is secretly lurking within him—fierce anger, childish
wailings, presumptuous exaltation, brooding melancholy, and passionate
despair; and at such moments, as a Hungarian writer has said, one could
readily believe in his power of drawing down the angels from heaven
into hell!
Listen how another Hungarian has here described the effect of their
music:
“How it rushes through the veins like electric fire! How it penetrates
straight to the soul! In soft, plaintive minor tones the _adagio_
opens with a slow, rhythmical movement: it is a sighing and longing
of unsatisfied aspirations; a craving for undiscovered happiness; the
lover’s yearning for the object of his affection; the expression of
mourning for lost joys, for happy days gone forever: then abruptly
changing to a major key the tones get faster and more agitated; and
from the whirlpool of harmony the melody gradually detaches itself,
alternately drowned in the foam of over-breaking waves, to reappear
floating on the surface with undulating motion—collecting as it were
fresh power for a renewed burst of fury. But quickly as the storm came
it is gone again, and the music relapses into the melancholy yearnings
of heretofore.”
These two extremes of fiercest passion and plaintive wailing
characterize the nature of the Hungarian, of whom it is said that,
“weeping, the Hungarian makes merry.”
Under the influence of Tzigane music a Hungarian is capable of flinging
about his money with the most reckless extravagance—fifty, a hundred,
a thousand florins and more being often given for the performance of
a single melody. Sometimes a gentleman will stick a large bank-note
behind his ear, while the Tzigane proceeds to play his favorite tune,
drawing nearer and nearer till he is almost touching; pouring the
melody straight into the upturned ear of the enraptured auditor;
dropping out the notes as though the music were some exquisitely
flavored liquid flattering the palate of this superrefined _gourmet_,
who, with half-closed eyes expressive of perfect beatitude, entirely
abandons himself to the delirious ecstasy.
Not only do the people at rustic gatherings dance to the strains of
these brown bohemians, but in no real Hungarian ball-room would other
music be tolerated, and the Austrian military bands, so much prized
elsewhere, are here at a discount and little appreciated.
[Illustration: GYPSY MUSICIANS.]
Of course the gypsy bands in large towns are not composed of the
ragged, unkempt individuals who haunt the village pothouses or the
lonely _csardas_[65] on the _puszta_. Their constant intercourse with
higher circles has given them a certain degree of polish, and they
mostly appear in Hungarian costume; but intrinsically they are ever the
same as their more vagabond brethren, and their eye never loses the
semi-savage glitter reminding one of a half-tamed animal.
The calling of musician has often become hereditary in certain
families, who thus feel themselves to be interwoven with the fates
of the nobility for whom they play; and _vice versa_, for the youth
of both sexes in Hungary the recollection of every pleasure they
have enjoyed, the dawn of first love, and every alternation of hope,
triumph, jealousy, or despair, is inextricably interwoven with the
image of the Tzigane player. As Mr. Patterson says, “The Tzigane is a
sort of retainer of the Magyar, who cannot well live without him—the
insolent good-nature of the one just fitting in with the simple-hearted
servility of the other; hence the Tzigane is most commonly found in
those parts of the country where Hungarians and Roumanians are in
the majority. He does not find the neighborhood of the hard-working,
money-loving Suabians profitable to him.” Those who are successful
musicians gain a sort of abnormal social status far above their
fellows. The proverb, “No entertainment without the gypsies,” is acted
upon by peasant and prince alike. Those nobles who have squandered
their fortunes would, if they took the trouble to analyze the causes of
their ruin, find the Tzigane player to form one of the heaviest items.
As to the peasant there is a popular rhyme which says that if the
Tzigane plays badly he gets his head broken with his own fiddle; but
should he succeed in touching the feelings of the excitable peasant,
the latter will give him the shirt off his own back.
English people are apt to misunderstand the position of these Tzigane
musicians, which is in every way a peculiar one—the intimacy with the
upper classes thus brought about by their calling implying, however,
no sort of equality. The Tzigane remains the gypsy fiddler, while the
Magyar never forgets that he is a nobleman; and the barrier between the
two classes is as absolute as that between Jew and gentleman in Poland.
Although it is no uncommon sight in the streets of any Hungarian town,
towards the small hours of the morning, to see distinguished members of
the _jeunesse dorée_ (their spirits, no doubt, slightly raised by wine)
going home affectionately linked arm-in arm with these brown fiddlers,
yet no Hungarian could fall into the amusing mistake of an English
nobleman, who, making a point of lionizing all celebrities within
reach, invited to dinner the first violin of a gypsy band starring in
London some years ago. The flattering invitation occasioned the most
intense surprise to the distinguished artist himself, who, though
well used to many forms of enthusiasm called forth by his genius, was
certainly not accustomed to be seriously taken in the sense of a
civilized human being. It is said, however, that the gypsy’s quickness
of perception, doing duty for education on this occasion, enabled him
to pass through the formidable ordeal of a London dinner-party without
further breaches of our rigid etiquette than are quite permissible on
the part of a barbarous grandee.
It is said that the Tziganes often perform the office of _postillon
d’amour_ in taking letters backward and forward between young people
who have no other means of communication, their peculiar code of honor
forbidding them to take any pecuniary remuneration in return. Thus
many of them are able to show dainty pieces of handiwork and presents
of valuable jewelled studs or amber mouth-pieces, received from their
high-born patrons in token of gratitude for delicate services rendered.
The words “Tzigane” and “musician” have become almost synonymous in
Hungary, and to say “I shall call in the Tziganes” is equivalent to
saying “I shall send for the musicians.”
When the dancers are limp and indolent the Tzigane musician loses
interest as well, and plays carelessly and without spirit; but when
he sees dancing _con amore_, and more especially if his playing be
praised, then he knows neither hunger nor fatigue. He executes every
sort of dance music with spirit, and his power of identifying himself
with the dancers renders the gypsy’s playing far superior to that of
other professional musicians; but his real triumph is the _csardas_.
The band-master is fond of secretly selecting a couple from among the
dancers, and at these directing his music—aiming it at them, if one
may thus express it—following their every movement, and identifying
himself with their every gesture. To watch a pair of lovers dancing is
the gypsy player’s greatest delight, and for them he exerts himself
to the utmost, throwing his whole soul into the music, breathing
the softest sighs and the most passionate rhapsodies of which his
instrument is capable.
The Tzigane band-master—or, rather, the first violin, for the gypsies
require no one to beat time for them—when playing in the ball-room, is
wont to change the melody as fancy prompts, merely giving warning to
his colleagues by two sharp raps of the bow that a change is impending.
The other musicians do not know beforehand what tune is coming, but
a note or two suffices to put them on the scent, and they fall in so
smoothly that the transition is scarcely detected.
Almost every one of the dancers has his or her favorite air—their
_nota_, as it is here called—and it is meant as a delicate attention
when the Tzigane band-master, smiling or winking at a passing dancer,
strikes into his air of predilection. The gypsy’s memory in thus
retaining (and never confounding) the favorite airs of each separate
person in a large society is marvellous; and not only this, but he will
likewise remember to a nicety which air was your favorite one three or
four years ago, and all the attendant circumstances to which the former
melody played accompaniment.
Thus, whirling past in the mazes of your favorite valse, with the
girl you adore on your arm, you may catch the dark eye of the Tzigane
player fixed expressively upon you, and in the next moment the music
has changed; it is a long-forgotten melody they are playing now—a
melody once familiar to your ears at a by-gone time, when you had other
thoughts, other hopes, another partner on your arm; when wood-violet,
not patchouly, was perchance the scent you loved best, and fair
ringlets had more charm than raven tresses.
For a moment the present scene has faded from your eyes, and in its
place you see a vanished face and hear a voice grown strange to your
ears. That valse, once to you the most entrancing music on earth, now
sounds like the gibings of some tormenting spirit, and you breathe an
involuntary sigh for a time that is no more!
Thus the Tzigane player, unlike the hired musicians in other countries,
has an intimate and artistic connection with his dancers. In England
or Germany the musician is simply the machine which plays, no more to
be regarded than a barrel-organ or a musical-box; in Hungary alone he
is something more, his power of directing being here not limited to
the feet, but may almost be said to extend to the fancies and feelings
of his audience—feelings which it is his delight to share and sway,
with actual power to stimulate love or jealousy, and reawaken grief and
remorse, at the touch of his magic wand.
FOOTNOTES:
[65] The solitary inns standing on the wide _pusztas_ are called
_csardas_, and have given their name to the national dance.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
GYPSY POETRY.
Very little genuine Tzigane poetry has penetrated to the outer world,
and many songs erroneously attributed to the gypsies (by Borrow among
others) are proved to be adaptations of Spanish or Italian canzonets
picked up in the course of their wanderings, while of those few which
are undoubtedly their own productions hardly any exceed the length of
six or eight lines.
“We sing only when we are drunk,” was the answer given by an old gypsy
to a collector of folk-songs, which pithy and concise definition of
gypsy literature would seem to be a tolerably correct one—though,
on the other hand, it might be urged with some show of reason that
the gypsy, being often drunk, we might naturally expect his poetical
effusions to be proportionately numerous.
And perhaps they are in fact more numerous than is generally supposed,
only that for lack of a recording pen to take note of them as they
arise their momentary inspirations pass by unheeded, leaving no more
mark behind than does the song of some wild forest-bird when it has
ceased to wake the woodland echoes. The conditions of the gypsy’s life
render all but impossible the task of a scribe, who has little chance
of picking up anything of interest unless prepared for the time being
to become almost a gypsy himself.
Nor have there been wanting ardent folk-lorists (if I may coin a
word) who have gone this length; so, for instance, Dr. Heinrich von
Wlislocki, who, in the summer of 1883, spent several months as member
of a wandering troop of tent gypsies in Transylvania and Southern
Hungary, and has lately published a volume of gypsy fairy tales, the
fruit of his laborious expedition. Yet on the whole the harvest is a
meagre one, if we take account of the time and trouble spent on its
realization; and even this energetic collector has declared that he
would hardly have the courage a second time to face the deceptions and
fatigues of such an undertaking.
To his pen it is that we owe the first poem contained in this
chapter; the second one, entitled, “The Black Voda,” interesting as
being an almost solitary instance of a consecutive gypsy ballad, was
communicated to me by the courtesy of Professor Hugo von Meltzl,
of Klausenburg, another Transylvanian authority in the matter of
folk-lore, who, in his “Acta Comparationis Literarum Universum,” has
given many interesting details bearing on these subjects.
The other sixteen specimens of the Tzigane muse are so simple as to
call for no explanation, though in one or two cases not wholly devoid
of poetical merit.
GYPSY BALLAD.
(_From a German translation by Dr. H. von Wlislocki._)
O’er the meadow, o’er the wold,
Tracks a boy the wand’rer old,
Who a scarf wears by his side—
Follows him with stealthy stride.
Bleeding fells the wand’rer prone
In the forest dark and lone;
And the boy has ta’en the life
Of the man with murd’rous knife.
Throws the corse all stained with blood
In the river’s rushing flood;
But, alas! not guessing he
Who this ancient wand’rer be.
Lightly running home then went,
Till he reached his mother’s tent,
Held the scarf before her eyes;
She, long silent with surprise,
Cried at last with passion wild,
“Cursed be thou, my only child!
May the slayer of his sire
Branded be by Heaven’s ire;
Hast thy father killed to-day,
And his scarf hast stolen away!”
THE BLACK VODA.[66]
“Rise, arise, my Velvet Georgie,[67]
Waken, set you to the bellows;
Forge and hammer nails of iron.”
Said the husband, “I am coming;
Take the broom the dust out-sweeping.”
And then Velvet Georgie rises,
Straightway on his feet is standing.
At the bellows quick down-sitting,
Nails of iron he is forging.
Then into the market going,
Roast-meat fresh and juicy bought he,
Roasted meat and white bread also.
And he walked into the tavern,
And he sat there eating, drinking,
Never thinking of his consort,
Nothing caring for her wishes—
No new dress for her is buying.
She to Voda ran complaining.
Voda thus his love did answer,
“To the merchant quickly hie thee,
Ask him what a dress will cost thee.”
To the town she ran off smiling,
Chose a dress there for her wearing.
Quoth the merchant, “Not on credit;
Bring me cash before I sell it.”
Voda paid him down the money;
Paid and went— But Velvet Georgie,
From the tavern soon returning,
Found his wife, and in his anger
Threw her in the glowing furnace,
Whence she, loud with cries of anguish,
Called upon her absent lover:
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
See how both my feet are burning!”
“Let them burn, O faithless lassie,
Many pair of boots hast cost me.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
See now how my waist is burning!”
“Let it burn, thou brazen hussy,
Worn out hast thou many dresses.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
How my bosom burns and scorches!”
“Let it burn, O shameless harlot,
Many hands have oft caressed it.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
Both my hands are burning sorely!”
“Let them burn, O wanton lassie,
Many pair of gloves they cost me.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
Now my neck is burning also!”
“Let it burn, thou brazen hussy,
Many beads hast worn around it.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
Now my lips the fire is catching!”
“Let them burn, O shameless harlot,
Many kisses hast thou given.”
“Voda, Voda, O Black Voda,
Now my head itself is burning!”
“Let it burn, thou worthless baggage,
Let the fire destroy thee wholly.”
GYPSY RHYMES.
I.
The donkey is a lazy brute,
That fact there is no hiding;
Yet those, methinks, the brute doth suit
Who slow are fond of riding.
II.
Autumn glads the peasant’s breast,
Sends the hunter on the quest;
Pines the gypsy’s heart alone
For the sunshine that is gone!
III.
Since holds the tomb my mother dear,
My life is cheerless, bleak, and drear;
No sweetheart have on earth’s wide face,
So is the grave my better place.
IV.
I my father never knew,
Friend to me was never true,
Dead the mother that I loved,
Faithless has my sweetheart proved,
Still alone with me you fare,
Faithful fiddle, everywhere!
V.
Of coin my purse is bare,
My heart is full of care;
Come here, my fiddle, ’tis for thee
To banish care and poverty.
VI.
Heaven grant the boon, I pray;
All I ask is but a gown—
But a gown with buttons gay,
Buttons jingling joyously,
Jingling to be heard in town!
VII.
God of vengeance! give to me
That of wives the best;
Give me boot and give me spur,
Give me scarlet vest.
Then though spite their visage darken
In the market-place,
Fain must look and needs must hearken
All my foemen’s race.
VIII.
Where soft the wee burn babbles down over there,
Full oft have I pressed these lips to my fair.
The burn it still babbles, will babble amain,
Shall lips to my fair be pressed never again!
The waves of the brook to the valley are flowing,
Where on grave of my fairest the blossoms are blowing.
IX.
Down there in the meadow they’re mowing,
And looks at my sweetheart they’re throwing;
Such looks at my sweetheart they’re throwing,
That mad is this heart of mine going!
X.
Yonder strapping lass did bake,
Put no salt into the cake;
Lo! it sticks upon the pan—
Eat it, child, as best you can.
XI.
“Plainly, maiden, lov’st thou me?
Which thy true-love—I or he?”
“Thou, O thou, when thou art nigh;
But for love of him I die!”
XII.
Boots and shoes were never mine,
Seldom have I tasted wine;
But I once possessed a wife,
And she poisoned all my life!
XIII.
Hammer the iron! Deal thy blows
Heavy and hard, as a gypsy knows.
Poor, yet ever—how poor!—remain;
Heart full of bitterness, full of pain.
Ah, how well would it be if there
I could but in yon furnace glare,
Till soft it grew, my love’s heart ply;
No man were then so rich as I.
XIV.
Underneath the greenwood-tree
Days I’ve waited three times three;
I would on my love set eyes,
Here I know her path-way lies.
Could I hope a kiss to earn,
Into weeks the days might turn;
Could I hope to win my dear,
Then each day might be a year!
XV.
Come, silvery moon, so silent and coy,
What does my brown sweetheart that dwells by the mere?
Say, was she not kissed by a flaxen-haired boy?
Or whispers a stranger soft words in her ear?
On second thoughts, better, moon, darling, be mute,
The odious trade of a telltale eschewing;
Or perhaps you might tell her—and that would not suit—
What yesterday evening myself I was doing!
XVI.
The bee ever makes for the flower,
And lads after lassies will go;
Was it otherwise, grandam so sour,
In the days of thy youth long ago?
For Nature her mould never varies,
To that can no wisdom say nay;
What the ancestor felt, that the heir is,
As inheritor, feeling to-day.
FOOTNOTES:
[66] This ballad, which in the original is called “Kalai Wodas,” and
begins thus:
“T’ushtyi, t’ushtyi, Barshon Gyuri,
Thai besh tuke pre tri vina,”
is, with slight variations, sung all over Transylvania, often by the
gypsy smiths, who mark the time on the anvil as they sing; the dialogue
between husband and wife, which forms the last part, being usually
divided between two voices.
[67] Such names as “Velvet George,” “Black Voda,” etc., are very
common among the gypsies, and have probably had their origin in some
peculiarity of costume or complexion.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE SZEKLERS AND ARMENIANS.
Of the Hungarians in general, who constitute something less than the
third part of the total population of Transylvania, it is not my
intention to speak in detail. Hungary and Hungarians have already been
exhaustively described by abler pens, and I wish here to confine myself
chiefly to such points as are distinctively characteristic of the land
beyond the forest. Under this head, therefore, come the Szeklers, as
they are named—a branch of the Magyar race settled in the east and
north-east of Transylvania, and numbering about one hundred and eighty
thousand.
[Illustration: SZEKLER PEASANT.]
There are many versions to explain the origin of the Szeklers, and
some historians have supposed them to be unrelated to the great body
of Magyars living at the other side of the mountains. They are fond
of describing themselves as being descended from the Huns. Indeed one
very old family of Transylvanian nobles makes, I believe, a boast of
proceeding in line direct from the Scourge of God himself, and there
are many popular songs afloat among the people making mention of a like
belief, as the following:
A noble Szekler born and bred,
Full loftily I hold my head.
Great Attila my sire was he;
As legacy he left to me
A dagger, battle-axe, and spear;
A heart, to whom unknown is fear;
A potent arm, which oft has slain
The Tartar foe in field and plain.
The Scourge of Attila the bold
Still hangs among us as of old;
And when this lash we swing on high,
Our enemies are forced to fly.
The Szekler proud then learn to know,
And strive not to become his foe,
For blood of Huns runs in him warm,
And well he knows to wield his arm.
There is also a popular legend telling us how Csaba, son of Attila,
retreated eastward with the wreck of his army, after the last bloody
battle, in which he had been vanquished. His purpose was to rejoin the
rest of his tribe in Asia, and with their help once more to return and
conquer.
On the extreme frontier of Transylvania, however, he left behind him
a portion of his army, to serve as watch-post and be ready to support
him on his return some day. Before parting the two divisions of troops
took solemn oath ever to assist each other in hour of need, even though
they had to traverse the whole world for that purpose. Accordingly,
hardly had Csaba reached the foot of the hills, when the neighboring
tribes rose up against the forlorn Szeklers; but the tree-tops rustling
gently against one another soon brought news of their distress to their
brethren, who, hurrying back, put the enemy to flight.
After a year the same thing was repeated, but the stream ran murmuring
of it to the river, the river carried the news to the sea, the sea
shouted it onward to the warriors, and again quickly returning on their
paces they dispersed the foe.
Three years went by ere the Szeklers were again hard pressed by their
enemies. This time their countrymen were already so far away that only
the wind could reach them in the distant east, but they came again, and
a third time delivered their brethren.
The Szeklers had now peace for many years; the nut-kernels they had
planted in the land beyond the forest had meanwhile sprouted and
developed to mighty trees with spreading branches and massive trunks;
children had grown to be old men, and grandchildren to arms-bearing
warriors; and the provisionary watch-post had become a well-organized
settlement. But once again the neighbors, envying the strangers’
welfare, and having forgotten the assistance which always came to them
in hour of need, rose up against them. Bravely the Szeklers fought, but
with such inferior numbers that they could not but perish; they had no
longer any hope of assistance, for their brethren were long since dead,
and gone where no messenger could reach them.
But the star of the Szeklers yet watched over them, and brought the
tidings to another world.
The last battle was just being fought, and the defeat of the Szeklers
seemed imminent, when suddenly the tramp of hoofs and the clank of arms
is heard, and from the starlit vault of heaven phantom legions are seen
approaching.
No mortal army can resist an immortal one. The sacred oath has been
kept; once more the Szekler is saved, and silently as they came the
phantoms wend back their way to heaven.
Since that time the Szekler has obtained a firm hold on the land, and
enemies molest him no more; but as often as on a clear starry night he
gazes aloft on the glittering track[68] left of yore by the passage of
the delivering army, he thinks gratefully of the past, and calls it by
the name of the _hadak utja_ (the way of the legions).
* * * * *
Recent historians have, however, swept away these theories regarding
the Szeklers’ origin, and explained it in different fashion. The most
ancient records of the Magyars do not date farther back than the sixth
century after Christ, when they are mentioned as a semi-nomadic race
living on the vast plains between the Caucasian and Ural mountains. A
portion of them quitted these regions in the eighth and ninth centuries
to seek a new home in the territory between the rivers Dnieper and
Szereth. From here a small fraction of them, pressed hard by the
Bulgarians, traversed the chain of Moldavian Carpathians, and found
a refuge on the rich fertile plains of Eastern Transylvania (895),
where, living ever since cut off from their kinsfolk, they have formed
a people by themselves. According to the most probable version, these
fugitives would seem to have been the women, children, and old men,
who, left unprotected at home in the absence of the fighting-men of the
horde, had thus escaped the vengeance of Simeon, King of Bulgaria.
“At the frontier,” or “beyond,” is the signification of the Hungarian
word Szekler, which therefore does not imply a distinctive race, but
merely those Hungarians who live beyond the forest—near the frontier,
and cut off from the rest of their countrymen. One Hungarian authority
tells us that the word Szekler, meaning frontier-keeper or watchman,
was indiscriminately applied to all soldiers of whatever nationality
who defended the frontier of the kingdom.
Later, when the greater body of Hungarians had established their
authority over this portion of the territory as well, the two peoples
fraternized with each other as kinsfolk, descended indeed from one
common family tree, but who had acquired certain dissimilarities in
speech, manner, and costume, brought about by their separation; and
despite sympathy and resemblance on most points, they have never quite
merged into one nationality, and the Szeklers have a proverb which says
that there is the same difference between a Szekler and a Hungarian as
there is between a man and his grandson—meaning that they themselves
came in by a previous immigration.
The Szeklers had this advantage over their kinsfolk in Hungary proper,
of never at any time having been reduced to the state of serfdom.
They occupied the exceptional position of a peasant aristocracy,
having, among other privileges, the right of hunting, also that of
being exempted from infantry service and being enlisted as cavalry
soldiers only; whereas the ordinary Hungarian peasant was, up to 1785,
attached to the soil under conditions only somewhat lighter than those
oppressing the Russian serf. Curiously enough, though the system of
villanage had already been formally discarded by King Sigismond in
1405, it was taken up again some years later; and, in point of fact,
up to 1848 there was scarcely any limit to the services which the
Hungarian peasant was bound to render to his master.
Not so the Szeklers, who have always jealously defended their
privileges and preserved their freedom, owing to which their bearing
is prouder, freer, nobler than that of their kinsfolk. The Hungarian
peasant, as a rule, is neither wanting in grace nor dignity. But
freedom is just as much a habit as slavery; and as one writer has aptly
remarked, “A people does not fully regain the stamp of manhood and its
own self-respect in a single generation,” so the man who can count back
eight centuries of freeborn ancestors will always have an advantage
over one whose fathers were still born in bondage.
Like the other Magyars, the Szeklers are an inborn nation of soldiers,
and rank among the best of the Austrian army. It was principally on
the Szeklers that the brunt fell of resisting attacks from the many
barbarous hordes always infesting the eastern frontier. When the
Wallachians fled to the mountains at the approach of an enemy, and the
Saxons ensconced themselves within their well-built fortresses, the
Szeklers advanced into the open plain and ranged themselves for battle,
rarely abandoning the field till the ground was thickly strewn with
their dead.
The Szekler, who has usually more children than his Hungarian brother,
is well and strongly built, but rarely over middle size. His face is
oval, the forehead flat, hands and feet rather small than large. With
much natural intelligence, he cares little for art or science, and has
but small comprehension of the beautiful. Even when living in easy
circumstances, he does not care to surround himself with books like
the Saxon, nor does he betray the latent taste for color and design
so strongly characterizing the Roumanian. His inbred dignity seems
to place him on a level with whoever he addresses. He is reserved in
speech, with an almost Asiatic formality of manner, and it requires
the stimulus of wine or music to rouse him to noisy merriment; but on
occasions when speech is required of him, he displays inborn power of
oration, speaking easily and without embarrassment, finding vigorous
expressions and appropriate images wherewith to clothe his meaning. The
Hungarian language has no dialect, and each peasant speaks it as purely
as a prince.
The Hungarian’s character is a singularly simple and open one; he is
simple in his love, his hatred, his anger, and revenge, and though he
may sometimes be accused of brutality, deceit can never be laid to his
charge, while flattery he does not even understand. It is his inherent
dignity and self-respect which makes him thus open, scorning to appear
otherwise than he really is. You will never see a Hungarian bargaining
for his money with clamorous avidity like the Saxon, nor will he accept
an alms with humble gratitude like the Roumanian.
He uncovers his head courteously to the master of his village, but he
will not think of uncovering for a strange gentleman, even were it
the greatest in the land. Hospitality is with him not a virtue but an
instinct, and he cannot even comprehend the want of it in another.
A Hungarian who had stopped to rest the horses in a Saxon village came
wonderingly to his master. “What strange people are these?” he said.
“They were sitting round the table eating bread and onions, and not one
of them asked me to join them!”
On another occasion a gentleman travelling with an invalid wife was
overtaken by a storm near a Saxon village, and wanted to put up there
for the night. There was no inn in the place, and not one of the
families would consent to receive them. “You had better drive on to the
next village but one,” was the advice volunteered by one of the most
good-natured Saxon householders. “Not to the next village, for there
they are Saxons like us and will not take you in; but to the village
after that, which is Hungarian. They are always hospitable, and will
give you a bed.”
The Szekler villages, of a formal simplicity, are as far removed from
the Roumanian poverty as from Saxon opulence. The long double row of
whitewashed houses, their narrow gable-ends all turned towards the
road, have something camp-like in their appearance, and have been
aptly compared to a line of snowy tents ready to be folded together at
the approach of an enemy. The Magyar has a passion for whitewashing
his dwelling-house, and several times a year, at the fixed dates of
particular festivals, he is careful to restore to his walls the snowy
garment of their lost innocence. This custom of whitewashing at stated
periods is still said to be practised among the tribes dwelling in the
Caucasian regions.
In the midst of the village stands the church, whitewashed like the
other houses. It is slender and modest in shape, neither surrounded by
fortified walls like the Saxon churches, nor made glorious with color
like those of the Roumanians. Near to the entrance of the village is
the church-yard, and in some places it is still customary to bury the
dead with their faces turned towards the east.
There are few Roumanian villages in Szekler-land, neither do we find
here the inevitable outgrowth of Roumanian hovels tacked on to each
village, as is usual in Saxon colonies. The Roumanians do not thrive
alongside of their Szekler neighbors, because these do not require
their aid and will take no trouble to learn their language. The Szekler
cultivates his own soil without help from strangers, whereas the Saxon,
whose ground is usually larger than he can manage himself, and obliged
to take Roumanian farm-servants, is compelled to learn their language;
and it has often been remarked that a whole Saxon household has been
brought to speak Roumanian merely on account of one single Roumanian
cow-wench.
The greater number of Szeklers have remained Catholics, the population
of the western district only having adopted the Reformed faith, while
the Unitarian sect, which has made of Klausenburg its principal seat,
and counts some fifty-four thousand members, is chiefly composed of
Hungarians proper.
There are not above a dozen really wealthy Hungarian nobles in
Transylvania, and of many a one it is jokingly said that his whole
possessions consist of four horses, as many oxen, and a respectable
amount of debts. The same sort of open-handed hospitality which has
ruined so many Poles has also here undermined many fortunes.
The conjugal relations are somewhat Oriental among the lower classes,
the position of the wife towards the husband involving a sense of
social inferiority; for while she addresses him as _kend_ (your grace),
and speaks of him as _uram_ (lord or master), he calls her thou, and
speaks of her as _felsegem_ (my consort). In walking along the road it
is her place to walk behind her lord and master; and at weddings men
and women are usually separated, and if the house have but a single
room it is reserved for the men to banquet in, while the women, as
inferior creatures, are relegated to the cellar or to a stable or byre
cleared for the purpose. Bride and bridegroom must eat nothing at this
banquet, and only in the evening is a separate meal served up for them,
and, like the other guests, the new-married couple must spend this day
apart.
If we are to believe popular songs, of which the following is a sample,
the stick would seem to play no unimportant part in each Hungarian
_ménage_:
“O peacock fair, O peacock bright,
O peacock proud and high!
I fool! for though of lowly birth,
A noble wife took I;
But nothing that I e’er could do
Would please my peacock high.
To market once I went and bought
A pair of blood-red shoon.
I placed my present on the bench—
’Twas at the hour of noon.
‘Thy duty bids thee call me lord,
My darling wife,’ quoth I.
‘Nay, nevermore, that will I not,
And though I had to die,
For gentlemen of noble birth
Sat round my father’s board,
And if I said not “sir” to them,
How should I call thee lord?’
“O peacock fair, O peacock bright,
O peacock proud and high!
I fool! for though of lowly birth,
A noble wife took I;
But nothing that I e’er could do
Would please my peacock high.
Again to market did I go
And bought a kirtle fine;
’Twas growing dark as on the bench
I laid this gift of mine.
‘Thy duty bids thee call me lord,
My darling wife,’ quoth I.
‘Nay, nevermore, that will I not,
And though I had to die,
For gentlemen of noble birth
Sat round my father’s board,
And if I said not “sir” to them,
How should I call thee lord?’
“O peacock fair, O peacock bright,
O peacock proud and high!
I fool! for though of lowly birth,
A noble wife took I;
But nothing that I e’er could do
Would please my peacock high.
The moon was shining in the skies
When to the woods I sped;
I cut a hazel rod full long,
And hid it ’neath the bed.
‘Thy duty bids thee call me lord,
My darling wife,’ quoth I.
‘Nay, nevermore, that will I not.
And though I had to die.’
Then in my hand I took the rod
And beat my bosom’s wife,
Until she cried, ‘Thou art my lord!
My lord for death and life!’”
The Armenians deserve something more than a passing notice at the
fag-end of a chapter; but having had little opportunity of being thrown
together with these people, I am unable to furnish many details as to
their life and manners.
Persecuted and oppressed in Moldavia during the seventeenth century,
the Armenians were offered a refuge in Transylvania by the Prince
Michael Apafi, and came hither about 1660, at first living dispersed
all over the land, till in 1791 the Emperor Leopold granting them
among other privileges the right to establish independent colonies,
they founded the settlements of Szamos-Ujvar (Armenopolis) and
Elisabethstadt, or Ebesfalva. This latter town, which counts to-day
about twenty-five hundred Armenian inhabitants, is renowned for the
good looks of its women—pale, dark-eyed beauties, with low foreheads
and straight eyebrows, whose portraits might be taken in pen and ink
only, without any help from the palette. They have the reputation—I
know not with what reason—of being very immoral, but in a quiet,
unostentatious fashion.
In the men the pure Asiatic type is yet more clearly marked—the
fine-shaped oval head, arched yet not hooked nose, black eyes, jetty
beard, and clean-cut profiles betraying their nationality at the first
glance. In manner they are singularly calm and self-possessed, never
evincing emotion or excitement. They are much addicted to card-playing.
In many parts of Hungary the Armenians have so completely amalgamated
with the Magyars as to have forgotten their own language, but where
they live together in compact colonies it is still kept up. There are
two languages—the popular idiom and the written tongue, the language
of science and literature. Their religion is the Catholic one, but
their services are conducted in their own language instead of Latin.
Like the Hebrews, the Armenians have great natural aptitude for
trade; and it is chiefly due to their influence that the Jews have
not here succeeded in getting the reins of commerce into their hands.
The bankers and money-lenders in Transylvania are almost invariably
Armenians.
A Saxon legend explains the origin of the Armenians by saying that when
God had created all the different sorts of men, there remained over two
little morsels of the clay of which he had respectively moulded the
Jew and the gypsy; so, in order not to waste these, he kneaded them up
together, and formed of them the Armenian.
FOOTNOTES:
[68] The Milky Way.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
FRONTIER REGIMENTS.
The south-west of Transylvania used to form part of the territory
called the _Militär-Grenze_ (military frontier)—a peculiar institution
now extinct, which, interesting as being to some extent of Roman
origin, may here claim a few lines of notice.
When the Roman conquerors had taken possession of the countries north
of the Danube, they found it necessary to organize a sort of standing
rampart of troops to be always at hand, ready to oppose unexpected
attacks from the barbarian hordes on the other side. These soldiers,
who might be designated as military agriculturists, found their
sustenance in cultivating the ground assigned to each of them, and,
being always ready on the spot, could be speedily formed in line at the
slightest alarm of an enemy.
Similar circumstances caused the Hungarian kings to imitate these
institutions, and organize the population of the southern frontier to
that purpose, allotting to them the task of protecting the country
against the frequent invasions of Turks. Not content, however, with
resisting attacks from without, these troops often adopted an offensive
line of action, making raids over the frontier to plunder, burn, and
massacre in the enemy’s country. The continual state of skirmishing
warfare resulting from these arrangements kept up the martial spirit
of the population, and many are the legends recorded of doughty deeds
accomplished at that time.
After the fall of the Hungarian kingdom in 1526, the noblemen
subscribed among themselves to keep up the frontier in the same
fashion, often availing themselves of the assistance of these troops in
their attempted insurrections against Austria.
But the Hungarian soldiers, who in this somewhat rough school of
chivalry had acquired objectionable habits—such, for instance, as
that of bringing back their enemies’ heads attached to the saddle-bow
whenever they returned from a skirmish—had, despite their evident
utility, fallen into bad odor at Vienna; so when the Hungarian nobles
themselves lost their independence, these frontier troops were
suffered to fall into disorganization. Only after Maria Theresa had
ascended the throne, and, having consolidated the Austrian power,
obtained for herself and her descendants the irrevocable right to the
Hungarian crown, was it thought necessary to reorganize in more regular
fashion this living rampart along the frontier, with a view to keeping
out the Turks, who were again showing signs of being troublesome.
Accordingly, the population of the whole southern frontier, from Poland
to the Adriatic, was classified in military companies and regiments,
and the ground distributed to the peasants under condition that
they and their children should live and die on the spot, their sons
inheriting the obligation of serving in like manner as their fathers.
Of these frontier regiments, altogether fourteen in number, six were
created in Transylvania. Of these two infantry and one dragoon regiment
were recruited from the Wallachian population; the remaining three, two
infantry and one hussar, from the Hungarians.
This system was carried out without trouble in the provinces recently
reconquered from the Turks, which, being thinly populated, offered
greater inducements for fresh settlers; but elsewhere, where there
already existed a fixed population of Hungarians and Roumanians, there
was much difficulty in establishing it. In former days the peasants
had consented to pass their life on horseback in order to protect the
frontier; but those days were long since gone by when people found
such life to be congenial, and many of the novel conditions imposed by
the Austrians were exceedingly distasteful. They did not care to be
commanded by German officers, nor to feel themselves amalgamated with
the Austrian regular troops, liable to be sent to fight on foreign
territory.
Among the Wallachians whole villages emigrated in order to evade these
new laws. Those who declined to serve, and were not inclined to leave
their homes, were driven from their huts at the point of the bayonet,
and replaced by other settlers brought from a distance. Much cruelty
was resorted to in order to compel their obedience, the Austrians
sparing neither fire nor sword to gain their ends; and the year 1784
in particular was most disastrous to those poor people, who, after
all, were only trying to escape from unjustifiable tyranny. Also, a
few years later, when some of these troops had risen in insurrection,
declaring themselves only obliged to defend the frontier, not to
espouse foreign quarrels in which Austria alone had a personal
interest, whole regiments were decimated, shot down by the cannon;
and the place is still shown where the bodies of the victims of this
wholesale butchery repose under two giant hillocks.
From an Austrian point of view, no doubt this institution was a most
excellent and practical one; eighty thousand trained men, who cost
but little in time of peace, were ready at a moment’s notice for war.
Before the officer’s dwelling-house at each station stood a high pole,
wound over with ropes of straw and other combustible matter, which was
set fire to at the slightest alarm of an enemy. The signal being thus
taken up and repeated from station to station, the whole frontier was
speedily marked out in a fiery line, and the men collected and in arms
in an incredibly short space of time.
When serving against an enemy their pay was equal to that of the
regular troops, while in time of peace they received no pay except a
few kreuzers per day whenever a soldier was on duty—that is, whenever
he had frontier inspection.
On these troops devolved the duty of keeping in order all roads,
buildings, etc., within their circuit, and nowhere in Hungary and
Transylvania were to be found such excellent, well-kept roads, bridges,
and buildings as those within the territory of the military frontier.
The men could not marry without permission of their superiors, their
sons being, so to say, enrolled as soldiers before their birth; while
daughters could only inherit their share of the father’s land on
condition of marrying a soldier.
The lot of those born and bred in this species of military bondage has
been pathetically rendered in a Hungarian song, of which I offer a
translation:
The wild wood was my native home,
Though born unto a soldier’s doom.
Amid the green leaves sighing,
And gentle cushats crying,
My father nurtured me.
But soon as I, a stripling grown,
Could sit a horse’s back alone,
I to the plough remaining,
My sire must go campaigning
Against the French afar.
Drive furrows deeper and more deep!
Outbursting tears in torrents leap!
My father ne’er returning,
My mother pining, yearning,
Soon wore her life away.
Now we to war to-morrow go;
The Ruler’s word has bid it so.
Ah me! ye green leaves sighing,
And gentle cushats crying,
When shall I hear you more?
[Illustration: THE ROTHENTHURM PASS.]
In former days, when the country was in a state of semi-barbarism, this
system answered well enough; the military discipline was in itself
an education, and the bribe of becoming landed proprietors induced
many, no doubt, to accept the conditions involved. Later on, however,
when all peasants obtained possession of the soil they tilled, the
tables were turned, and the frontier soldier found himself to be
considerably worse off than his neighbor. Likewise, the original reason
of these institutions no longer existed; the Ottoman power was rapidly
decreasing, and surprises at the frontier were no more to be looked
for. The spirit, the adventure, the poetry of warfare (which alone had
caused these people to accept their lot) had departed, and they could
no longer be induced to let themselves be led to butchery in distant
climes to gratify a stranger’s whim. Therefore, in the reorganization
of the Austrian army after the disastrous campaign of 1866, these
frontier regiments were, like other antiquated institutions, finally
abolished, and have left no other trace behind but here and there a
ruined watch-tower standing deserted in a mountain wilderness.
Many of the points selected for the erection of these military
establishments lay amid the wildest and most beautiful mountain
scenery, and for a keen sportsman, or an ardent lover of nature, the
lot of an Austrian officer in one of these beautiful wildernesses must
have been a very El Dorado.
One of the most beautiful, and from a military point of view, most
important, of these military cordon stations was the Rothenthurm Pass
(Pass of the Red Tower), so named from the color of a fortress-tower
whose ruins may yet be seen beside the road.
This lovely mountain-gorge, traversed by the river Aluta, and to be
reached in a pleasant two hours’ drive from Hermanstadt, has been
the scene of much cruel strife in by-gone days. Many a time have the
wild devastation—bringing hordes poured into the land by this narrow
defile; and here it was that in 1493 George Hecht, the burgomaster
of Hermanstadt, obtained a signal victory over the Turks, whom he
butchered in wholesale fashion, dyeing the river ruddy red, it is said,
with the blood of the slain.
Nowadays the river Aluta flows by peaceably enough, and the primitive
little inn which stands at the boundary of the two countries offers
an inviting retreat to any solitary angler who cares to study the
characters of Transylvanian _versus_ Roumanian trout.
CHAPTER XL.
WOLVES, BEARS, AND OTHER ANIMALS.
Transylvania has often been nicknamed the Bärenland, and though bears
and wolves do not exactly walk about the high-roads in broad daylight,
as unsophisticated travellers are apt to expect, yet they are common
enough features in the landscape, and no one can be many weeks in the
country without hearing them mentioned as familiarly as foxes or grouse
are spoken of at home.
The number of bears shot in Transylvania in the course of the year 1885
was about sixty. Eight of these fell to the share of the Crown-prince
Rudolf of Austria, who for the last few years has rented a _chasse_
at Gyergyó Szent Imre, in one of the most favorable bear-hunting
neighborhoods.[69]
As to the wolves destroyed each year, they are not to be reckoned by
dozens, nor even by scores, but by hundreds, and I was assured by a
competent authority that between six and seven hundred is the number of
those who last year perished by the hand of man.
It is the commonest thing in the world on market-days to see a group of
shepherds in the ironmonger’s shop (where a store of common fire-arms
is kept), in deep consultation as to the merits of the pistol or
revolver they are in want of for scaring the wolves so constantly
molesting their flocks; and occasionally a snapping and snarling wolf,
or a pair of bear cubs, are brought in a cart to the town in quest of
an amateur of such fierce pets.
Even in the neighborhood of Hermanstadt it is not safe to walk far into
the country alone in very cold weather for fear of wolves, which can
easily approach the town under cover of the forest, which runs unbroken
up to the hills; and while I was at Hermanstadt a large gray wolf was
reported to have been seen several nights in succession prowling about
within the actual precincts of the lower town.
At one of the toll-bars marking the limits of the town, and whence
stretches off a lonely plain towards the south, a large fierce dog
is kept chained up; but he never retains his situation two years
running, because he is invariably destroyed by wolves before the winter
is out. “The dog at the Poplaka toll-bar has been eaten again,” is
the matter-of-fact announcement one hears every year when the cold
is rising, and which has long since lost all flavor of sensation or
novelty; and one only wonders how any Hermanstadt dog can still be
found infatuated enough to undertake this forlorn hope.
Up in the mountains, however, the wolves do not slink in stealthy
groups of twos and threes, but assemble in such mighty packs that
sometimes on the high pasturages the snow is found to be trampled down
by the tread of many hundred feet, as though large droves of cattle had
passed over the place. Officers who have been engaged in the work of
going over the country, classifying all horses for purposes of national
defence, have told me that in many out-of-the-way places up the hills
they used to find the horses frequently bitten or scarred about the
nose—as many keepsakes from the wolves, whose invariable habit it is
first to spring at the horse’s head.
Many are the ruses which the wolf employs in order to induce a horse
or foal to detach itself from a drove of grazing animals. Sometimes he
will roll himself up into a shapeless mass, and lie thus immovable for
hours on the ground, till some young inexperienced colt, bitten with
curiosity, wanders from its mother’s side to investigate the strange
bundle it espies at a distance. The wily murderer lets himself be
approached without moving, and only then, when the hapless victim bends
down to snuff the packet, he springs at the throat, and makes of it an
easy prey.
The more experienced horses have long since learned that their only
safety is in numbers; so at the approach of wolves they draw themselves
together in a wheel, each head turned inward touching the others, their
tails all pointing outward, and with their hind-hoofs dealing out such
furious kicks as to enable them to keep at bay several enemies at a
time.
The Transylvanian bears will rarely attack a man unless provoked,
experiencing as much terror from a chance encounter as any they are
likely to occasion. A Saxon peasant told me of such a meeting he had
some years ago, when up in the mountains with some gentlemen who had
come there in quest of deer. As they were to sleep in the open air, he
had gone to collect firewood on the ground between a scattered group
of fir-trees. When issuing from behind a tree-trunk he suddenly found
himself face to face with a gigantic bear—not ten paces off. “We were
both so taken aback,” he said, “that for nearly a minute we stood
staring at each other without moving. Then I called out, ‘Der Teufel!’
and took to my heels; and the bear, he just gave a grunt, which perhaps
also meant ‘Der Teufel’ in his language, and he also turned to run; and
when I looked back to see where he was, there, to be sure, he was still
running down the hill as hard as ever he could go.”
Only a couple of summers ago two Hungarian gendarmes were patrolling
near Szent Mihaly where each of them, walking at a different side of a
deep ravine, could see, without being able to reach, his comrade. As
one of them came round a point of rock, he was suddenly confronted by
a bear carrying a sheep in his mouth. In this case, also, man and bear
stared at each other for some seconds; then the bear turned away in
order to carry off his booty to a safe place. The gendarme, recovering
from his surprise, fired at the retreating bear, which, wounded, gave
a loud roar. A second shot likewise took effect, for now the bear,
dropping the sheep, raised himself on his hind-legs, and advanced on
his assailant. By the time a third shot was fired the bear had come up
close and seized the muzzle of the gun. A fearful struggle now began
between man and beast. The gendarme was holding on convulsively to
his gun, when, his foot catching in a tree-root, he stumbled and fell
to the ground. Already he saw the dreadful jaws of the bear close to
his face, and gave himself up for lost. However, the bear was getting
weaker, and let go its hold on the gun to seize the leg of the man,
who, with a last desperate effort, struck the animal on the breast
with the butt-end of his rifle. This turned the scale, and the animal
fled down the ravine to hide itself in the stream. In the mean time
the second gendarme, who from the other side had been spectator of
the scene, arrived, along with some shepherds armed with clubs and
pickaxes, and pursued the bear into his retreat. The animal received
them with terrific roars, and began to pick up large stones, which he
hurled at his adversaries with such correct aim as severely to wound
one of the shepherds on the head. Finally the beast was killed, and his
stomach discovered to be full of fresh ox-flesh. The wounded gendarme
had to be conveyed home on horseback, and his gun was found to have
been completely bent in the struggle.
At the costumed procession commemorating the arrival of the Saxons
in Transylvania, which I have described in Chapter V., the most
conspicuous object in the group of hunting-trophies was a gigantic
stuffed bear, which, as a current newspaper announced, “had been shot
expressly for the occasion.” This paragraph excited considerable
derision among non-Transylvanian sportsmen, who mockingly inquired
whether a bear could be killed to order like an ox or a prize pig.
In this case, however, the newspapers said no more than the simple
truth, the bear in question having been literally shot to order by
Oberlieutenant Berger, a native of the place, and one of the most
noteworthy Nimrods in the land.
It happened, namely, that about a fortnight before the day fixed for
the procession, some of the gentlemen charged with its arrangement
were lamenting that the only bear they had for figuring in the
hunting-group was of somewhat shabby dimensions; on hearing which
Oberlieutenant Berger volunteered to go into the mountains in quest of
a better one. Chance favored his expedition, for within forty-eight
hours he met and shot the magnificent animal which had the honor of
figuring in the historical pageant.
Besides the two fresh bullets which had caused its death, no less than
eleven old lead balls were found completely grown into the flesh and
muscles of the animal.
Two young bear cubs captured alive by another sportsman earlier in the
year had originally been destined to join the procession as well as
their dead relative; but proving too unruly, they had to be discarded
from the programme, as it was feared that their roaring might alarm the
horses.
Though stocked by nature with a profusion of every sort of game,
such as roe-deer, stags, chamois, etc., sportsmen generally find
Transylvania to be an unsatisfactory country for hunting purposes. It
is just sufficiently preserved in order to hamper an ardent sportsman
who wishes, gun in hand, to roam unmolested about the hills; yet
not enough protected to prevent the Roumanian peasants from calmly
appropriating everything which happens to cross their path. They can
hardly be called poachers either, because they are simply and utterly
wanting in comprehension for this sort of personal property, and it
would be as easy to persuade one of them that it is wrong to slake
his thirst at a mountain spring as get him to believe that any of the
animals he sees running wild in the forest can belong to any one man
more than to another.
Even when regular hunting _battues_ are organized, the Roumanians
employed as beaters will not fail to put in a shot whenever they have
the chance, nor will they hesitate to despoil your bag of half its
booty whenever your back is turned.
In a large shooting-party in the neighborhood of Hermanstadt two years
ago, two roe-deer had been shot down at the first drive. More than one
of the gentlemen had distinctly marked the place where the animals
fell, yet on coming up to it no trace of either was there to be seen
save a little blood upon the grass, and the beaters who had first
reached the spot loudly swore that the wounded animals had made their
escape. All search was unavailing to discover where the carcasses had
been hidden, and neither threat nor bribe could induce the peasants
to disgorge the booty; but early next morning there were offered for
sale at the Hermanstadt market-place two fine roe-deer, which, without
rash judgment, may be safely asserted to be identical with those so
mysteriously spirited away the day before.
On the occasion of this same shooting-party some of the beaters had
formed the further ingenious project of stealing the gun from one
of the gentlemen as he lay asleep near the camp-fire; but they had
reckoned without their host, not having counted on the exceptional
contingency of there being one honest man among them, who took upon
himself to put his masters on their guard. The other beaters, enraged
at this treachery on the part of a comrade, revenged themselves by
destroying the saddle and cutting out the tongue of his horse.
* * * * *
Chamois are sometimes to be seen in numbers of thirty to forty heads
at once. Roe and stags are common, but the lynx and marten are growing
rare; while the ibex and urus have completely died out, the last urus
known of in Transylvania having been killed near Udvarhely in 1775.
Small game, such as hares, partridges, etc., are rarely to be
purchased in the market, and still more rarely to be met with in the
stubble-fields. _Haselhühner_[70] and capercailzie are, however,
sufficiently numerous in the pine woods to reward more than a passing
acquaintance; and whoever takes the trouble to approach the river Alt
with anything resembling a civilized rod may be sure of a basketful of
well-flavored trout.
The wild-cat, badger, fox, and otter are still plentiful, as well
as almost every European variety of eagle and falcon. Vultures are
likewise numerous; and a friend of ours who, to attract these birds
of prey, lately invested in the unsavory purchase of five dead dogs,
which were deposited on a sand-bank near the river, had presently the
satisfaction of seeing nine well-grown vultures settle on the place.
* * * * *
Those same bear cubs which had shown themselves so unworthy of figuring
in the historical procession were a great source of amusement to us.
When they arrived they were tiny round balls of fur yelping piteously
for their mother, and hardly able to walk, but soon got reconciled
to their position, and became most intimate with the soldiers at the
barracks, where they were lodged. One day when we went to visit them
in the barrack-yard, accompanied by several terriers, one of the cubs,
happening to be in a playful mood, began making advances to the dogs,
which mostly took to their heels in terror at sight of this formidable
playmate. One white fox-terrier only stood his ground and entered
into the spirit of the thing, and in the wild game of gambols which
ensued the ponderous antics of the baby bear beside the lightning-like
movements of the wiry terrier, as they chased each other round and
round the barrack-yard, were a sight worth seeing.
In spite of their apparent awkwardness, however, it is wonderful to see
with what agility these young bears could run up and down a tree-trunk,
leading one to the uncomfortable conclusion that if pursued by one of
their kinsfolk in a forest the hope of saving one’s self by climbing a
tree would be a slender one.
These two cubs, which for some incomprehensible reason had been
christened Dick and John, grew warmly attached to the officer who had
brought them here, and would rush impetuously to meet him whenever he
was seen approaching. Both of them seemed likewise to be much attracted
by the sight of scarlet, and whenever they espied a pair of red hussar
breeches, or the scarlet stripe down a general’s legging, there was
instantly a race to this brilliant goal, not always relished by the
object of these attentions, who sometimes failed to see the fun of
being folded in their uncouth embrace.
Dick was apt to be sulky at times, and wont to misinterpret a friendly
poke from a parasol, but John had an angelic disposition, and soon
became the favorite. Dick had a bad habit of sucking his brother’s
ears, who used patiently to submit to the operation for an hour at a
time, which course of treatment soon transformed his beautiful bushy
ears into two limp fleshy flaps, devoid of the slightest appearance of
hair.
They both very soon learned to know the soldiers’ dinner-hour, and
while the food was preparing used to push open the kitchen door in
hopes of a share, till their importunities were baffled by an order
to keep the kitchen locked in future. This much aggrieved the cubs,
which stood outside thumping the door for admittance; and one day when
the key had been merely turned, and left sticking on the outside, Dick
seized hold of it between his teeth, working it backward and forward
with such persistency that he finally forced the lock and marched
triumphant into the kitchen.
Unfortunately the golden age of childish grace and innocence is but
of short duration in the case of bears, and Dick and John proved no
exception to this rule. After a very few months they began to grow
large and gawky; the amount of butcher’s meat required for their
sustenance was something terrific, and Dick’s temper was daily growing
more precarious. Arrangements for their removal to more suitable
quarters were therefore made, and finding their kennel empty one day,
we received the mournful intelligence that the furry brothers had been
transferred to the safer guardianship of a zoological establishment at
Pesth.
FOOTNOTES:
[69] Since writing this, Crown-prince Rudolf has terminated another
successful bear-hunting expedition in Transylvania (November, 1887),
the booty on this occasion being a dozen head.
[70] The technical name of the _Haselhuhn_ is _Tetrao bonasia_. They
reside chiefly in pine woods.
CHAPTER XLI.
A ROUMANIAN VILLAGE.
In our intercourse with the Roumanian peasantry we are constantly
reminded of the fact that only yesterday they were a barbarous race
with whom murder and plunder were every-day habits, and in whom the
precepts of respect for life and property have yet to be instilled. Not
that the Roumanian is by nature murderously inclined—on the contrary,
he is gentle and harmless enough as a general rule, and in nine cases
out of ten the idea of harming you will not even occur to him; but
should your life by any chance happen to stand between him and the
object of his desire, no sentiment of religion or morality will be
likely to restrain him from using his knife as freely as he would in
the case of a hare or roe-deer. It is not that he takes life for the
pleasure of shedding blood, but simply that he sets little value on it,
and that he regards as far greater sin any infraction of his Church
laws than the most flagrant attack on life and property.
The study of this people, gradually emerging from barbarism into
civilization, is most curious and interesting. While eagerly grasping
at the benefits held out to them by science, they are as yet unable
to shake themselves clear of the cobwebs of paganism and superstition
which often obscure their vision. It is the struggle between past and
future, between darkness and light, between superstition and science;
and who can doubt that the result will be a brilliant one, and that
a glorious resurrection awaits these spirits, so long enchained in
bondage. But this hour has not yet struck, and the study of this
people, however interesting, has its drawbacks, sometimes even perils;
and especially for a lady, it is not always advisable to trust herself
alone and unarmed in one of the out-of-the-way Roumanian villages, as
I had occasion myself to discover in one of my expeditions to a hamlet
lying south-east of Hermanstadt.
Some time previously I had “spotted” this place on the map; it seemed
to be within easy walking distance—not more than two hours off—and,
lying somewhat away from the high-road, was not likely to have been
much visited, and might therefore be expected to possess a fair
assortment of china jugs and embroidered towels.
“Take your revolver with you, mamma,” suggested my youngest son, when I
told him where I was going.
“Nonsense!” I replied; “the map and some sandwiches are all I shall
require;” for my experience, which till then had lain entirely in
Saxon villages, had shown me no ground for such precautions. I do not
suppose that the child’s warning had been dictated by any prophetic
spirit; more likely he wondered how any one lucky enough to possess
such a delightful toy as a real revolver could refuse themselves the
pleasure of sporting it on every possible occasion. So, leaving the
neat little fire-arm hanging on its customary nail, I started on my
walk, accompanied by a young German maid, who, speaking both Hungarian
and Roumanian fluently, was useful as an interpreter.
It was early in October, and a bright sunshiny day; the high-road
was crowded with carts and peasants coming to town, for it was
market-day; but after we had struck into a path across the fields the
way lay solitary before us. The village, which nestled against a bare
hill-side, was neither very picturesque nor interesting-looking; and as
we drew nearer I saw that it had a somewhat poverty-stricken aspect,
which considerably depressed my hopes of ceramic treasures. I had not
been aware that this hamlet, formerly a flourishing Saxon settlement,
had by degrees become flooded by the Roumanian element, and that the
Protestant church, for lack of a congregation, was now usually shut
up. Many of the people had German names, while speaking the Roumanian
language and wearing the Roumanian dress; and of all the inhabitants
four families only still professed the Lutheran faith. Intermarriage
with Roumanians, and the total extinction of many Saxon families, had
been the causes which had thus metamorphosed the national character of
the village.
Crossing a little bridge over the bed of a partially dried-up stream,
we entered the hamlet, where I forthwith began operations, proceeding
from house to house. At the very outset I found two pretty specimens
of china jugs in a gypsy hovel, but this was a solitary instance of
good-luck which had no sequel, for all the other huts could only
produce coarse Roumanian ware, very much inferior to Saxon pottery.
Our appearance in the village made a considerable sensation, and at
first we were slightly mobbed by all sorts of wild uncouth figures,
mostly gypsies; but luckily by degrees the interest wore off, and we
were left alone, but for one particularly villanous-looking man who
kept following at a little distance. Already I had been rather provoked
by several attempts to pick my pocket on the part of the gypsies, so
was on my guard, when, standing still to reflect where next to go, the
villanous-looking individual approached to accost me, and I could see
that his eyes were riveted on my gold watch-chain, which imprudently
I had left visible outside my jacket. These suspicions were presently
strengthened by his asking me what o’clock it was. “Look at your own
church clock,” I answered, rather shortly, pointing to the tower close
at hand; but he gave a roguish grin, and said, “Our clock is slow; I
wanted to set it right.”
I could not help laughing, though I did not feel quite easy in my mind,
and gave him the information he professed to want, but which of course
was only an excuse to look at my watch. I now tried to shake him off,
but my villanous friend was anxious to improve the acquaintance, and
would not leave me without having ascertained who I was, and what I
wanted here.
“Old china jugs!” he exclaimed, when somewhat weakly I had admitted my
errand. “I have got plenty such jugs, if the gracious lady will only
condescend to come into my house close by.”
I looked again more narrowly at the face of my villanous friend, and
the result of my investigations was to answer with great decision,
“Thank you, I have got enough china jugs for to-day—_quite_ enough.”
He tried to insist, till I found it expedient to lose my temper,
telling him to go about his business and leave me in peace. He did
leave me in peace, but only indirectly, for we saw him soon after
speaking to a gypsy woman, who presently began to dog our footsteps in
the same manner, trying to induce me to go into this or that one of the
more disreputable-looking houses.
By this time I was thoroughly tired out. Any one who has had like
experience will know how fatiguing it is to go into twenty or thirty
houses in succession, with the invariable stereotyped questions, “Have
you any jugs? and will you sell them?” and then to repeat over and over
again the self-same process of persuasion and bargaining. Besides this,
I had risen early, had a long walk, and was very hungry, so naturally
wanted a quiet spot to sit down and eat my sandwiches. “There must
surely be a village inn where we can get a glass of milk,” I said,
turning round to our persistent follower.
“There, there,” said the woman, pointing in advance, and she
disappeared running down the street.
We had no difficulty in finding the inn, as indicated by the usual sign
all over Austria—a bunch of wood-shavings hung over the door-way. I
was about to enter the room, when my German servant suddenly drew back
and pulled my dress. “Come away, come away, madam,” she whispered;
“it is not safe to go in there,” and as soon as we had regained the
road and shaken ourselves clear of some loungers outside who tried to
persuade us to re-enter, she explained the cause of her terror: she had
caught sight of that same man who had asked to see the watch hiding
behind the pothouse door, and evidently lying in wait for us.
This looked serious, and it was evident that some sort of trap was
being laid for my unfortunate watch, so I resolved that nothing in the
world should induce me to enter any such suspicious-looking house. My
maid was nearly crying with fright by this time, and shaking like an
aspen leaf, so I kindly advised her not to be a fool, pointing out that
there was really no cause for alarm after all. “We need not enter any
house unless we like, and they will hardly think of murdering us in the
open street, so do not make a fuss about nothing.”
“It is not for myself, but on account of the _gnädige frau_, that
I am frightened,” the girl now explained, apparently stung by the
insinuation of cowardice. “If anything should happen to you, madam,
what will the master say to me when I go home alone? He will say it was
all my fault!”
“Make your mind quite easy,” I said (perhaps rather cruelly, as it now
strikes me). “If they should cut my throat to get the watch, they will
for a certainty cut yours as well to prevent you telling tales of them,
so you will never reach home to be scolded.”
But the question of what to do was in truth becoming perplexing; rest
and food were now secondary considerations, my only thought being how
safely to reach home. The long lonely way that separated this village
from the town seemed doubly long and desolate in anticipation, and I
hardly liked to start from here alone. I now thought with regretful
longing of the handy little revolver I had left at home in its
Russia-leather case. Not that I should ever have required to use it,
of course, but its appearance alone would have served as antidote to
the dangerous fascinations of the gold watch. If I had but followed my
boy’s advice I should not have found myself in this awkward predicament.
Taking a turn down the road to collect my ideas, a thought struck me.
In the course of my peregrinations through the village earlier in the
day, I had noted one house where the people appeared more respectable,
though in nowise wealthier, than their neighbors. The man had a
frank open face, in which I could hardly be mistaken; and, moreover,
I had observed a few books lying on a shelf, in itself an unusual
circumstance in any Roumanian house, which would seem to imply some
degree of culture. To this man, therefore, I resolved to go for advice;
perhaps he would himself accompany us part of the way, or else provide
some other escort who would undertake not to cut our throats between
this and Hermanstadt.
This plan seemed reasonable; but just as I was about to push open the
gate of the little court-yard, the same gypsy woman who had been set
on before to follow me came running up: “Don’t go in there; there
is a terrible bad dog.” She warned so earnestly that for a moment I
hesitated with my hand on the latch; for if in the whole world there
is a thing which has the power to make my flesh creep and my blood run
cold, it is a savage dog, and this woman, with the quickness of her
race, had already had occasion to note my weak point. Her warning,
however, missed its effect, for having been in that courtyard before,
I distinctly remembered the absence of any dog whatever, whether good,
bad, or indifferent, and her anxiety to prevent me from entering was in
itself a sign that there was no danger.
So in I went: the man with the good face was not at home, I was
told—he had gone to the field, but would presently return; only his
wife, a sweet-faced young woman, and his aged mother, being alone in
the house. Yes, I might sit down and welcome, said the young woman; and
she hastened to bring me a chair and set some fresh milk before me; so
I passed half an hour very pleasantly in examining the cottage and its
inhabitants.
The young wife was seated at her loom weaving one of the red and blue
towels which adorn each Roumanian cottage. Some of the pillow-cases and
towels here hung up were of superior make to those usually seen, being
both softer in color and richer in texture. “It is the old mother who
made them,” she explained. “She works far better than I can do, but now
she is too old, and the weaving fatigues her; she was ninety-five this
year.”
“Was she in good health?” I asked by means of my interpreter.
“Quite good; but she cannot eat much—a little soup and a glass of wine
every day is about all she takes.”
“And where is your dog?” was my next inquiry, remembering the gypsy
woman’s caution.
“Dog?” she asked in surprise. “We never had a dog. What should we keep
one for? We are too poor to be afraid of robbers.”
When the husband came back I explained our errand. He smiled a little,
and said he thought my fears were groundless. Those fellows would
hardly dare to attempt any violence in daylight; but after all, it
was just possible, he admitted. There certainly were several very
bad characters in the village, and no doubt a gold watch was a great
temptation; it would certainly be wiser not to start from here alone.
After considering a little (apparently it _did_ require consideration),
he said that he knew of one respectable man in the village, and would
come with us to look for him. I expressed my astonishment at seeing
so many books in his house. “I began by being school-master in a
neighboring village,” he told me, “but it was only for a short time.
Then my father died, and I had to return here to look after the fields.
That was ten years ago. If I had remained there longer I should know
more than I do.” He showed me a volume of general history he was then
studying. “I read a little of it every evening when I come back from
work. I try to keep myself from forgetting everything—one is apt to
get rusty and _verbauert_ (peasantified) living here among peasants.”
The sole other respectable man which the village could produce turning
out to be absent, our host expressed his willingness to accompany us as
far as I wished, though I knew that he was leaving his work to do so.
Before quitting the village, however, I had a last encounter with my
villanous friend of heretofore, whom I found waiting for me near the
little bridge. He begged me so urgently to come in just for one minute
to look at his china jugs, which he described in enthusiastic terms,
that I gave an unwilling consent. He was apparently surprised and not
over-pleased on recognizing my escort, and would have shaken him off
on reaching his door, saying, “Well, good-by, neighbor; you need not
trouble yourself further.”
Of course I refused to go into the house alone, and of course, too,
when I did go in, the much-vaunted jugs turned out to be cracked and
worthless specimens of the very commonest sort of ware, bearing no
resemblance to what I was seeking.
I was fairly glad to turn my back on this horrid little village,
fully resolved never again to set foot within its precincts; and in
conversation with our obliging protector, who spoke very tolerable
German (an unusual thing in any Roumanian), three-quarters of an hour
passed very quickly. He told me much about himself and his family; also
about the village, which twice had been burned down within fifteen
years and reduced to the most abject poverty; everything of value in
the place had perished on the one or other of these occasions. His
family life seemed happy, but for one source of grief, for his marriage
was childless, and to any Roumanian this is a very great grief indeed.
“It is sad for us to be alone,” he said; “but God has willed it so.”
In the course of our talk he inquired, but with great delicacy, who I
was, saying, “I do not know whether I should say madam or fräulein; and
perhaps I seem impolite if I am not giving the gracious lady her proper
title.” And when I had mentioned the name and position of my husband,
I found him to be well informed as to all the military arrangements of
the country, correctly naming off-hand all the ten or twelve cavalry
stations in Transylvania. He recognized our name as being a Polish
one, and began to talk of that nation. “Those Poles have sometimes
very good heads,” he remarked, “but they do not seem able to manage
their own affairs. What a pity they were not able to keep their country
together!” After this he inquired much about the state of commerce and
agriculture in Poland, the influence of the Jews, etc., all he said
indicating such a mixture of natural refinement and shrewd common-sense
that I was quite sorry when, arriving within sight of the high-road,
and there being no reason further to tax his good-nature, he took his
leave with a bow which would not have disgraced any gentleman.
CHAPTER XLII.
A GYPSY CAMP.
Walking across the country one breezy November day, I was attracted by
the sight of a gypsy tent pitched on a piece of waste-land some hundred
yards off my path—motive enough to cause me to change my direction and
approach the little settlement; for these roving caravans have always
had a peculiar fascination for me, and I rarely pass one by without
nearer investigation.
This particular encampment turned out to be of the very poorest and
most abject description: one miserable tent, riddled with holes, and
patched with many-colored rags, was propped up against a neighboring
bank. Alongside, a semi-starved donkey, laden with some tattered
blankets and coverings, was standing immovable, and in the foreground
a smoking camp-fire, over which was slung a battered kettle. There was
very little fire and a great deal of smoke, which at first obscured the
view, and prevented me from understanding why it was that the gypsies,
usually so quick to mark a stranger, gazed at me with indifference: not
a hand was stretched forth to beg, nor a voice raised in supplication.
The men were standing or reclining on the turf in listless attitudes,
while the women, crowded round the fire, were swaying their bodies to
and fro, as though in bodily pain.
Soon, however, the shining point of a bayonet descried through
the curling smoke gave me the clew to this abnormal behavior, and
approaching nearer, I saw the figures of three Hungarian gendarmes
dodging about between the ragged tent and the skeleton donkey; they
were searching the camp, as they presently informed me, for a stolen
purse. A peasant had had his pocket picked that morning at market, and
as some of these gypsies had been seen in town, of course they must be
guilty; and the speaker, with an oath, stuck his bayonet right into the
depths of the little tent, bringing out to light a motley assortment
of dirty rags, which he proceeded to turn over with scrutinizing
investigation.
Any person with a well-balanced mind would, I suppose, have rejoiced at
this improving spectacle of stern justice chastising degraded vice;
but I must confess that on this occasion my sympathies were all the
wrong way, and I could not refrain from wishing that these poor hunted
mortals might elude their punishment, whether deserved or not. Justice,
as represented by these well-fed boorish gendarmes, who were turning
over so ruthlessly the contents of the little camp, holding up to light
each sorry rag with such pitiless scorn, and stripping the clothes
from the half-naked backs of the gypsies with such needless brutality,
appeared in the light of malicious and unnecessary persecution; while
vice, so poor, so wretched, so woe-begone, could surely inspire no
harsher feeling than pity.
Among the females I remarked a young woman of about twenty-five,
with splendid eyes, skin of mahogany brown, and straight-cut regular
features like those of an Indian chieftainess. She wore a tattered
scarlet cloak, and had on her breast a small baby as brown as herself,
and naked, in spite of the sharp November air. One of the gendarmes
approached her, and with a coarse gesture would have removed her cloak
(apparently her sole upper garment) to search beneath for the missing
purse; but with the air of an outraged empress she waved him off, and
raising full upon him her large black eyes, she broke into a torrent
of speech. I could not understand her language, but the tenor of her
discourse was easy to guess at from her expressive gestures and play
of features. Her voice was of a rich contralto, as she poured forth
what seemed to be the maledictions of an oppressed queen cursing a
tyrant. Her gestures had an inbred majesty, and her attitude was that
of an inspired sibyl. I thought what a glorious tragic actress she
would have made—perfect as Lady Macbeth, and divine as Azucena in the
“Trovatore.” Even the brutal gendarme felt her influence, for he did
not attempt to molest her further, but half shamefacedly withdrew, as
though conscious of defeat, transferring his attentions to one of the
men, whom he vigorously poked with the butt-end of his gun to force him
to rise from his recumbent position.
The fruitless search had now come to an end; the ragged tent had
been demolished and the skeleton donkey unladen without so much as a
single florin of the stolen money having come to light. In a prolonged
discussion between gypsies and gendarmes, the word “Hinka, Hinka,” was
often repeated; and Hinka, as it appeared, was the name of one of the
gypsies who was at that moment missing from the camp. She was expected
back by nightfall, they said.
Hearing this, the gendarmes proceeded to make themselves comfortable,
awaiting Mrs. or Miss Hinka’s return, lighting their pipes at the fire,
and playfully upsetting the caldron containing the gypsies’ supper.
One gendarme walked up and down with fixed bayonet to see that no one
attempted to leave the camp.
There being nothing more to see, I took my leave, for it was getting
late, and I had still a long walk before me. I had almost forgotten the
little episode with the gypsies, when, near the town, I met a small
linen-covered cart drawn by a ghastly-looking white horse, worthy
companion of the skeleton donkey. I should probably not have given a
second thought or glance to this cart, for it was nearly dark, but
as it passed me two or three curly black heads peeped out from under
the linen awning, and instantaneously as many semi-naked children
had bounded, India-rubber-like, on to the road, surrounding me with
clamorous begging. While I was giving them some coppers, I saw that in
the cart was sitting a somewhat pale and jaded-looking young woman,
probably their mother, holding the reins and waiting for the children
to get in. “Is your name Hinka?” I asked, as a thought struck me.
The woman stared at me in a bewildered manner without speaking, but her
panic-struck face was answer sufficient.
“Do not go back to the camp to-night,” I said, speaking on the impulse
of the moment. “The gendarmes are there, and they are waiting for you.”
My meaning was evidently plain, though I had spoken in German; probably
the word gendarmes had a familiar ring in her ear, for she now gazed
at me with positive terror in her wild, dilated eyes—the terror of a
hunted animal which sees the huntsmen closing in on all sides; then,
without a word of explanation, excuse, or thanks, she abruptly turned
round the horse’s head, and lashing it to its utmost speed, disappeared
in the opposite direction.
Several very worthy friends of mine have since pronounced my behavior
in this circumstance to have been highly reprehensible: I had sided
with the malefactor, and possibly defeated the ends of justice by
screening the culprit. Perhaps they are right, and it can only be
owing to some vital defect in my moral constitution that I have never
succeeded in feeling remorse for this action. On the contrary, it was
with a feeling of peculiar satisfaction that I thought that evening
of the three brutal gendarmes waiting in vain for the return of the
guilty Hinka. I wondered how long they waited, and how many pipes they
smoked, and to how many oaths they gave vent on finding that they had
waited in vain, and their victim was not going to walk into the trap
after all.
CHAPTER XLIII.
THE BRUCKENTHALS.
Among the crooked, irregular houses, low-storied and unpretentious,
which form the streets of Hermanstadt, there is one which stands
out conspicuous from its neighbors, resembling as it does nothing
else in the town. This is the Bruckenthal palace, a stately building
which might right well be placed by the side of some of the most
aristocratic residences at Vienna, and of which even the Grand Canal
at Venice need not be ashamed—but here absolutely out of place and
incongruous. Looking like a nobleman amid a group of simple burghers,
everything about this building has an air thoroughly aristocratic and
_grand seignior_: the broad two-storied façade richly ornamented,
the fantastically wrought iron gratings over the lower windows, the
double escutcheon hanging above the stately entrance, even the very
garret windows looking out of the high-pitched triple roof, have the
appearance of old-fashioned picture-frames which only want to be filled
up with appropriate rococo figures.
As we step through the roomy _porte-cochère_ into a spacious court,
we glance round half expecting to see a swelling porter or gorgeously
attired Suisse prepared to challenge our entrance, and instinctively
we fumble in our pocket for our card-case; but no one appears, and all
is silent as death. Passing over the grass-grown stones which pave the
court, we step through a capacious archway into a second court as large
as the first, and surrounded in the same manner by the building running
round to form another quadrangle. Here apparently are the stables, as a
stone-carved horse’s head above a door at the farther end apprises us,
and hither we direct our steps in hopes of finding some stable-boy or
groom to guide us, and tell us to whom this vast silent palace belongs.
The stable door is ajar, and we push it open, but pause in astonishment
on the threshold, met by the stony stare of countless unseeing eyes.
A stable it is undoubtedly, as testify the carved stone cribs and
partitioned-off stalls—six stalls on the one side, six on the other,
roomy and luxurious, fit only for the pampered stud of a monarch or
of an English fox-hunter, but which now, deserted of its rightful
occupants, has been usurped by a collection of plaster casts and
terra-cotta copies of ancient statues. Where majestic Arabs used
formerly to be stabled, now stands a naked simpering Venus, and the
Dying Gladiator writhes on the flag-stones once pawed by impatient
hoofs.
[Illustration: THE BRUCKENTHAL PALACE.[71]]
By-and-by we come across some one, who in a few words gives us the
history of the Bruckenthal palace.
Samuel Bruckenthal, of Saxon family, was raised alike to the rank of
baron and to the position of governor of Transylvania by the Empress
Maria Theresa, this being the first instance of a Saxon being thus
distinguished. In this capacity he governed the land for fourteen
years, from 1773 to 1787, and much good is recorded of the manner in
which he filled his office, and of the benefits he conferred on the
land. Baron Samuel Bruckenthal was a special favorite of the great
empress, who seems to have overpowered both him and his family with
riches and favors of all kinds. Besides this splendid palace (truly
magnificent for the country and the time when it was built), and which
boasted of a picture-gallery and an exceedingly valuable library, the
Bruckenthal family became possessed of extensive landed property, some
of which was to belong to them unconditionally, other estates being
granted to the family for a period of ninety-nine years, afterwards
reverting to the Crown. Likewise, villas and manufactories, summer and
winter residences, gardens and hot-houses, which have belonged to them,
are to be met with in all directions.
Baron Bruckenthal, who died in 1803, had decreed in his last will,
dated 1802, that the gallery and museum he had formed were to be
thrown open for the benefit of his Saxon townsmen; while his second
heir, Baron Joseph Bruckenthal, further decreed, in a will dated 1867,
that in the case of the male line of his family becoming extinct, the
palace, inclusive of the picture-gallery, library, etc., should revert
to the Evangelical Gymnasium at Hermanstadt, along with the interest
of a capital of thirty-six thousand florins, to be expended in keeping
up the edifice and adding to the collection. The contingency thus
provided for having come to pass a dozen years ago, the directors have
appropriated different suites of apartments for various purposes of
public utility and instruction. Thus the lofty vaulted stables were
found to be conveniently adapted for containing the models for a school
of design; while up-stairs the gilded ball-room has been converted into
a cabinet of natural history. Here rows of stuffed birds, as well as
double-headed lambs, eight-legged puppies, and other such interesting
deformities, are ranged on shelves against the crumbling gilt mouldings
which run round the room; and tattered remnants of the rich crimson
damask once clothing the walls hang rustling against glass jars,
in which are displayed the horrid coils of many loathsome reptiles
preserved in spirits of wine. Truly a sad downfall for these sumptuous
apartments, where high-born dames were wont to glide in stately minuets
over the polished floor!
The picture-gallery, opened to the public on appointed days, contains
above a thousand pictures, which, filling fifteen rooms, are divided
off into the three schools to which they belong—viz., Italian, Dutch,
and German. The greater part of these pictures is said to have been
purchased from French refugees at the time of the First Revolution,
many families having then sought an asylum in Hungary and Transylvania.
Mr. Boner, in his work on Transylvania, has thought fit to condemn in
a wholesale manner the contents of this gallery as “wretched daubs fit
only for a broker’s stall,” a verdict as rash as unjust, and which has
since been refuted by the opinion of competent judges. Of course, in a
small provincial town like Hermanstadt, situated at the extreme east
of the Austrian empire, it would be unreasonable to expect to find
in a private gallery collected in the eighteenth century priceless
_chefs-d’œuvres_ of the kind we travel hundreds of miles to admire
in the Louvre or at Dresden. No doubt, also, some of the paintings
erroneously attributed to famous masters, such as Rubens or Titian, are
but good copies of original works, while the parentage of a good number
of others is unknown, or matter for guess-work. Granting all this,
however, the wonder is rather, I think, to find such a very presentable
collection of paintings of second and third rank in a small country
town, among which no intelligent and straightforward connoisseur can
fail to pass some hours without both pleasure and profit.
The best picture in the gallery, and the most celebrated, is the
portrait of Charles I. of England, and of his wife, Henrietta Maria,
by Vandyck, which has brought many Englishmen hither in hopes of
purchasing it.
The library, now numbering about forty thousand volumes, is added to
each year from part of the legacy attached to the Bruckenthal palace,
and is a great boon to the town; for not only does it comprise a
comfortable reading-room, to which any one may have gratuitous access,
but all sorts of works are freely placed at the disposal of those who
wish to study them at home, on condition of signing a voucher by which
the party holds himself responsible for loss or damage to the work.
The Bruckenthal library is indeed a great and valuable resource to
those banished to this remote corner of the globe, and it is only
surprising that more people do not avail themselves of the advantages
which permit one to enjoy at home, sometimes for two or three months at
a time, several valuable works of history, biography, or science. Some
of the editions of older classical authors are most beautifully bound
and illustrated with fine copperplates—perfect _éditions de luxe_,
such as one rarely sees nowadays.[72]
Many curious manuscripts, principally relating to the country, are also
here to be found; but the gem of the collection, and by far its most
interesting and precious object, is a prayer-book of the fifteenth
century, which, written on finest vellum, contains six hundred and
thirty pages in small quarto, each page being adorned with some of the
finest specimens of the illuminated art to be met with anywhere.
The collection of coins is exceedingly remarkable, containing, as
it does, abundant specimens of the ancient Greek, Dacian, and Roman
coins, which are continually turning up in the soil, as well as of all
the various branches of Transylvanian coinage in the Middle Ages. An
assemblage of old Saxon ceramic objects, such as jugs and plates, may
also be mentioned, as well as samples of old German embroidery, and
some exceedingly beautiful pieces of jewellery belonging to the Saxon
burgher, and peasant costumes.
The least interesting part of the museum is what is called the African
and Japanese Cabinet, hardly deserving such a pompous designation, as
the objects it mostly contains (savage weapons, dried alligators, etc.,
added to the collection some thirty years ago) are by no means more
interesting or varied than what one is so tired of beholding in any
well-furnished English drawing-room.
There is a legend attached to the Bruckenthal palace which tells us
how an old soldier, who had served his emperor faithfully through many
years, took his dismission at last, and, with only three coppers in
his pocket, prepared to pilger homeward. On his way he was met by an
old white-bearded man, who said, “Give me an alms, for all you have
is mine.” The soldier replied, “Your gain will not be great, for see,
I have got but three kreuzers, but you are welcome to one of them.”
Hereupon the old man took one kreuzer, and the soldier proceeded on his
way. Soon, however, he was met by another old man, who in like manner
demanded an alms, and received a second copper; and this happened again
a third time. But when the soldier had thus divested himself of his
last coin the third old man thus spoke: “See, I am one and the same as
the two old men who begged from you before, and am no other than Christ
the Lord. As, therefore, you have been charitable, and have given of
the little you had, so will I reward you by granting any boon you
choose to ask.”
After the soldier had reflected for a little, he begged for a sack
which should have the virtue that, whenever he spoke the words, “Pack
yourself in the sack,” man or beast should equally be obliged to creep
inside it. “I see,” said the Lord, “that you are a wise man, and do not
crave treasures and riches. The sack is yours.”
With this magic sack on his back the soldier wandered on till he
reached the town of Hermanstadt. Here he found all the population
talking of a ghost in the Bruckenthal palace, which had lately been
disturbing the place, and whosoever attempted to pass the night in
those rooms was found as a corpse next morning.
On hearing this the veteran went with his sack to old Baron
Bruckenthal, and begged for a night’s lodging in those very rooms.
In vain the old gentleman warned him of the danger, and prophesied
that assuredly he would lose his life. The soldier persisted in his
resolution, begging only for the loan of a Bible and two lighted
candles. These were given to him, and likewise a copious supper, with
wine and roast-meat. However, he ate and drank but sparingly, for he
wished to remain wide-awake and sober; but he opened the Bible between
the two candles, and read diligently therein.
Shortly before midnight the room began to be unquiet, but the soldier
did but read the Bible all the more fervently as the noise increased.
Then as twelve o’clock struck there was a sound like the report of a
gun, and a leg was seen suspended from the ceiling.
The soldier remained quietly sitting, and said to himself, “Where there
is one leg, there must be another too,” and verily a second leg became
soon visible beside the first. Quoth the soldier then, “Where there are
two legs, there must perforce be body and arms as well,” and without
much delay these also made their appearance. Then he said, “A body
cannot be without a head,” but hardly had he said the words when the
entire figure fell down from the ceiling, and rushing at the soldier,
began to strangle him.
Quickly he cried, “Pack yourself in the sack,” and in the self-same
instant the ghost was imprisoned, and plaintively begging to be let out
again. The soldier at first only permitted the ghost to put out its
head, which was quite gray, but it went on begging to be released, and
promising to reveal a mighty secret.
Hearing this the soldier opened the sack; but, hardly set free, the
spectre again rushed at his throat, so that he had barely time to call
out, “Pack yourself in the sack.”
Now, being again in his power, the ghost was forced to confess to
the soldier that in these walls there were concealed many barrels
containing treasures, and over these it was his mission to watch.
It promised to make over in writing a portion of this money to the
veteran, and for this purpose begged to have its arms released from the
sack in order to sign the document.
This being granted, the ghost a third time attempted the soldier’s
life, who, however, used the magic formula once more, and, determined
to show no further mercy to his antagonist, cut off the head of the
treacherous phantom.
[Illustration: BARON SAMUEL BRUCKENTHAL.]
Next morning the inhabitants of Hermanstadt were greatly astonished
to find the soldier still alive, and the praise of his valor was in
every mouth. Under his directions the walls were now broken open, and
within many little barrels were discovered, all containing heavy gold,
of which the brave soldier received a handsome portion, sufficient to
enable him to live in comfort to the end of his days.
It is to this discovery that many impute the great riches of the
Bruckenthal family, and were it not for the valiant soldier the fortune
they left behind them would hardly have been so great.
Though the name of Bruckenthal is probably but little known outside
Transylvania, and I have failed to find it in several German
encyclopædias, yet here it is a word pregnant with meaning; and people
at Hermanstadt are wont to swear by the Bruckenthal palace as the most
stable and immutable object within their range of knowledge, just as
an Egyptian might swear by the Pyramids or the Sphinx. “May you be
lucky as long as the Bruckenthal palace stands,” or “Sooner may the
Bruckenthal palace fall down than such and such an event come to pass,”
are phrases I have frequently had occasion to hear.
But the memories of the Bruckenthals are not confined to the palace
which bears their name. Every vestige of past grandeur or remnant of
an extinct luxury, each work of art which comes to light in or about
Hermanstadt, may be traced back to this once omnipotent family. If in
your country walks you come upon a double row of massive lime-trees,
twelve or sixteen perhaps, standing forlorn on the grass, with nothing
to explain their presence on a lonely meadow, you are surely informed
that these are the last survivors of a stately avenue leading to
spacious orangeries in the Bruckenthal time. The orangeries have
now disappeared, yet these few old trees linger on with senseless
persistency—their snowy blossoms reminding one of powdered heads,
their circling branches suggesting wide-hooped skirts setting to each
other in the evening breeze, like an ancient quadrille party forgotten
in the ball-room, long after the other guests have departed.
If you find an old statue chipped and moss-grown, dreaming away in the
shade of a rose-bush which soon will stifle it in thorny embrace, you
may take for granted that you are standing on the site of a former
Bruckenthal garden.
If in a pawnbroker’s shop you disinter a carved oak chair heavily
wreathed in shrouding cobwebs, be sure that it has wandered hither from
the old palace on the Ring; and should you chance to espy a rococo
mirror, with curiously fretted gold frame, but tarnished and blurred,
do not doubt that at some remote period gallant beaux and stately dames
of the house of Bruckenthal have mirrored themselves complacently in
its surface.
Look closer still in the miscellaneous heap of bric-à-brac which
encumbers this same pawnbroker’s back shop, and ten to one you will
be able to recognize on some rotting canvas the grim features of old
Samuel Bruckenthal himself, or those of his imperial mistress Maria
Theresa.
Some of these old portraits, which I passed almost daily in my
peregrinations about the town, seemed to look at me so plaintively with
their canvas eyes, as though imploring me to release them from their
ignoble position, that I had to take pity upon them at last and offer
them an asylum in my house.
Few things ever gave me so vivid an impression of the transitory nature
of earthly possessions, and the evanescence of power and grandeur, as
these scattered relics of an extinct family meeting the eye at every
turn; and as the sea of chance was continually casting up some of
these shipwrecked treasures, more than one of them happened to drift
my way. Thus one day a poor woman brought to my door a delicate little
piece of fancy porcelain, which I was glad to purchase for a small
sum. About ten inches high, it represents a miniature citron-tree with
blossoms and fruit, growing in a gold-hooped tub of exactly the same
shape as the wooden cases in which real orange-trees are often planted.
An old lady who recollects the vanished days of the Bruckenthal glory
recognized this graceful trifle standing on my drawing-room _console_,
and told me that she remembered a whole set of them, pomegranates and
citron-trees alternately, with which the table used to be decked out on
the occasion of large dinner-parties.
What has become of the many companions of my lonely citron-tree, I
wonder? and where are now all the faces that used to meet round that
festive board? _Tout passe, tout lasse, tout casse!_
FOOTNOTES:
[71] Reprinted from a publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian
Society.
[72] It was to me a curious sensation in this out-of-the-way place to
come across a copy of my great-grandfather’s work, “Gerard on Taste,”
translated into German. I had not been before aware of any such
translation existing.
CHAPTER XLIV.
STILL-LIFE AT HERMANSTADT—A TRANSYLVANIAN CRANFORD.
Life at Hermanstadt always gave me the impression of living inside one
of those exquisitely minute Dutch paintings of still-life, in which
the anatomy of a lobster or the veins on a vine-leaf are rendered
with microscopic fidelity, and where such insignificant objects
as half-lemons or mouldy cheese-rinds are exalted to the rank of
centre-pieces.
During seven months of the year—from April till November—the idyllic
quiet of Hermanstadt was certainly not without its charms. So long
as the forest was green and the birds were singing, one did not feel
the want of other society, and the _répertoire_ of walks and rides
furnished variety sufficient for an active body and a contented mind.
It has often been remarked of Transylvania, that while resembling no
other country precisely, it partakes of the character of many, and
that within the space of half a dozen miles you may be reminded of as
many different lands. Thus one day your road will take you through a
little piece of Dutch scenery, a sluggish stream bordered by squat
willow-trees, with at intervals a sprinkling of quaint old Flemish
figures; another time it savors perhaps of Rhineland, as your path,
leading upward to the top of a sandy hill, loses itself in a labyrinth
of luxuriant vineyards; or else you may deem yourself on the Roman
Campagna, when, issuing forth on the vast tracts of waste-land, you
see shaggy buffaloes standing about in attitudes of lazy enjoyment,
leisurely cropping the sunburnt grass or voluptuously steeping their
bodies in the cooling bath of a green shining morass.
You may ride for hours in the shade of gnarled oak-trees, or, emerging
on to an open glade, indulge in a long-stretched gallop over the
velvety sward. In spring-time these grassy stretches are crowded thick
with scented violets, whose purple heads are crushed by dozens at each
stride of your horse; and in autumn, when the grass is close cropped,
these meadows become one vast playing-ground for legions of brown
field-mice, scampering away from under the horse’s feet, or peeping
at us with beady black eyes from out the porticos of their sheltering
holes.
But once the winter has fairly set in, when those same frisky brown
mice have retired to their strongholds in the bowels of the earth; when
the last flower has withered on its stalk, and birds of passage have
left the land; when streams have ceased babbling, and mill-wheels, made
captive by chains of glittering icicles, are forced to stand still;
when parasols have been exchanged for muffs, and the new toll-dog has
already been eaten by the wolf—then indeed a season of desperate
desolation settles down on the place. What is usually understood by
the word amusement does not here exist. There is a theatre, it is
true, but this is available in summer only; for as the crazy old tower
which has been turned into a temple of the muses cannot be heated, it
remains closed till the return of spring brings with the swallows some
theatrical company of third or fourth class to delight the population
during a space of some weeks. Now and then a shabby menagerie or still
shabbier circus finds its way to the place; and such minor attractions
as an educated seal, a fat lady, or a family of intelligent fleas,
offer themselves for the delectation of a distinguished public. I have
known persons who paid as many as six visits to the seal and eight to
the fat lady during this period of vital stagnation. Is not this bare
statement wellnigh pathetic in its dreary suggestiveness? What stronger
proof can there be of the mournful state of an intellect reduced to
seek comfort from seals or fat women?
[Illustration: STREET AT HERMANSTADT.]
Had it not been for the resources of the Bruckenthal library, life
would have hardly been endurable at this _saison morte_; but after all,
even reading has limits, and the question of what next to do was apt to
become puzzling to unfortunate mortals whose tastes did not happen to
lie in the directions of music, love, or cookery.
About the liveliest thing to be done was to go often to the _place_ on
market-days, and watch the endless succession of pictures always to be
found there. It is the sort of market-place which would be a perfect
godsend to any artist in search of models for his studio. No difficulty
here in collecting types of every sort: an amazing display of pretty
dark-eyed women in rich Oriental costumes; a still greater assortment
of shaggy, frowning figures armed with dagger and pistol, representing
every possible gradation of the Italian bandit or the mediæval bravo.
Here a sweet-faced young Roumanian woman, tenderly pressing a naked
sucking-pig to her breast, might sit for a portrait of the Madonna;
there a Saxon matron, prim and puritanical in her stiff old-fashioned
dress, is offering cider for sale in a harsh metallic voice; yonder
a row of old dames, who sit weaving funeral wreaths out of berries
and evergreens, would offer famous models for the Parques, or the
_Tricoteuses_ under the guillotine (it was just about here, by-the-way,
that the scaffold used to stand in olden times). Dishevelled gypsy
women are trying to dispose of coarse wooden spoons, or baskets
made out of shavings, no doubt combining their trade with a little
profitable pocket-picking; and half-naked gypsy children are searching
the mire for scraps of bread or vegetables which no well-bred dog would
condescend to regard.
There is no great choice of delicacies to be found at this Hermanstadt
market-place. Game is but rare, for reasons that I have mentioned
before, and the finer sorts of vegetables are entirely wanting. The
beef, veal, pork, and mutton, which form the whole _répertoire_ of the
butcher’s stall, cannot be compared to English meat, but have the great
advantage of being much cheaper—beef about 4_d._ and mutton 3_d._ per
lb. Eggs and butter are good and plentiful; and as for the milk, let
no one pretend to have tasted milk till he has been in Transylvania;
so thick, so rich, so exquisitely flavored is the milk of those
repulsive-looking and ferocious buffaloes, as good almost as cream
elsewhere, and for the rest of your life putting you out of conceit of
your vaunted Alderney or short-horn breeds, and making everything else
taste like skim-milk by comparison. Some people indeed there are, of
superdelicate digestions, who cannot stand buffaloes’ milk, and are
deterred by the delicate almond flavor usually considered to be its
greatest attraction.
The Transylvanian wines have been described and extolled by other
authors (Liebig, for instance), and deserve to be yet more widely
known. There are, of course, many different sorts and gradations, those
from the Kokel valley being the most highly prized. It is mostly
white, and even the common _vin du pays_ is distinguished by its rich
amber hue, making one think of liquid topazes, if ever topazes could be
melted down and sold at sixpence the gallon.
It is a noticeable and praiseworthy fact that at Hermanstadt there are
no beggars. It is the pride of the Saxons to be absolutely without
proletariat of the kind which seems as necessary an ingredient of other
town populations as rats and mice. Even the Roumanians, though poor,
are not addicted to begging, and, excepting the gypsies, I do not
recollect one single instance of meeting a beggar in or about the town.
Nor can the gypsies be called beggars by profession; no gypsy will
in cold blood set himself to go begging from door to door, though he
instinctively holds out his hand to any one who passes his tent.
Curious old legends occur to us while picking our way about the
streets, and more than one old house is pointed out as being inhabited
by ghosts. Also, Dr. Faust, of famous memory, is said to have long
resided at Hermanstadt, and of him a very old woman who died not long
ago used to relate as follows:
“My grandfather was serving as apprentice at the time when Dr. Faust
lived here, and told me many tales of the wonderful things the great
doctor used to do. Thus one day he played at bowls on the big Ring
(_place_) with large round stones, which as they rolled were changed
into human heads, and became stones again as soon as they stood still.
Another time he assumed the shape of the town parson, and as such
walked up and down the church roof, finally standing on his head at the
top of the steeple, to the terror and amazement of the people below;
then when the real parson made his appearance on the Ring, he jumped
down among the crowd in guise of a large black cat with fiery eyes,
which forthwith disappeared.
“Once, also, on occasion of a large cattle-fair, there was suddenly
heard the sound of military music, and, lo and behold! in place of
the sheep, calves, oxen, and horses, there marched past a regiment of
soldiers with flying colors and resounding music. The people rubbed
their eyes, scarce believing what they saw and heard; then, as still
they stared and gaped, the band-master gave a signal, the music turned
to a hundredfold bleating and bellowing, and the sheep, cattle, and
horses stood there as before.
“At last, as every one knows, Dr. Faust was carried off to hell. Our
Lord would gladly have saved him from this doom, for the doctor had
always a kind heart, and had done much good to the poor; but to save
him was impossible, for he had sold himself by contract to the devil,
who kept strict watch over him, and never let him out of sight.”
Also, as architect Dr. Faust was renowned throughout Transylvania, but
he often played tricks on the people, who grew to distrust him and
decline his services. The numerous Roman roads still to be met with
all over the country are attributed to Dr. Faust, who, it is said,
constructed them with the assistance of the evil one.
The shops at Hermanstadt are such as might be expected from its
geographical position and the sort of people inhabiting it; in fact,
you are agreeably surprised to find here fashions no more ancient than
of two years’ date. Shopkeepers here still retain the antediluvian
habit of eating their dinner as we hear of them doing some hundred
years ago. When twelve o’clock strikes every shop is closed, and you
would knock in vain against any of the barred-up doors; the streets
become suddenly empty, and a stranger arriving at that hour would
be prone to imagine himself to have stepped into a sleeping city.
There are two fairly good German booksellers, several photographers,
and sufficient choice of most other things to satisfy all reasonable
wants. Yet there were people among our acquaintances who, scarcely
more reasonable than children crying for the moon, used to fly into a
passion, and consider themselves ill-used, because they had failed to
procure some fashionable kind of note-paper, or the newest thing out in
studs.
Sometimes, it is true, the narrow circle of Hermanstadt traffic showed
its threadbare surface in the most amusing manner, as, for instance,
when in an evil hour I bethought myself of ordering a winter jacket
trimmed with otter-skin fur. Three skins would suffice for my purpose,
as the tailor had calculated; so, accordingly, I went the round of
all the fur-selling shops in the place. There were four of these who
kept fur among other goods, and by a curious coincidence each of them
confessed to possessing one otter only. Three out of the four could
not show me their skin; they were unable to lay hand on it at that
precise moment, it seemed, but if I would step round later in the day
it should be produced. Returning, therefore, some hours later, I found,
indeed, the promised otter in shop No. 2, but Nos. 3 and 4 were, for
some mysterious reason, unable to keep their word, putting me off again
to the following day; and by a strange accident the otter in shop No. 1
had now disappeared. Then ensued a wild-goose chase—or, I suppose,
I should call it a wild-otter hunt—all round the shops again for
several days, having glimpses of an otter now at one shop, now at
another, but never by any chance in two shops simultaneously, till at
last an energetic summons on my part to confront all four together, led
to the melancholy revelation that there existed but one single otter in
the whole town of Hermanstadt, the poor hard-worked animal alternately
figuring among the goods of four different tradesmen.
In olden times, as we are told, the furrier guild of Hermanstadt was
very illustrious. Its members once specially distinguished themselves
in a fray with the Turks by delivering their Comes, in danger of
being cut down. Since that time the guild enjoyed the distinction of
executing the sword-dance on solemn occasions, particularly at the
installation of each new Comes.
This anecdote occurred to my mind more than once in the course of my
otter-hunt; and I sadly reflected that the Comes would probably be left
to perish to-day, while the sword-dance would be apt to assume somewhat
shabby proportions if executed by the four greasy Jews, with their
solitary otter, which is all that remains of the once famous guild.[73]
Other provincial towns as small as or smaller than Hermanstadt can
always show a certain amount of resident families whose hospitable
houses are thrown open to strangers living there for a time. Here there
is nothing of the sort, the wealthier class being entirely made up
of Saxon burghers, who have no notions of friendly intercourse with
strangers. It is difficult to explain the reason of this ungracious
reserve, for they are neither wanting in intelligence nor in learning.
Their education is unquestionably superior to that of Poles or
Hungarians of the same class of life; but even when well informed
in all branches of science, music, and literature, and on the most
intimate terms with Goethe and Schiller, Mozart and Beethoven, they
can rarely be classed as gentlefolk, from their total lack of outward
polish and utter incomprehension of the commonest rules of social
intercourse. Even persons occupying the very highest positions in
Church and State are constantly giving offence by glaring breaches of
every-day etiquette. This proceeds, no doubt, from ignorance, from want
of natural tact, rather than from any intentional desire to slight; but
the result is unquestionably that strangers, who might certainly derive
much advantage from intercourse with some of these people, are deterred
from the attempt by the lack of encouragement with which they are met.
I should, however, be ungrateful were I not to acknowledge that
among the Transylvanian Saxons I learned to know several, to whose
acquaintance I shall always look back as a pleasant reminiscence. First
and foremost among these I should like to mention our worthy physician
Dr. Pildner von Steinburg, to whom I am indebted for many interesting
details of Saxon folk-lore. Also, I can count among the people I am
glad to have known more than one of the school professors and several
village pastors; and I am truly convinced that I might have extended my
acquaintance with pleasure and profit considerably had circumstances so
permitted. But precisely therein lies the difficulty. The Transylvanian
Saxon burgher is a very hard nut indeed to crack, and in order to get
at the sound kernel within, one has to encounter such a very tough
outside that few people care to attempt it. No doubt much of the
imposed code of etiquette of the civilized world is an empty sham which
lofty spirits should be able to dispense with; but unfortunately we
are so narrow-minded that we cannot entirely divest ourselves of the
prejudices in which we were brought up.
In other parts of Transylvania the country-seats of the Hungarian
nobility offer a pleasant diversion; but here there is nothing of the
sort, all the land about the place being in the hands of Saxon village
communities. Social life at Hermanstadt was therefore reduced to a few
military families, who either might or might not happen to suit one
another; and whoever has experience with this class will know that the
cases of non-suitability are, alas! by far the most frequent.
“Small towns are so much nicer—don’t you think so?” I heard a gushing
creature remark to a gentleman she was endeavoring to captivate. “One
gets to know people so much better than in large towns. Isn’t it true?”
“Very true,” he replied, dryly; “one gets to know and to dislike people
so much more thoroughly than in a large town.”
Of course there were exceptions; but even if you do succeed in finding
one or two friends whose society you care to cultivate, the case is
not really much better—for whose feelings, what affection could
stand the test of meeting their best friend six times a day in every
possible combination of weather, locality, and costume?—in church, on
the promenade, at the confectioner’s, and in every second shop, till
you have long exhausted your whole _répertoire_ of smiles, nods, and
ejaculatory salutations. What galvanized attempts were made at gayety
only served to bring out the social barrenness into stronger relief;
for how was it possible to get up interest in a ball when you knew
exactly beforehand what every woman would wear, what each man would
say, and which of them would dance together?
None of the military families then stationed at Hermanstadt happening
to have grown-up daughters, the absence of girls from most social
reunions gave them much of the effect of a third-class provincial
theatre, where the part of _soubrette_ is performed by a respectable
matron of fifty, and where Juliets and Ophelias are apt to be _passée_
and wrinkled. We hear so much about the corruption of large towns; but
for a good, steady, infallible underminer of morals, commend me to the
life of a dull little country town. People here began to flirt out of
very _ennui_ and desolation of spirit; beardless boys at a loss to
dispose of their soft green hearts, desperately offered them to women
twice their age; couples who had lived happily together in the whirl of
a dissipated capital now drifted asunder under the deadening influence
of this idyllic _tête-à-tête_, each seeking distraction in another
direction—the result of all this being an amount of middle-aged
flirtation exceedingly nauseous to behold. Each evening-party was thus
broken up into duets of these elderly lovers, while by daytime every
man walked with his neighbor’s wife beneath the bare elm-trees which
shaded the only dry walk near the town.
This is, perhaps, what Balzac means by saying that life in the
provinces is far more intense than in a capital—so intense, indeed,
as frequently to be entirely made up of unnatural dislikes and equally
unnatural likings; while that serene indifference which, after all, is
the only really comfortable feeling in life, has here no place.
Cranford-like, we all walked to and from the social meetings, which
took place at alternate houses. The distances were so short as not
to make it worth while getting in and out of a carriage, and people
who loved their horses did not care to drive them on a cold, dark
night over the slippery and uneven pavement of the town. Every party,
therefore, terminated by a Cinderella-like transformation scene—thick
wadded hoods, heavy fur cloaks, and monstrous clogs reducing us one and
all to shapeless bundles, as we walked home in the starlight over the
crisp, crunching snow.
As the winter advances the social gloom deepens, and the liveliest
spirits fall a prey to a sense of mild desperation. I began to realize
the possibility of paying endless visits to the seal or the fat lady,
and only wondered why no one had as yet hit upon the bright expedient
of buying the one or marrying the other, merely by way of bringing some
variety into his existence. Some women changed their cooks, and others
their lovers, merely for change’s sake; and as there was far greater
choice of the latter than of the former article—there being many men,
but of cooks very few—any woman known to be capable of roasting a hen
or making a plain rice-pudding became the centre of a dozen intrigues
woven round her greasy person. A single roe-deer appearing in the
market infallibly gave birth to three or four evening-parties within
the week. You were invited to sup on its saddle at the general’s, to
partake of the right haunch at the colonel’s house, and the left at
the major’s, and might deem yourself exceptionally lucky indeed if
not further compelled to study its anatomy at some other house or
houses—everywhere accompanied by the identical brown sauce, the same
slices of lemon, the self-same dresses, cards, and conversation!
Oh, roebuck, roebuck! why did you not remain in your own native forest?
Much better would it have been for yourself—and for us!
FOOTNOTES:
[73] Not only the furriers, but many other guilds, flourished here in
a remarkable degree, the goldsmiths in particular taking rank along
with Venetian and Genoese artists of the same period. After the middle
of last century, the guilds began to fall into decadence; and finally,
when the old restrictions on trade were abolished in 1860, they began
to disappear. Yet the guild system, in all its essentials, was here
kept up much longer than in any part of Germany; and even long after
it had nominally exploded, many little customs relating to the guilds
were still retained—as, for instance, that of all members sitting
together in church, each corporation having its arms painted up above
the seats. It is only within the last twenty years that this custom
has fallen into disuse, for Mr. Boner, writing in 1865, makes mention
of it as still extant. Also, to this day, in several of the Saxon
towns it is quite usual to see signboards bearing such inscriptions as
“lodging-house for joiners,” tailors, etc.
CHAPTER XLV.
FIRE AND BLOOD—THE HERMANSTADT MURDER.
At risk of dispelling the idea just given of the somnolent nature of
life at Hermanstadt, I am bound to mention that the quiet little town
was once distinguished by a murder as repulsive and cold-blooded as any
of which our most corrupted capitals can boast.
It came to pass, namely, that during the summer of 1883 the town was
several times roused by the fire-alarm, and at short intervals more
than one barn or stable was partially reduced to ashes. Nobody thought
much of this at the time, for, thanks to the energetic conduct of the
volunteer fire-brigade, assistance was promptly rendered, and though
some few Saxon voices were heard to express a belief that their beloved
compatriots the Roumanians were probably at the bottom of this, as of
most other unexplained pieces of mischief, the majority of people were
of opinion that the unusually dry summer, coupled with some chance acts
of negligence, was quite sufficient to account for these conflagrations.
In the month of September, however, the entire garrison of Hermanstadt
being absent at the military manœuvres, these fires began to assume
an epidemic character, and by a strange coincidence they occurred
invariably at night. During the week the troops were away there were no
less than four or five fires.
Vague alarm now began to take possession of the population, and the
uneasy feeling that something was wrong took shape in a dozen fantastic
rumors, the one more startling than the other. The cook coming back
from market brought news of a parcel of combustible materials found
concealed in some barn or hay-loft; the boys returned from school full
of some mysterious threatening letter, said to have been discovered
posted up on a tree of the promenade; and the shopman, while tying up
a parcel, sought to enliven us by dark allusions to sinister-looking
individuals seen dodging about the scene of conflagration, and
apparently regarding their handiwork with fiendish glee.
By daytime these rumors certainly tended to break the monotony of our
solitude, and, proud of our superior common-sense, we, the bereaved
grass-widows of the absent officers, could afford to laugh at the many
ridiculous stories which were scaring our weaker-minded attendants.
Only when darkness had set in, when the children had gone to bed,
and we ourselves prepared to spend a long, lonely evening, did these
various reports begin to assume a somewhat more definite shape in
our brain, and to appear infinitely less absurd than they had done
in broad daylight. We nervously wondered whether again this night we
should be roused from sleep by the horrid sound of the tocsin. Though
it was autumn, not spring, we could not shake ourselves free from an
atmosphere of vague April fools on a large and most unpleasant scale,
and dimly began to realize what it must feel like to be a Russian
emperor, as quaking we counted the days which must elapse before our
natural protectors and the defenders of the town were restored to us.
One night, having, as usual, gone to bed with these sensations, I
was just dropping into an uneasy sleep, when, sure enough, shortly
before midnight the odiously familiar sound of the fire-alarm broke
in upon my dream, and, hastily opening the window, I could see the
sky all red with the fiery glare, at what appeared to be a very short
distance from our house in the direction of the stables where, about
a hundred paces farther up the street, our horses were lodged. My
husband’s chargers were, of course, away with him at the manœuvres, but
the children’s pony and one horse had remained behind; so, afraid of
anything happening to them in case the orderly were asleep or absent,
I resolved to go and assure myself of their safety. In a few minutes I
was dressed, and, accompanied only by my faithful Brick, who was vastly
delighted at the idea of a midnight walk, I left the house.
Before I had gone many steps I saw that my fears for the horses were
groundless, the fire being ever so much farther away than had appeared
from the window. However, having taken the trouble to rise and dress,
I resolved to go on a little, and see whatever there was to be seen.
It was a lovely moonlight night, almost as bright as day, only that
the town had a much more lively aspect than I had ever seen it wear by
daylight, for every one was afoot, and, like myself, hurrying towards
the red glare visible over the high-pointed gables.
It proved impossible to get close to the fire raging in a narrow street
at the beginning of the Untere Stadt, but any one standing at the top
of the steep stone staircase by which this portion of the town is
reached could command a good view of the scene, all the more striking
from being seen from above. After I had stood there for nearly half an
hour watching the tossing flames below me, and choked by occasional
puffs of smoke, I began to feel both chilly and sleepy, and thought
I might as well go back to bed, since it was nearly one o’clock, and
the excitements of this night appeared to be exhausted. I left a large
crowd still assembled round the scene of action, while the streets I
passed on my homeward way were empty and deserted. Deserted, likewise,
was our own street, the Fleischer Gasse, as it lay before me in the
moonlight; but as I approached I became aware of the solitary dark-clad
figure of a slender young man walking on the pavement just in front of
our house. He seemed to me well dressed, and in appearance thoroughly
respectable—an opinion which Brick, however, failed to share, for
he advanced to meet the stranger with a low growl of suppressed but
intense disapproval, which compliment the respectable young man
returned by savagely hitting the dog with the tightly rolled-up
umbrella he carried in his hand.
I should probably not have cast a second look at this stranger had
not something in the needless brutality of his action attracted my
attention, and caused me to scan his features. I thus noticed that he
appeared to be little over twenty years of age, had a small sallow
face, a sprouting mustache, and dark eyes set rather near together.
I rang the house-bell, and my maid came down to let me in, when, to my
surprise, the stranger rudely attempted to force himself in behind me;
but we slammed the door in his face, and then my servant told me that
this same young man had been hanging about here for over half an hour,
and had already once endeavored to effect an entrance behind some other
person.
* * * * *
Two days later the troops came back from the manœuvres, and
everything returned to accustomed order and quiet. The officers were,
however, one and all far too much engrossed in recollection of those
glorious imaginary laurels they had been winning on their bloodless
battle-fields to take interest in anything so commonplace as a real
fire; so the tale of the terrors we had undergone during their absence
fell upon callous ears, and as no more conflagrations ensued to give
color of semblance to our story, the matter soon lapsed into oblivion.
The usual winter torpor settled down upon the place, and the months
wore slowly away towards spring without anything having occurred to
disturb their peaceful current, when late on the evening of the 21st of
February the almost forgotten sound of the tocsin was again heard in
the streets, and simultaneously the news of a fourfold murder spread
like wildfire through the town. The house inhabited by a retired
military surgeon, Dr. Friedenwanger, had been discovered burning, and
some members of the fire-brigade, on forcing an entrance, found his
corpse, along with that of his wife, child, and maidservant, still
reeking with warm blood, and mutilated in the most disgusting manner.
At first everybody was quite at sea as to where to look for the
perpetrators of this crime, but by a curious chance, just while Dr.
Friedenwanger was being buried, two days later, a bloody knife and
some iron crowbars, found concealed in a drain near the cemetery, led
to the identification of the murderers in the persons of Anton von
Kleeberg and Rudolf Marlin,[74] two young men of respectable burgher
families, aged about nineteen and twenty-one. The photographs of these
youthful criminals being soon after exhibited in several shop-windows,
neither I nor my maid had any difficulty in recognizing that of
Kleeberg as the portrait of the mysterious stranger who had tried to
enter our house on the night of the fire.
Many interesting details, too lengthy to be here recorded, came out
at the trial, and a long list of misdeeds was brought home to the
culprits, who, among other things, confessed to having laid every one
of the fires the previous summer, thus diverting public attention while
they proceeded to rob some particular house known to be ill-guarded,
or inhabited by women only. There is therefore every reason to suppose
that Messrs. Kleeberg and Marlin, well aware of the temporary absence
of all masculine element from the household, had selected our house
for a visit of this description; and I am likewise firmly convinced
that my beloved and sagacious dog Brick, with that delicate sense of
perception which so favorably distinguishes the canine from the coarser
human race, had instantaneously detected the guilty intentions of the
very respectable-looking young man we met in the moonlight before our
house that September night. The victim, Dr. Friedenwanger, enjoyed a
bad reputation as a usurer, and his murder had been undertaken for the
sake of stealing the watches and jewellery he kept in pawn; while by
subsequently setting fire to the premises the murderers had hoped to
annihilate all traces of their crime. Some of the horrible disclosures
at the trial brought, nevertheless, moments of intense satisfaction to
more than one female breast, as being so many triumphant vindications
of those terrors so cavalierly treated by the other sex a few months
before. Did they now realize in what danger we had been last autumn,
when they were all away engrossed in their miserable sham-fights? Did
they know that their homes might have been reduced to ashes while they
were complacently toying with blank-cartridges? or that their helpless
progeny could easily have been made mince-meat of while they were
slaying their legions of visionary Russians or Turks?
Such the self-evident arguments with which we were now able to clear
ourselves from the base imputation of cowardice, and surely no woman
worthy her sex forbore to make use of these handy weapons, or missed
such glorious opportunity of turning the tables on her lord and master.
* * * * *
Characteristic of Magyar legislation was the circumstance of the
whole trial being conducted in Hungarian, though this language was
absolutely unknown to the two German prisoners, who were thus debarred
the doubtful privilege of comprehending their own death-sentence when
finally pronounced about a year after their crime. Like enough, though,
its meaning was subsequently made clear to them, for Anton von Kleeberg
and Rudolf Marlin were executed at Hermanstadt on the 16th of June,
1885.[75]
FOOTNOTES:
[74] In justice to Saxon national feeling, I have been specially
requested to mention the fact that neither of these two young German
murderers was of Saxon extraction.
[75] As a curious instance of the precariousness of human life, I may
here make mention of Colonel P——, a distinguished countryman of ours,
then occupying a diplomatic post at Vienna. This gentleman, who had
an unwholesome liking for witnessing executions, having accidentally
learned that Hermanstadt boasted two candidates for the gallows, had
requested a Transylvanian acquaintance to send him timely notice of
their hanging, in order that he might assist at the spectacle. This
morbid desire was, however, not destined to be satisfied, as long
before the slow march of justice had culminated in a death-warrant,
Colonel P—— himself had been carried off by the far more rapid
Egyptian fever.
CHAPTER XLVI.
THE KLAUSENBURG CARNIVAL.
Readers of the foregoing pages will have had occasion to remark that,
except when diversified by fire or bloodshed, life at Hermanstadt was
_not_ a lively one; therefore an invitation which I received during my
second winter in Transylvania to spend some weeks at Klausenburg during
the carnival season was very welcome. It was a decided relief to get
away from the vulgar monotony of those antiquated flirtations which in
Hermanstadt did duty for society, and to be reminded of things one was
in danger of forgetting—of fresh young faces, light pretty dresses,
and real dancing.
Nor was I disappointed in what I saw during my fortnight’s stay at
Klausenburg: pretty dresses in plenty; prettier faces, for the girls
of the place are justly celebrated for their good looks; and as for
dancing—why, I do not think I ever knew before what it was to see
real, heartfelt, impassioned, indefatigable dancing. An account of the
three last carnival days, as I spent them at Klausenburg, will convey
some notion of what is there understood by the word dancing.
We had arrived late on the evening of the Saturday preceding
Ash-Wednesday, therefore only the gentlemen of the party, unwilling to
lose a single instant of their precious holiday-time, rushed off to a
large public ball or _redoute_.
The following evening—Carnival Sunday—assembled the whole society
in the _salons_ of the military commander, Baron V——, whose guest I
was at the time. There were from thirty to thirty-six dancing couples,
and the first thing to strike a stranger on entering the room was,
that not a single plain face was to be seen among them. Almost all the
young girls were pretty, some of them remarkably so; dark beauties
mostly, with a wealth of black plaits, glorious eyes, and creamy
complexions, and with the small hand and high-curved instep which
characterize Hungarian ladies. The faintest suspicion of a dark shade
on the upper lip was not without charm in some cases; and when viewed
against a strong light, many of the well-cut profiles had a soft, downy
appearance, which decidedly enhanced their _piquante_ effect. Side by
side with these, however, were one or two faces fair enough to have
graced any English ball-room.
What pleased me here to see was, that the married women, as a matter
of course, leave the dancing-field to the young girls, and do not
attempt, by display of an outrageous luxury in dress, to concentrate
attention on themselves: the particular type of exquisite _élégante_
never missing from a French or Polish _salon_ has no place here. This
is surely as it should be and as nature intended; pleasure, dancing,
flirtation are for the young and the unmarried, and those who have had
their turn should be content to stand aside and look on henceforth;
but when, as is too often the case, it comes to be a trial of strength
between matrons and maidens as to which shall capture the best partners
and carry off the greatest number of trophies, the result can only be
an unnatural and distorted state of society.
What Edinburgh society was to London some fifty years ago, so does
Klausenburg stand to-day with regard to Pesth. As nearly all the
people here are connected by ties of blood as well as of friendship,
something of the privacy of a family circle marks their intercourse;
and while lacking none of the refining touches of modern civilization,
a breath of patriarchal _sans gêne_ pervades the atmosphere.
The weak side of Klausenburg society at present is a minority of
gentlemen, as of late years many members of distinguished families
have got to prefer the wider range of excitement offered by a season
at Buda-Pesth to the more restricted circle of a purely Transylvanian
society which satisfied their fathers and grandfathers. On this
occasion, however, there was no lack of dancers, for the young hussars
who had come with us from Hermanstadt efficiently filled up the social
gaps, restoring the balance of sex in the most satisfactory manner.
What interested me most in the ball-room was to watch the expression of
the Tzigane musicians crowded together in a door-way; their black eyes
rolling restlessly from side to side, nothing escapes their notice, and
they are evidently far better informed of every flirtation, mistake,
coolness, or quarrel in the wind, than the most vigilant chaperon.
Of course here, as at every Hungarian ball, the principal feature was
the csardas; and it was curious to see how, at the very first notes of
this dance, the young people all precipitated themselves to the end of
the room where the musicians were placed, jostling one another in their
anxiety each to get nearest to the music. To an uninitiated stranger it
looks most peculiar to see this knot of dancers all pressed together
like herrings in a barrel in one small corner, while fully two-thirds
of a spacious ball-room are standing empty; but the Hungarians declare
that the Tziganes only play the csardas with spirit when they see the
dancers at close quarters, treading on their very toes and brushing up
against the violins. Sometimes the band-master, unable to control his
excitement, breaks loose from the niche or door-way assigned to the
band, and, advancing into the room, becomes himself the centre of the
whirling knot of dancers.
Whenever the csardas comes to an end there is a violent clapping of
hands to make the music resume. Hungarians are absolutely insatiable in
this respect, and, however long the dance has lasted, there will always
be eager cries for more and more and more.
The cotillon, which was kept up till seven in the morning, was
much prettier than any I remember to have seen danced before, for
Hungarians are as superior to Germans or Englishwomen in point of grace
as they are to Poles in the matter of animation—and they executed all
the usual figures demanding the introduction of a cushion, a mirror,
a fan, India-rubber balls, etc., in a manner equally removed from
boisterous romping as from languid affectation.
The following evening (Monday) the society reassembled at the pleasant
and hospitable house of Mme. de Z——, whose dark-eyed daughters take
a foremost rank among Transylvanian beauties. In order to have some
strength remaining for what was still to come, dancing was on this
occasion reduced to the modest allowance of six hours, the gypsies
being compulsorily sent away soon after three o’clock, in order to
force the young people to take some rest.
On Tuesday we all met again at the Casino for the bachelor’s ball,
given by the gentlemen of the place, and where, with the exception of
supper and occasional snatches of refreshment, dancing was kept up
uninterruptedly till near eight o’clock next morning. At the conclusion
of the cotillon each lady received from her partner a pretty white and
silver fan, on which her initials were engraved—a souvenir which I
have much pleasure in preserving, in remembrance of the happy days I
passed at Klausenburg.
An old traditional dance, which they here call _Écossaise_ (but which
in reality is simply a _pot-pourri_ of several English country-dances),
is danced at Klausenburg after midnight on Shrove-Tuesday, or rather
Ash-Wednesday morning.[76] This dance having been somewhat neglected of
late years, the young people blundered sorely over some of the figures,
and the dance would have lapsed into hopeless chaos had not the former
generation gallantly thrown themselves into the breach. Respectable
fathers of grown-up daughters, and white-haired grandmothers, now
started to their feet, instinctively roused to action by vivid
recollections of their own youth; and such is the power of memory that
soon they were footing it with the nimblest dancers, going through each
figure with unerring precision, and executing the complicated steps
with an accuracy and grace which did honor to the dancing-masters of
half a century ago.
One of these figures was the old one of cat and mouse, in which the
girl, protected by a ring of dancers, tries to escape the pursuit of
her partner, who seeks to break through the line of defenders—the
moment when the cat seizes its prey being always marked by the
band-master causing his violin to give a piteous squeak, imitating to
perfection the agonized death-shriek of a captured mouse.
It is _de rigueur_ that the last dance on Ash-Wednesday morning should
be executed by daylight. This was about seven o’clock, when, the lights
being extinguished and the shutters flung open, the gypsies threw all
their remaining energies into a last furious, breathless galop—a
weirder, wilder scene than I ever witnessed in a ball-room, to look
at this frenziedly whirling mass of figures, but dimly to be descried
in the scarcely breaking dawn—gray and misty-looking as ghosts risen
from the grave to celebrate their nightly revels, and who, warned by
the cock’s crow of approaching daybreak, are treading their last mazes
with a fast and furious glee; while the wild strains of the Tzigane
band, rendered yet more fantastic by the addition of a monstrous drum
(expressly introduced for the purpose of adding to the turmoil), might
well have been borrowed from an infernal orchestra.
When the galop came to an end at last, from sheer want of breath on
the part of both players and dancers, daylight was streaming into the
room, disclosing a crowd of torn dresses, crushed flowers, and flushed
and haggard faces, worn with the dissipation of the previous hours—a
characteristic sight, but not a beautiful one by any means. Each one
now rushed to the tea-room to receive the cups of fresh steaming _kraut
suppe_, served here at the conclusion of every ball. It is made of a
species of pickled cabbage, and has a sharp acid flavor, most grateful
to a jaded palate, and supposed to be supreme in restoring equilibrium
to overtaxed digestions.
While the ladies were resting till their carriages were announced,
the gentlemen began to light their cigars, and the Tziganes, having
recovered strength, resumed their bows; but what they now played was no
longer dance music, but wild, fitful strains and melancholy national
airs, addressed now to one, now to another of the listeners grouped
about.
In other Continental towns dancing is brought to an end on
Ash-Wednesday morning, and most people would suppose that having danced
for three nights running, even the youngest of the young would be
glad to take some rest at last. Not so at Klausenburg: nobody is ever
tired here or has need of rest, as far as I can make out; and it is a
special feature of the place that precisely Ash-Wednesday should be the
day of all others when gayety runs the wildest. The older generation,
indeed, lament that dancing is no longer what it used to be; for in
their time the Shrove-Tuesday party used never to break up till the
Thursday morning, dancing being kept up the whole Wednesday and the
following night, people merely retiring in batches for an hour or so at
a time to repair the damages to their toilets.
Such desperate dissipation has now been modified, in so far as the
party, separating towards 8 or 9 A.M., only meet again at 6 P.M.,
first to dine and then to dance. I could not get any one to explain to
me the reason of this Ash-Wednesday dissipation, which I have never
come across in any other place. Most of those I asked could assign no
reasons at all, except that it had always been the custom there as
long as any one could remember; but one version I heard was that in
1848 the Austrian Government took into its head to forbid dancing in
Lent. “So, naturally, after that we had to make a point of dancing
just on Ash-Wednesday to show our independence,” said my informant.
The delicate flavor of forbidden fruit, which, no doubt, adds so much
to the sweetness of these Ash-Wednesday parties, is kept up by the
Klausenburg clergy, who, after having for years vainly attempted to put
a stop to this regularly recurring Lenten profanation, now contents
itself with a nominal protest each year against the revellers. Thus,
as often as the day comes round, a black-robed figure, sent hither
to preach sackcloth and ashes, makes his appearance on the ball-room
premises; but, more harmless than he looks, his bark is worse than his
bite, and he interferes with no one’s enjoyment. He does not indite
maledictions in letters of fire on the wall; neither does he act the
part of Banquo’s ghost at the banquet. Probably he has in former years
too often acted this part in vain, so finds it wiser now to compromise
the matter by accepting a modest sum as alms for his church, and
abandoning the sinners to their own devices.
In place of the limp and crushed tulles and tarlatans of the previous
night, the young girls had now appeared mostly in pretty muslin and
fresh summer toilets adorned with natural flowers. Some of them looked
rather pale, as well they might after their previous efforts; but at
the first notes of the csardas every trace of fatigue was gone as if by
magic, and not for worlds would any one of them have consented to sit
through a single dance. “Of course I am tired,” said a young girl to
me, very seriously, “but you see it is quite impossible to sit still
when you hear the csardas playing; even if you are dying you must get
up and dance.”
For my part, I confess that the mere effort of looking on this fourth
night was positive exhaustion. Long after midnight they were still
dancing away like creatures possessed—dancing as though they never
meant to stop, and as though their very souls’ salvation depended on
not standing still for a single moment. My brain began to reel, and
feeling that worn-out Nature could do no more, I made the best of
my way to carriage and bed, pursued by nightmares of a never-ending
csardas.
After Ash-Wednesday Klausenburg society settled down to a somewhat
calmer routine of amusement, consisting in skating, theatre-going,
visiting, and parties.
There is a pleasing elasticity about Klausenburg visiting arrangements,
people there restricting themselves to no particular hour, and no
precise costume for going to see their acquaintances; so that ladies
bound for the theatre or a party may often be seen paying two or three
visits _en route_, not at all embarrassed by such trifles as short
sleeves or flowers in the hair.
About two parties a day seemed to be the usual allowance here in Lent.
Some of these reunions, beginning at five o’clock, were accompanied by
cold coffee, ham sausages, and cakes; others, commencing at nine in the
evening, were connected with tea and supper, so that frequently the
self-same party might be said to begin in one house and terminate in
another.
The gypsies were everywhere and anywhere to be seen, for most of these
social gatherings end in dancing, and without the Tzigane no pleasure
is considered complete. Pougracz, the present director of the Tzigane
band at Klausenburg, has, so to say, grown up in society, his father
having filled the post before him, and he himself, a man well on in
middle-age—with such a delightfully shrewd, good-natured, rascally
old face—has played for another generation of dancers, fathers and
mothers of the young people who now fill the ball-room. There are other
Tzigane bands as good, but his is the only one “in society,” and it
is most amusing to note the half-impudent familiarity of his manner
towards both gentlemen and ladies who have grown up to the sound of
his fiddle. It is positive agony to him to witness bad dancing, and he
was wont to complain most bitterly of one gentleman to whom nature had
denied an ear for music (a rare defect in any Hungarian). “None of you
young people dance particularly well nowadays,” he remarked, with frank
criticism, “but among you there is one who makes me positively ill to
look at. If I were not to play _at_ him and send my violin into his
feet, he would never be able to get round at all.”
On another occasion, when the figures of the _Écossaise_ threatened to
melt away into hopeless confusion, Pougracz angrily turned round and
apostrophized a married lady who was sitting near me. “How can you sit
there and see them making such a mess of it all?” he said. “It is not
so long ago that you were dancing yourself as to have forgotten all
about it, so go and make order among them!”
The pretty old-fashioned custom of serenades being still here en
_vogue_, sometimes on a dark winter’s night, between two and three
o’clock, one may hear the Tzigane band strike up under the window of
some fêted beauty, playing her favorite air or _nota_. The serenade
may either have been arranged by a special admirer, or merely by a
good friend of the family. Often, too, several young men will arrange
to bring serenades to all the young ladies of their acquaintance,
going from one house to another. The lady thus serenaded does not show
herself at the window, but if the attention be agreeable to her, she
places a lighted candle in the casement in token that the serenade is
accepted.
Such acceptance is, however, by no means compromising, no serious
construction being necessarily put upon what may simply be intended as
a friendly attention.
There is something decidedly refreshing about such frank ovations
nowadays, when the lords of creation have become so extremely chary
of their precious attentions towards the fair sex. To offer a nosegay
to a girl is in some places so fraught with ominous meaning as to be
considered equivalent to a marriage proposal, and exquisite young
dandies are apt to feel themselves seriously compromised by the gift of
a single rose-bud.
Only, the Klausenburg roses have no such treacherous thorns, it seems;
and methinks society must surely be healthy in a place where any
gentleman may, without laying himself open to the charge of lunacy,
wake up a whole street at 3 A.M. by instigating a musical row beneath
the window of a young lady acquaintance.
FOOTNOTES:
[76] I failed to obtain any reliable information as to when and how
this dance had been here imported, but it seems to have been in use for
a good many generations past.
CHAPTER XLVII.
JOURNEY FROM HERMANSTADT TO KRONSTADT.
The railway from Hermanstadt to Kronstadt takes us mostly through a
rich undulating country, for, leaving the mountains always farther
behind us, we near them again only as we approach the end of our
journey.
Salzburg, or Vizakna as it is named in Hungarian, renowned for its
salt-mines, is the first station on the line on leaving Hermanstadt—a
melancholy, barren-looking place, seemingly engendered by Nature in
one of her most stagnant moods. A wearisome stretch of sandy hillocks,
their outlines broken here and there by unsightly cracks and fissures,
is all that meets the eye; not a tree or bush to relieve the monotony
of the short stunted grass, where starved-looking daisies, and
spiritless, emaciated chamomiles, are all the flowers to be seen. No
wonder the great white cattle look moody and dissatisfied, as from the
sandy cliff above they sullenly gaze down at their own reflections in
the dull green waters of the Tököli Bath. This bath, highly beneficial
in cases of acute rheumatism, is nothing more than an old salt-mine
dating back to the time of the Romans, and which, through some accident
or convulsion of nature, has been flooded. The brine it contains is
so strong as to bear up the heaviest bodies and render sinking an
impossibility, so that, though of tremendous depth, persons absolutely
ignorant of swimming can walk about in it in perfect safety, with head
and shoulders well above the surface.
There are various other baths in the place, all somewhat weaker than
the Tököli and other salt-mines, which, only worked in winter, yearly
furnish some eighty thousand hundred-weight of salt. But the weirdest
and gloomiest spot about Salzburg is an old ruined mine, deserted since
1817, and where over three hundred Honved soldiers found their grave in
1849. They fell in battle against the revolutionary Wallachians, and,
as the simplest mode of burial, their bodies were thrown down the old
shaft, which is over six hundred feet deep and filled with water to
about a quarter of its depth.
A magnificent echo can be obtained by firing a gun or pistol down
the shaft; but it is dangerous to approach the edge, because of
earth-slips, for which reason the place is enclosed by a wire railing.
However, neither this danger nor the fear of the three hundred ghosts
who may well be supposed to haunt the spot is sufficient to restrain
the Roumanians from prowling about the place. On fine moonlight
nights—as I was told by the revenue officials, whose guard-house
is close by—they will let themselves down by ropes to chip off
whole sackfuls of salt. Sometimes they are caught in the act by some
wide-awake official, who then threatens to cut the rope and send the
culprits to rejoin the Honveds below, till the unfortunate wretches are
forced to sue for their lives in deadliest fear.
The prettiest of the Saxon towns we passed on our way to Kronstadt is
Schässburg, situated on the banks of the river. Towers and ramparts
peep out tantalizingly from luxurious vegetation, making us long to get
out and explore the place; particularly inviting is a steep flight of
steps leading to an old church at the top of a hill.
It is here that Hungary’s greatest poet, Petöfi, perished in the battle
of Schässburg on the 31st of July, 1849, when the revolted Hungarians,
led by the Polish general Bem, were crushed by the superior numbers of
the Russian troops come to Austria’s assistance.
Petöfi’s body was never found, nor had any one seen him fall, and for
many years periodical reports got afloat in Hungary that the great poet
was not dead, but pining away his life in the mines of Siberia. There
seems, however, to be no valid reason for believing this tale, and more
likely his was one of the many mutilated and unrecognizable corpses
which strewed the valley of Schässburg on that disastrous day.
[Illustration: SCHÄSSBURG.
(Reprinted from publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian Society.)]
To the west of the town we catch sight of a solitary turret perched on
the overhanging cliff above the river; it is said to mark the place
where a Turkish pacha, besieging the town with his army, was slain by
a shot fired from the goldsmiths’ tower. The pacha was buried here
sitting on his elephant, and this tower raised above them, while that
other tower from whence the shot was fired, held ever since in high
honor, was decked out with a golden ceiling. This latter has now fallen
into ruin, and the inscription on the pacha’s resting-place has become
almost illegible, but the legend still runs in the people’s mouths, and
is told in verse as follows:
“By Schässburg, on the mountain
A turret gray doth stand,
And from the heights it gazes
Down on the Kokel land.
And ne’er a passing wand’rer
This turret who doth see,
But pauses to inquire here
What may its meaning be.
“It is a proud remembrance
Of doughty deeds and bold.
Still faithfully the people
Relate this legend old:
In by-gone days of trouble
Went forth, with sword and brand,
A mighty Turkish pacha,
To devastate the land.
“Thus also would he conquer
This ancient Saxon town;
But here each man was ready
To die for its renown.
And there upon the mountain
The pacha took his stand,
An elephant bestriding,
And cimeter in hand.
“The mighty Ali Pacha,
He swears with curses wild,
That by his beard will he destroy
The Saxon, chick and child.
Then struck the haughty Moslem
Full in the breast a ball;
With curses yet upon the lip,
A death-prey he must fall.
“The leaden ball came flying,
Full thousand paces two,
From out a fortress turret,
With deadly aim and true.
A sturdy goldsmith was it
Who fired this famous shot;
The Turkish horde, which seeing,
Their courage all forgot.
“And panic-struck escaping,
Their pacha left to die,
The elephant still bestriding,
With fixed and glassy eye.
Then sallied forth the Saxons
As thus the Moslems fled,
And gazed on the dead pacha
With joy and yet with dread.
“They built up Ali Pacha
Within that turret gray,
From head to foot still armed
In battle-field array;
His elephant beside him
Was buried here as well,[77]
And outside an inscription
Their history doth tell.
“By times a plaintive wailing
May here be heard at night;
Or chance you to see flitting
A phantom figure white,
The pacha ’tis, who cannot
Find lasting rest, they say,
Because ’mid heavy curses
His spirit passed away.”
Another point of interest we see from the railway is the ruined castle
of Marienburg, crowning a bare hill to our right hand, about half an
hour before reaching Kronstadt, built by the knights of the Teutonic
order during their occupation of the Burzenland in the early part of
the thirteenth century.
These knights, whose order unites some of the conditions of both
Templars and Maltese knights, had been founded in Palestine about
the year 1190, for the double purpose of tending wounded crusaders,
and, like these, combating the enemies of the Holy Sepulchre. Only
Germans of noble birth were admitted as members, under condition of
the customary vows of chastity and obedience. They had, however, not
been long in existence when their position in Palestine began to grow
insecure; and casting about their eyes in search of some more tenable
position, they were met half-way by the King of Hungary, Andreas II.,
who, on his side, was in want of some powerful alliance to secure the
eastern provinces of Transylvania against the repeated invasions of the
Kumanes.
The negotiations between the monarch and the Teutonic order seem to
have lasted several years, being finally brought to a conclusion
in 1211 in a treaty signed by the King in the presence of eighteen
distinguished witnesses. This treaty distinctly sets forth that the
part of the country called the Burzenland, and whose boundaries are
exactly defined, is bequeathed as an irrevocable gift to the knights of
the Teutonic order by the King, who, hoping thereby to obtain pardon
of his sins and secure eternal salvation for himself and his ancestors
likewise, intrusts to them the defence of the eastern frontier of his
kingdom against barbaric invasions. In this document, which is lengthy
and involved, are likewise set forth all the rights, obligations,
privileges, and restrictions of the said knights. They were exempted
from all the usual taxes and tributes to the King, who, however, did
not resign his claim to the sovereignty of the land, reserving to
himself on all occasions the right of ultimate decision in cases of
contested justice. Whatever gold or silver was discovered in the soil
was to belong, half to the King, half to the order. Though granting
the utmost freedom in all matters relating to trade and commerce,
the Hungarian monarch retained the sole right of coinage; and while
permitting the knights to erect the wooden fortresses and citadels
which were amply sufficient to resist attacks from the barbarians,
it was distinctly stipulated that they were not to build castles or
fortifications of stone.
Barring these few restrictions, the land was to be absolutely their
own; and had the knights been wise enough to keep to the compact,
no doubt the Teutonic order might yet be flourishing to-day in
Transylvania, instead of having been ignominiously expelled after
scarce a dozen years’ residence.
At first the new arrangement seems to have been most beneficial to
the country, for we hear of growing prosperity and of flourishing
agriculture and commerce; and many German villages which acknowledged
the Teutonic knights as their feudal masters were founded at that time.
But the good understanding between King Andreas and the knights was of
short duration, for before ten years had elapsed we already read of
dissensions cropping up; the knights are accused of extending their
boundaries beyond the prescribed limits, of issuing an independent
coinage, of building stone castles, and of bribing away German
colonists to settle on their own land to the detriment of other
provinces—all of which things were distinctly interdicted by the
terms of agreement. Many stories, too, are told of their cruel tyranny
towards unfortunate serfs—such, for instance, as compelling several
hundreds of them to pass whole nights in the marshes round Marienburg,
each man armed with a long switch wherewith to flog the troublesome
frogs, whose croaking disturbed the slumbers of the holy men up in the
castle.
King Andreas, who was of a weak, vacillating disposition, was easily
persuaded by counsellors antagonistic to the order to revoke the deed
of gift, which proclamation was issued in 1221, accompanied by an order
to the knights to evacuate the territory and the strongholds they had
built. Before, however, this had been effected, the Pope, Honorius
III., himself a special protector of the order, intervened, effecting
a reconciliation, the result of which was a fresh treaty confirming
the previous donation. This renewed deed of gift not only ratified
all the terms of the previous document, but actually increased the
privileges enjoyed by the knights, granting them among other things the
much-coveted right of building stone castles.
In spite, however, of some notable victories over the Kumanes in 1224,
and the brilliant prospects thereby opened of enlarging their domains,
the Teutonic knights were not destined to shine much longer in the land
they had thus successfully civilized and made arable. No doubt they
hastened their own downfall by the signal short-sightedness of their
grand-master, Hermann von Salza, who committed the error of taking
upon himself to offer the supremacy of the Burzenland to the Holy See,
begging the Pope to enroll this province among the Papal States. Of
course the knights had no right thus to dispose of a domain which they
only held as subjects of the Hungarian Crown; and though the Pope, as
was to be expected, gladly accepted the handsome donation, the King as
naturally resented a proceeding which could only be regarded as the
blackest high-treason. This time the breach was such as could no longer
be bridged over by any attempt at reconciliation. The Teutonic knights
had made themselves too many enemies, and especially the King’s eldest
son (afterwards Bela IV.) was strenuous in urging his father to eject
the order from the land. This sentence was carried out, not without
much trouble and bloodshed; for the knights were little disposed to
disgorge this valuable possession. Even when at last compelled to
turn their backs on Transylvania, which appears to have been about
1225, it was long before they relinquished the hope of ultimately
regaining their lost paradise. But all efforts in this direction proved
unavailing; for it was decreed that the German knights were to behold
the Burzenland no more.
[Illustration: CASTLE OF TÖRZBURG.]
I have not been able to obtain any picture of Marienburg, and to the
best of my knowledge none such has ever been executed, which is all
the more to be lamented, as this interesting ruin, like so many others
in the country, bids fair to vanish ere long without leaving any trace
behind. In default, therefore, of Marienburg, I offer a picture of the
Castle of Törzburg, another of those seven fortresses raised by the
Teutonic knights during their brief but brilliant reign. This castle,
lying south of Kronstadt, at the entrance of the similarly named pass,
has, however, lost much of its former romantic appearance. Since 1878,
when the Hungarian Government thought necessary to guard the frontier
against Roumania, it was converted into a soldiers’ barracks; and
though no longer used for that purpose, no steps have yet been taken
to restore the edifice to its original form by rebuilding the slender
turrets of which it had been divested.
* * * * *
Shortly before reaching Kronstadt our train came to an unexpected
stand-still in the midst of a wide-stretching plain. Some flocks
were grazing on either side of the rails, but there was no station
or guard-house in sight to explain this unaccountable stoppage, and
there seemed to be nothing to suggest an accident, till, stretching
our heads out of the window, we saw a group of people bending over a
formless mass which lay on the rails some hundred yards to our rear.
One of the passengers who happened to be a doctor was hastily summoned
to the spot, but he returned shaking his head, for his science could
do nothing here. A shepherd lad aged twelve or thirteen had been lying
across the rails seemingly asleep in the sun. He lay so flat that the
engine-driver had failed to perceive him till the last moment, and
then only had seen how a white figure had jumped up in front of the
engine, but instantaneously caught by a blow from the engine-fliers,
was stricken down to rise no more.
Had the boy been asleep or intoxicated, or whether it were an accident
or a suicide, none could tell. We were thankful to be far enough from
the scene to be spared the sight of the horrible details—how horrible
could be guessed from the expression of those who were now slowly
returning to resume their places in the train.
As we moved away I could only discern how two men were lifting the body
from the rails, and how a woman with uplifted arms was running across a
field towards them.
FOOTNOTES:
[77] Why the elephant was also buried is not very apparent, as it is
hardly to be supposed that it was killed by the same shot which slew
the pacha.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
KRONSTADT.
It needed the sight of beautiful Kronstadt to efface the impression
of this ghastly picture—beautiful, indeed, as it clings to the steep
mountain-side, looking as though the picturesque houses and turrets had
been carved out of the rocks which tower above them.
At Hermanstadt the view of the mountain-chain is grander and more
sublime, but Kronstadt has the advantage of being in itself part and
portion of the mountain scenery, the fashionable promenade winding in
serpentine curves up the Kapellen Berg to the back of the town, being
but the beginning of an ascent which, if pursued, will lead us to a
height of wellnigh seven thousand feet.
Without, however, going any such desperate distance, merely from the
top of the Kapellen Berg or Zinne (thirteen hundred feet above the
town), to be reached without perceptible effort, we can enjoy one of
the finest views to be seen throughout Transylvania, offering as it
does a singularly harmonious blending of wild, uncultured nature and
rich pastoral scenery.
Not far below the highest point of the Kapellen Berg is a small cave
which goes by the name of the Nonnenloch (nun’s hole). A hermit is said
to have lived here for many years; but it is more celebrated as having
been the haunt of a monstrous serpent, which hence used to pounce down
upon inadvertent wanderers. On one occasion it is said to have carried
off and devoured a student who was reading near the town-wall; but
tormented by thirst after this plentiful repast, the monster drank
water till it burst. The portrait of this gigantic snake may still be
seen painted on the old town-wall near the barracks.
There is another legend relating to the Kronstadt Kapellen Berg, which,
though somewhat lengthy, is too graceful to be refused a place here:
“Many, many years ago there lived at the Kronstadt gymnasium a student
who was uncommon wise and God-fearing, and who could preach so well
that it often happened that he was delegated by any one of the town
clergymen, when indisposed with a cold or toothache, to preach in his
stead. And this the student did right willingly; for he received for
each sermon half a Hungarian florin, which was good pay for those
times. But still more for the honor and glory did he like to do it; and
the most praiseworthy thing about it was, that he did not copy out his
sermons from a book, but that he composed them unaided out of his own
mind and learned them by rote; and as, moreover, he had a fine manner
of delivery, it was a pleasure to listen to him. Whenever he had to
learn a sermon by heart, it was his custom to seek out solitary places
where he might be undisturbed, but his favorite haunt used to be the
steep, wooded hill behind the town.
“Thus one day, having to learn a sermon to be preached on the morrow
at the Johannis Kirche (the present Catholic Franciscan church), our
student as usual repaired to his favorite haunt. He had just finished
his self-allotted task, and was preparing to go home, when he espied a
beautiful bird, which, hopping about on an overhanging branch, seemed
to be intently gazing at him. The student approached the bird, but when
he had reached it so close as almost to touch it with his hand, it flew
off some paces farther up the hill, alighting on another branch and
gazing on him as before. Again he followed the bird, which, repeating
its former manœuvre, led him on by degrees almost to the top of the
hill to the spot now known as the Nonnenloch. Here the bird disappeared
into a thicket, still followed by the student, who, bending aside the
branches, saw a broad cleft in the rock, wide enough to admit a man’s
body. He could still descry the bird, which, flying in through the
opening, was soon lost to sight in the cavernous depths within.
“Wonderingly he entered the cave and penetrated a considerable way
into the mountain, not understanding, however, how it was that, though
so far removed from the light of day, he was yet perfectly able to
distinguish his surroundings as in a sort of twilight. Suddenly at the
end of the cave, which had now contracted to a narrow passage, he was
confronted by the figure of a dwarf with pale face and long gray beard,
who cried in a deep, angry voice, ‘Who art thou? and what seekest thou
here?’
“The student felt sorely afraid, but took heart, seeing that his
conscience was clear and he had done no harm; so he related to the
dwarf how, having come hither to learn his sermon, which by the help
of God he hoped to preach next day in the Johannis Kirche, he had been
led by the bird ever up the hill and deeper into the forest, till he
reached this cave.
“At the very first word the manikin’s face grew mild and benevolent.
‘So thou art he?’ he said, in a gentle voice, when the other had
finished speaking. ‘Often have I listened to thee reciting thy sermons
down in the forest, and have been rejoiced and edified by the beautiful
words. I am the _berg-geist_ (mountain-spirit), and the bird which
enticed thee hither is in my service, and did so by my order, for I
wished to know thee. Thou shalt not repent having come hither, for I
will show thee what no mortal eye has seen.’
“At a sign from the dwarf an invisible door at the extremity of the
cave flew open, and following his guide, the student gazed about him
in speechless wonder. He now found himself in a vault far wider and
loftier than the church nave, and though there were here neither
windows nor torches, the whole building was pervaded by a rosy,
transparent twilight. What a gorgeous and splendid sight now met his
eyes! The arches on which the vault rested were of massive silver,
and of silver, too, the pillars which supported them. The ribs of
the arches were of gold, as likewise the ornaments on the columns.
Moreover, these columns were encircled by flower-garlands composed of
many-colored precious stones—diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires,
and topazes; while hundreds more of the same stones lay strewn about on
the ground. How all this glittered and sparkled before the eyes of the
wondering student!
“‘See,’ spoke the dwarf, ‘this is a workshop, and there are many more
such in the heart of the mountains, where, out of gold, silver, and
precious stones, we spirits fashion the flowers that deck the surface
of the earth. You foolish mortals no doubt believe the flowers to
sprout of themselves in spring to enamel meadow and forest in blue,
red, and yellow tints. But learn that this is the work of us, the
mountain-spirits, who by order of the Creator wander over the surface
of the earth, unseen by men, sowing broadcast the mountain treasures
which glitter in the sunshine in manifold shapes and colors. And in
autumn, when the flowers wither, we go forth again to gather in the
gems we have strewn, and hide them in rocky strongholds till spring
comes round again. Thus do we strive to rejoice the hearts of men
by letting their eyes feast on the works of the Creator. But,’ he
continued, laughing maliciously, ‘we feel but contempt and derision
for such foolish mortals as, having become possessed of some stray
grains of our flower-seed, which they have perchance discovered in a
torrent-bed or rocky fissure, set great store on their possession,
decking themselves out with it as though each simple field-flower were
not more beautiful by far than the gem from which it has sprung.’
“The words of the mountain-spirit well pleased the student, and he
thought of the text of the sermon he was about to preach on the morrow,
treating of the lilies of the field, which neither toil nor spin, and
are yet more gorgeous than Solomon in all his glory. But at the same
time there went through his brain other thoughts of less lofty nature.
To a poor devil such as he a pocketful of these glittering stones would
be a most acceptable present—sufficient probably to relieve him of
all material anxiety, and enable him to go to Germany to finish his
studies. Vainly he hoped that the gray-bearded dwarf might tender some
such gift, but to his discomfiture the berg-geist betrayed no such
intention.
“Something more than an hour the student spent in contemplation of the
riches of the cavern; then he bethought himself of home, and begged the
dwarf to let him out.
“‘The little bird,’ spoke the spirit, ‘which brought thee hither will
conduct thee back through the cleft.’ But as they neared the entrance
of the vault the student made a feint of stumbling, and as he did
so, surreptitiously caught up a handful of gems, which he secreted
in the pocket of his dolman. The old dwarf said nothing, but smiled
sarcastically, and the student deemed his manœuvre to have passed
unnoticed.
“Suddenly the dwarf had disappeared, and the student found himself
again in the cleft of rock where an hour previously the bird had lured
him; and here, too, the bird itself was waiting for him, and, hopping
cheerfully in front, soon conducted him back to the light of day,
whereupon it disappeared into the bushes.
“Our student felt heartily thankful to be delivered from the somewhat
uncanny surroundings, and to see the blue sky and the golden sunshine
once more. But, strange to say, as he pursued his way homeward down the
hill to regain the town by the upper gate, several things struck him as
unknown and unfamiliar. The people he met were not attired according
to the fashion of the day; the path was smoother and better kept;
even the very trees seemed changed, and no more the same he had seen
growing there when he had gone up the hill that morning. He specially
remembered a slender young lime-tree which had been planted only the
spring before; where had it now gone to? and how came there to be an
aged and majestic tree in its place?
“As he entered the town-gate that leads into the _Heilig-leichnams
Gasse_ (Corpus Christi Street), many things likewise appeared strange;
the houses had foreign shapes, and out of their windows there peeped
unknown faces.
“While ruminating over these puzzling facts he bethought himself of
the treasure he carried in his pocket, and his conscience began to
prick him, that he, who until now had been careful to keep the Ten
Commandments, had now made himself guilty of breaking the eighth one.
It seemed to him as though the purloined gems were burning through the
coat into his heart. Thus thinking, he approached the river in order
to ease his conscience by throwing in the stolen property. He put his
hand into his pocket and drew it out full, but before throwing away
the treasure he wished to take a last look at the glittering stones.
But what was this? A handful of coarse gravel was all he held. Some
witchcraft must be here at work; and a cold shudder ran over his frame,
but he was thankful to be rid of the accursed jewels.
“At last he had reached the school, and stepped over the threshold of
the door. Several students met him in the corridors or coming down the
staircase; but he, who knew every one about the place, was surprised to
see naught but strange faces, who stared back at him with astonishment
equal to his own.
“He entered his little bedchamber, but here also all was different:
no press, no table, no chair remained of those he had left there that
morning; the very bed was another one, and the occupants of the room
knew him as little as he knew them.
“This was surely a greater wonder than all that had happened to him
up yonder at the cavern. It needed all his self-control to keep his
faculties together and prevent himself from going mad. And he must keep
his reason; for was he not to preach his sermon next day in the Church
of St. John?
“He fared no better when, hoping to find a way out of his dilemma,
he rushed wildly to the rector’s abode. The voice which responded
‘_Intra_’ to his modest knock was a strange one; and as he, entering,
saw a stranger sitting at the writing-table, he timidly said that he
wished to speak to the _Virum pereximium_. ‘I am he,’ was the answer;
‘who are you, and what seek you here? I am acquainted with all the
students of the gymnasium. How come you to be wearing their dress?’
“Our student now mentioned his name, and related how he had been
delegated by the reverend and worthy minister such-and-such to preach
on the following day; how he had gone out early on to the hill to
learn his sermon by rote, and all that subsequently happened to him.
Everything he related faithfully, excepting the episode regarding the
handful of glittering stones, which he thought better to conceal. Then
he told how on his return he found everything changed as by an evil
charm—how he knew nobody, and was known by none in return.
“When the student had first named himself, and likewise mentioned the
name of the preacher whose place he was to take next day, an expression
of wondering astonishment had dawned on the rector’s face, which grew
more intense as the narrative proceeded. When the student had finished
his story, he turned round hastily and took from the bookcase behind
him an ancient volume in pig-skin binding.
“‘Yes; here it stands in the _Albo studiosæ juventutis gymnasii, anno
Domini 1——_: “On the —— of the month of August did the _Studiosus
Togatus N—— N—— ex ædibus gymnasii_, absent himself from here
and did not again return, which defalcation caused all the greater
consternation as the said _studiosus_ had been delegated to preach
next day, being the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, in the church of
St. Johannes, and in lieu of the sermon a _lectio biblica_ had to be
held instead.” And this happened,’ wound up the rector, turning to the
student, ‘exactly a hundred years ago to-day.’
“And so it was in truth; the time he had spent in the cave had seemed
but an hour to the young man, and in reality a hundred years had
passed! Everything around him had changed except his own self; for the
years that had fled had left no mark on him, and he looked young and
strong as a youth of scarce twenty years.
“It is easy to conceive how this wonderful story was swiftly spread
throughout the town, and especially what sensation it caused amid the
Kronstadt students, among whom the centenarian youth was now permitted
to resume his place. Then as the mid-day bell had just tolled, and
our student felt a mighty craving of hunger within him (which was
not wonderful, considering that he had fasted for a century), he did
not require much pressing to sit down at the dinner-board with his
companions.
“But oh, wonder of wonders! hardly had he swallowed the first spoonful
of the dish before him, when his whole appearance began to change:
his dark hair turned gradually white, and fell from his head like
snow-flakes; his features shrank perceptibly, and the bloom of his
cheek gave place to an ashy pallor; his eye grew dim; and scarcely had
his comrades, hastening to support his sinking frame, laid him upon a
bed, when with a last deep-drawn breath he expired.
“For some years after this many Kronstadt students used to haunt
the hill along the town, in hopes that the bird might appear and
lead them into the enchanted cavern, secretly resolving well to line
their pockets with the riches it contained—for that the jewels were
subsequently changed to gravel they had not been informed. But though
many have searched for the spot, none ever succeeded in finding it
again, so that by degrees the love of reciting sermons on the mountain
died out, and the whole story lapsed into oblivion. Also, the page
from the _Albo scholastico_ where mention is made of this is said to
be missing, so that now but a few old people are acquainted with this
legend, and fewer still there are who yet believe it.”
Kronstadt, or Brasso, as it is called in Hungarian, lying at a height
of 1900 feet above the sea-level, is of more mixed complexion than
other Transylvanian towns, and is already mentioned in the thirteenth
century as having a mixed population of Saxons, Szeklers, and Wallachs.
Whereas Klausenburg is exclusively a Hungarian, and Hermanstadt a
Saxon city, Kronstadt partakes a little of both characters, and has,
moreover, a dash of Oriental coloring about it. In the streets, besides
the usual contingent of fiery Magyars, stolid Saxons, melancholy
Roumanians, ragged Tziganes, and solemn Armenians, we pass by other
figures, red-fezzed, beturbaned, or long-robed, which, giving to the
population a kaleidoscopic effect, make us feel that we are next door
to the East, and only a few steps removed from such things as camels,
minarets, and harems.
[Illustration: KING MATTHIAS CORVINUS.]
Kronstadt is said to derive its name from a golden crown found
suspended on a broken tree-stump about the year 1204. A fugitive
king—such is one version of the story—had here deposited his
head-gear, no doubt finding it inconvenient when flying through the
forest. On the spot where the royal insignia was found was raised
the present town of Kronstadt, whose arms consist of the image of a
crown suspended on a stump. The tree-stump represents the town, we are
told, its roots the _Burzen_, or _Wurzel_, _land_, while the crown is
figurative of the Hungarian monarch.[78] The original crown is said
to have been long treasured up in the guildhall of Kronstadt, and
jealously guarded by the citizens, who showed it but rarely, and as
special mark of favor to some potentate. An old writer of the year 1605
described this crown as being of gold and decorated with golden plumes,
and mentions that it was Gregory, the despotic king of Mœsia, who,
obliged to withdraw from the siege of Kronstadt, and defeated by the
Turkish pacha Mizetes, laid down his crown on the stump where it was
afterwards found by Kronstadt citizens.
There is another story, which relates that this crown belonged to
Solomon, King of Hungary, who died dethroned in the eleventh century,
and spent his last years living as a hermit in a romantic valley near
Kronstadt which still bears his name. Feeling his death approach,
he concealed his golden crown in a hollow beech-tree, where long
afterwards it was discovered by some shepherds, when the tree, becoming
old and rotten, had fallen to the ground.
The Feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24th) was generally regarded
as the anniversary of the crown-finding, to commemorate which it used
to be customary to hoist up at the end of a high Maypole a crown woven
together of ripe cherries, roses, and rosemary, and adorned with
gingerbread figures and cakes of various sorts. The youth of both sexes
danced round this pole to the sound of music, and whoever succeeded in
scaling the height and carrying off the crown received a handsome prize.
A dilapidated crown carved in the stone façade of an old house in the
_Purzelgasse_ at Kronstadt gives evidence that here King Matthias, once
travelling _incognito_, as was his wont, entered and consumed the
frugal meal of six eggs, leaving behind him on the table-cloth a paper
on which were written the Latin words:
“Hic fuit Matthias rex comedit ova sex.”[79]
The principal church at Kronstadt, dating from the end of the
fourteenth century, contains many objects of interest, besides an
organ which is of European reputation. In the sacristy are preserved
rich old vestments remaining from Catholic times, perfect masterpieces
of elaborate embroidery, such as I have not anywhere seen surpassed.
Sometimes a cope or chasuble is covered with a whole gallery of figures
executed in raised-work, each detail of expression and every fold of
the drapery being rendered in a manner approaching the sculptor’s art.
In the church itself hang some of the most exquisite Turkish carpets
I have ever seen—such tender idyllic blue-green tints, such gloomy
passionate reds, such pensive amber shades, as to render distracted
with envy any amateur of antique fabrics who has the harrowing
disappointment of ascertaining that these masterpieces of the Oriental
loom are not purchasable even for untold sums of heavy gold!
“There was _ein verrückter Engländer_ (a mad Englishman) here some
years ago,” I was told by a church-warden, “who would have given any
price for that pale-blue one up yonder, and he remained here a whole
month merely to be able to see it every day; but he had to go away
empty-handed at last, for these carpets, like the vestments, are the
property of the Church, and not even the bishop himself has power to
dispose of them.”
FOOTNOTES:
[78] According to others, the name of Kronstadt would be derived
from the _Kronenbeeren_ (cranberries) which grow profusely on the
surrounding hills.
[79] It is of this monarch that the people still say, “King Matthias is
dead, and Justice along with him.” He was, in fact, a sort of Hungarian
Haroun-al-Raschid, going about in disguise among his people, rewarding
them according to their deserts.
CHAPTER XLIX.
SINAÏA.
From Kronstadt we made an excursion to Sinaïa, a fashionable
watering-place and summer residence of the King of Roumania, about two
hours’ distance over the frontier.
We had provided ourselves with a passport from Hermanstadt, for just
at that particular moment the regulations about crossing the frontier
were rather strict, in consequence of some temporary coolness between
the two crowned heads on either side. Usually the _entente cordiale_
between both countries is most satisfactory, and Austrian officers
wishing to pay their respects to his Roumanian Majesty can always
count on a gracious reception; but we happened, unfortunately, to have
hit off a brief period of international sulks. Austrian officers were
forbidden to show themselves in uniform within the kingdom, or, indeed,
to cross the frontier at all, and were consequently reduced to the
subterfuges of passports and plain clothes.
It ultimately proved to be much easier to cross from Hungary to
Roumania than _vice versa_; for on our way back that same evening, we
were detained an eternity by the suspicious pedantry of the Hungarian
officials, contrasting unfavorably with the genial simplicity of
arrangements on the other side.
The whole route from Kronstadt to Sinaïa is very beautiful, the railway
running through a deep valley which sometimes narrows to the dimensions
of a close mountain gorge, densely wooded on either side by noble beech
forests, bordered by fringes of wild sunflowers, which marked the way
in a line of unbroken gold. One might almost have fancied that some
munificent fairy had thus chosen to show the way to the King’s abode,
by strewing gold-pieces along the road.
The glimpses of peasant life we got by looking out of the
carriage-window already showed us costumes more varied and fantastic
than on the Hungarian side; an air of Eastern luxury as well as of
Eastern indolence pervaded everything, and it was impossible not to
feel that we had entered another country—the land _beyond_ the land
beyond the forest.
At Sinaïa itself the valley has somewhat widened out, affording room
for numerous handsome villas and luxurious hotels which have sprung up
there of late years. On a low hill stands the convent where the royal
family have taken up their residence till the new-built castle is ready
to be inhabited.
[Illustration: CASTLE PELESCH AT SINAÏA. SUMMER RESIDENCE OF THE KING
OF ROUMANIA.]
Proceeding on our way towards the convent, we were puzzled for a
moment by the appearance of the peasant women we met—their surprising
richness of costume and profusion of ornament surpassing the limits of
even Roumanian gorgeousness. Their straight-cut scarlet aprons were
literally one mass of rich embroidery, and each movement of the arm
caused the sleeve to glitter in the sun like the scales of gold and
silver fish; but why, in place of the customary sandals, did they wear
delicate high-heeled _chaussure_ strongly suggestive of Paris? Why,
instead of the twirling distaff, did we see Japanese fans in their
hands? And why, oh why, as we came within ear-shot, did we make the
startling discovery that they were not talking Roumanian at all, but
speaking French with more or less successful imitations of a Parisian
accent?
These various “whys” were soon put to rest by the information that
these were not peasants at all, but Roumanian Court ladies, who,
following the example of their queen, adopt the national dress for
daily wear during the summer months.
It being Sunday, mass had just finished as we reached the convent,
whence a motley congregation of officers and ladies, soldiers,
peasants, and monks came pouring out. A sentry walking up and down
in a somewhat _nonchalant_ manner, as though merely taking a mild
constitutional, and a red-and-blue flag waving above the low roof of
the old-fashioned, shabby building, were the only symptoms of royalty
about the place.
Presently a low basket-carriage, drawn by two handsome cream ponies
with distressingly long tails and ill-cut manes, came round to the
convent door, close to where we were standing, and was entered by a
slender lady attired in the national costume, bareheaded, and holding
up a Chinese parasol to protect herself from the broiling sun. She
appeared to be on easy, cordial terms with the respectable-looking
family servant who assisted her to get in, and had quite a pleasant
chat with him as he stood on the door-step. It was evident, from the
way she was saluted on her passage, that the Queen is a great favorite
with people of all classes.
The King, whom we came across a little later in the day, seemed of more
unapproachable species, and the little incident connected with his
appearance savored rather of Russian than of Roumanian etiquette.
We were walking in the direction of the newly built castle, which,
situated on the banks of a torrent at the opening of a steep mountain
ravine, and deliciously shrouded in gigantic trees, is the most perfect
beau-ideal of a summer chateau I ever saw. Already I had had occasion
to remark the appearance of several semi-military-looking beings
(whether policemen or soldiers I cannot precisely define) dodging about
mysteriously in and out between the tree-stems, when suddenly one of
them came rushing towards us, waving his arms aloft like a windmill
gone mad, and with an expression of the wildest despair hurriedly
repeating something we failed to understand, but which evidently was
either a warning or a threat. Before we had time to request this
curious being to explain himself more intelligibly, he had disappeared,
jumping over the steep, precipitous bank of the ravine, and vanishing
in the brushwood.
We now looked round in alarm, half expecting to see a furious
wild-boar, possibly even a bear, appearing from the mountain-side,
but could only perceive a tall, dark, handsome officer approaching
us, and behind him a correct-liveried servant carrying a railway
rug. The meaning of the mysterious warning now began to dawn on our
comprehension; this could only be the King, from his resemblance to
the portraits we had seen, and we had probably no business to be here
prying on his private premises. Our feeling of tact was, however, not
exquisite enough to induce us to risk our necks in endeavoring to
conceal ourselves from his august gaze, so we bravely stood our ground,
and nothing worse happened than our bow being very politely returned.
When his Majesty had disappeared I went to the bank to see what had
become of the unfortunate soldier or policeman who had effaced himself
in so foolhardy a manner; but though I half expected to see his corpse
lying shattered at the foot of the rock, no trace of him was there to
be seen.
The castle, now completed, and since 1884 inhabited every summer by
the royal family, is built in the old German style, and has, I hear,
been fitted up and furnished in most exquisite fashion—each article
having been carefully selected by the Queen herself, whose artistic
taste is well known. Deeper in the forest, at a little distance from
the castle, is a tiny hunting-lodge, where in the hot weather the Queen
is wont to spend a great part of the day. It is here that she loves to
sit composing those graceful poems in which she endeavors to reflect
the spirit and heart of her people; and visitors admitted to this royal
sanctuary are sometimes fortunate enough to see the latest rough-cast
of a poem, bearing the signature of Carmen Sylva, lying open on the
writing-table.
The villas about Sinaïa are rather bare-looking as yet, especially on
a burning summer day; for parks and gardens have not had time to grow
in proportion to the hot-headed mushroom speed with which this whole
colony has sprung into existence. The bathing establishment is one of
the most delightful I ever saw—a large marble basin, roofed in and
lighted from above, framed with a luxuriant fringe of feathery ferns
and aquatic plants trailing down on to the surface of an exceptionally
clear and crystal-like water. When the Queen comes hither to bathe
the walls are further adorned by hangings of Oriental carpets and
embroidered draperies.
There are in the place several good restaurants whose cookery might
rival any Vienna or Paris establishment, and, for prices, indeed
surpass them. Everything we found to be very dear at Sinaïa. As we were
returning to Kronstadt in the evening and intended to walk about all
day, we did not engage a bedroom at the hotel, but merely asked for
some place where we might deposit our wraps and umbrellas. For this
purpose we were given a sort of small closet, semi-dark, being only
lighted from the staircase, and containing, besides a broken table, but
two deal chairs and an unfurnished bedstead. Yet for this luxurious
accommodation, which our effects enjoyed during a period of about eight
hours, we were charged the modest sum of fifteen francs.
I spent some time at a very fascinating bazaar, where I purchased a
few specimens of Roumanian pottery, dainty little red-and-gold cups
for black coffee, some grotesque birds, and an impossible dog, which
have somewhat the appearance of ancient heathen household gods. There
were also carpets for sale, but mostly over-staring in pattern, and of
terrifically high prices.
We had brought with us a letter of introduction to a _ci-devant_
Austrian officer settled here, and married to a daughter of Prince
G——, one of the principal notabilities of the place, which
introduction procured us a very pleasant invitation to dine with his
family on the terrace overlooking the public gardens.
Our beautiful dark-eyed hostess, whose graceful _élancée_ figure seemed
made to show off to perfection all the fascinations of the national
costume, was kind enough to dress expressly for my benefit before
dinner, putting on a profusion of jewellery to heighten the effect of
robes fit for Lalla Rookh or Princess Scheherezade. One can hardly
wear too much jewellery with this attire: three jewelled belts, one
adorned with turquoises, another with garnets, and a third with pearls
and emeralds, were disposed across the hips one above the other, like
those worn in old Venetian paintings; several necklaces, forming a
bewildering cascade of coral and amber over the bosom; a perfect wealth
of bracelets; and more jewelled pins than I was able to count held back
a transparent veil, further secured by loose golden coins falling low
on the forehead.
Her father, Prince G——, gave us some interesting details about the
foundation of this promising colony, which is the only establishment
of the sort in the kingdom. He himself was the principal moving spirit
in its foundation, and it was owing to his persuasions chiefly that
the King formed the resolution of founding a national watering-place,
which, by becoming the resort of the Roumanian _noblesse_, would keep
them at home, instead of spending their money at French or German baths.
* * * * *
Gladly would I have prolonged my stay in Roumania by some days, or
even weeks; and it was tantalizing to have to leave these attractive
unknown regions after such a cursory glance. Still more so was it to
be obliged to refuse a friendly invitation to return there to join a
projected expedition of eight to ten days across the mountains, to
be organized as soon as the weather had grown cooler. It was to be a
large cavalcade—about twenty persons in all—the ladies in Roumanian
dress and riding in men’s saddles. “Perhaps it is because of this you
refuse,” said my hostess. “I have heard that you English are always so
very particular; but here everybody rides so—even the Queen herself
has no other saddle.”
I had, alas! no opportunity to correct this impression, by showing that
an Englishwoman may be as enterprising as a Roumanian queen.
CHAPTER L.
UP THE MOUNTAINS.
“When I was young our mountains were still locked up,” I was told by a
gentleman native of the place, who accompanied me on my first mountain
excursion in Transylvania. “Whoever then wanted to climb hills or to
shoot chamois had to travel to Switzerland to do so; and at school they
used to teach us that there were no lakes in the country.”
[Illustration: THE NEGOI—THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN TRANSYLVANIA, 8250
FEET HIGH.[80]]
It is, in fact, only within the last half-dozen years that some attempt
has been made to unlock the long range of lofty mountains which tower
so invitingly over the Transylvanian plains, and render practicable
the access to many a wild, rocky gorge and secluded loch hitherto
unknown save to wandering Wallachian shepherds. A most praiseworthy
institution, somewhat on the principle of the Alpine Club, has been
formed, thanks to whose energy suitable guides have been secured
and rough shelter-houses erected at favorable points. All this,
however, is still in a very primitive state, and the difficulties and
inconveniences attending a Transylvanian mountain excursion are yet
such as will deter any but very ardent enthusiasts from the attempt. It
is not here a question, as in Switzerland, of more or less hard walking
or clambering before you can reach a good supper and a comfortable
bed. Here the walking is often hard enough, but with this essential
difference—that no supper, whether good or bad, can be obtained by
any amount of effort; and that the bed, if by good-luck you happen
to reach a hut, consists at best of a few rough boards with a meagre
sprinkling of straw. You cannot hope to purchase so much as a crust
of bread on your way, and the crystal water which gurgles in each
mountain ravine is the only beverage you will come across. Everything
in the way of food and drink, as well as cooking utensils, knives,
forks, cups, and plates, along with rugs and blankets for the night,
must be carried about packed on baggage-horses. Therefore, when a
party consists of half a dozen members, and when the length of the
expedition is to exceed a week, the caravan is apt to assume somewhat
imposing proportions. Luckily, in the land beyond the forest prices are
still moderate in the extreme, and without rank extravagance one may
indulge in the luxury of two horses and one guide apiece. One florin
(about 1_s._ 8_d._) being the usual tax for a horse per diem, and
the same for a man, the daily outlay thus amounts to five shillings
only—a very small investment indeed for the enjoyment to be derived
from a peregrination across the mountainous parts of the country. I
have no doubt that all true lovers of nature will agree with me in
thinking that precisely the rough and gypsy-like fashion in which these
excursions are conducted forms their greatest charm, and that beautiful
scenery is more thoroughly appreciated undisturbed by any seasoning
of French-speaking waiters, _table-d’hôte_ dinners, and wire-rope
tram-ways.
This way of travelling has, moreover, the incontestable advantage of
being select, and escaping the inevitable discords which continually
jar upon us when moving in a tourist-frequented country. What beautiful
view does not lose half its charm if its foreground be marred by a
group savoring of cockneyfied gentility? Which magnificent echoes do
not become vulgar when awakened by the shrieking chorus of a band of
German students? Does not even a broken wine-bottle or a crumpled sheet
of newspaper, betraying the recent presence of some other picnicking
party, suffice to ruin miles of the finest landscape to an eye at all
fastidious?
Here we may walk from sunrise to sunset without meeting other sign of
life than some huge bird of prey hovering in mid-air above a lonely
valley; and once accustomed to the daily companionship of eagles, one
is apt to feel very exclusive indeed, and to regard most other society
as commonplace and uninteresting.
From the moment we set foot on the wild hill-side, we have left
behind us all the mean and petty conditions of every-day life. At
least we have no other littlenesses to bear with than what we bring
with us ready-made—our own stock-in-trade (which, of course, we
cannot get rid of) and that of our chosen companions. Therefore, if
I may offer a friendly piece of advice to any would-be mountaineer
in these parts, let him look at his friends—not twice, but full
twenty times at least—before he contemplates cultivating their
uninterrupted society at an altitude of six thousand feet above
sea-level. Indeed a Transylvanian mountain excursion is not a thing
to be lightly entered upon out of simple _gaieté de cœur_, like any
other pleasure-trip. It is a serious and solemn undertaking—almost
a sort of marriage-bond—when you engage to put up, for better for
worse, with any given half-dozen individuals during an equal number of
days and nights. Like gold, they must previously have been tried by
fire; and you will find very, very few people, even among your dearest
friends, who, when weighed in the balance, will not be found wanting in
one or other of the many qualifications which go towards making up a
thoroughly congenial companion.
The pure ozone of these upper regions seems to act like the lens of a
powerful microscope, bringing out into strong relief whatever is mean
or paltry. Sweetly feminine airs and graces which have so entranced us
in the ball-room develop to positive monstrosities when transplanted
to the mountain-top; an intellect which amply sufficed for the
requirements of small-talk on the promenade or at morning calls shows
pitiably barren when brought face to face with the majesty of nature;
and a stock of amiability always found equal to the exigencies of
conventional politeness very soon runs dry under the unwonted strain of
a genuine demand. As in the palace of truth in the fairy tale of Madame
de Genlis, nothing artificial can here remain undiscovered. You can as
little hope to hide your false chignon while camping-out at night as to
conceal the exact quality of your temper; and defects of breeding will
leak out as surely as the rain will leak in through the inferior fabric
of a cheap water-proof cloak.
On the other hand, however, be it said, that many people who in town
life have appeared dull and commonplace now rise in value under the
action of this powerful microscope; sterling qualities, whose existence
we had never suspected, now come to light; and hidden delicacies of
thought, which have had no room for expansion in the muggy atmosphere
of conventionality, put forth unexpected shoots.
Such reflections are, nevertheless, but pointless digressions from
the subject in hand, having nothing whatever to do with my own
individual experiences; and present company being always excepted, I
would have it distinctly understood that we were _all_ amiable, _all_
entertaining, _all_ refined and noble-minded, when in the second week
of September we started on one of these excursions—a long-cherished
wish of mine whose execution had been hitherto baffled by the
difficulty of finding suitable companionship.
Our party consisted of four gentlemen and two other ladies besides
myself, and a six hours’ drive had taken us from Hermanstadt to the
foot of the hills, where horses and guides awaited us—an imposing
retinue of fully a dozen steeds and nearly as many men: the former
starved, puny-looking animals, weak and spiritless at first sight,
but sure-footed as goats and with endless resisting power; the latter
wild, uncouth fellows, with rolling black eyes and unkempt elf-locks,
attired in coarse linen shirts, monstrous leather belts, and wearing
the national opintschen on their feet.
Our provisions and utensils were packed, according to the custom of
the country, in double sacks made of a sort of rough black-and-white
checked flannel, and these, along with our bundles of wraps, secured
to the backs of the pack-horses—a somewhat complicated business, as
the weight requires to be extremely nicely balanced on either side. It
was wonderful to see how much could be piled up upon one small animal,
which wellnigh disappeared beneath its bulky freight.
While this packing was going on we rested by the river-side, already
enjoying a foretaste of the beauties in store for us. Dense beech woods
clothed the sides of the valley down to the water’s edge, terminating
as usual in a golden fringe of wild sunflowers standing out in broad
relief from the dark background; clumps of bright-blue gentians and
rosy rock-carnations were sprouting between the stones, and here and
there the luxuriant trails of the wild hop hung down till they touched
the water; a pair of water-ousels perched on opposite banks were making
eyes at each other across the roaring torrent, and the deep quiet pools
were occasionally stirred by the leap of a silvery trout.
At last we were told that all was ready; so, mounting our
riding-horses, we commenced the ascent. The saddles were the usual
rough Hungarian wooden ones, only softened by a plaid or rug strapped
over. Side-saddles are here useless, as the horses cannot be tightly
girthed for climbing, and are not accustomed to the one-sided weight;
so the only way to ride with comfort and safety is to imitate the
example of the Roumanian queen. A very little contrivance about the
costume is all that is necessary in order to sit comfortably on a man’s
saddle; but I found the unwonted position rather trying at first, and
sought occasional relief by sitting sidewise, using the high wooden
prominence in front as the pommel of a lady’s saddle. However, I soon
relinquished these experiments, having very nearly come to serious
grief from the saddle turning abruptly, which undoubtedly would
have landed me on my head had I not extricated myself by a frenzied
evolution. After this experience I thought it wiser to tempt fate no
further and meekly resign myself to the degradation of a temporary
change of sex.
On this particular occasion, however, I did not for long tax the powers
of my steed, it was so much pleasanter to walk up the mountain-path
step by step, and enjoy at close quarters all the wonders of the forest.
For upwards of two hours our way led us through splendid beech woods
richly carpeted with every species of ferns and mosses, an endless
vista of shining gray satin and soft emerald velvet. Then by-and-by
the first shy irresolute fir-tree appears on the scene, like a bashful
rustic strayed unawares into the presence of royalty. The tall majestic
beeches look down contemptuously on the puny intruder; for, like
ancient monarchs fallen asleep on their thrones, they do not conceive
it possible that their reign should ever come to an end.
“What means this rough interloper?” they seem disdainfully to ask, as
they nod in the evening breeze. “Are not we the sole lords in these
realms? What seeks this insolent upstart in our royal presence?”
But scarcely have we gone a hundred paces farther, than again we meet
the intruding pine, larger and stronger this time; nor is he alone, for
he has brought with him a motley group of his prickly brethren. Onward
they press from all sides, impudently sprouting up at the very feet
of the indignant beeches—their rough green arms ruthlessly brushing
against the delicate gray satin of those shining pillars, trampling
down the emerald velvet of the carpet, like revolutionary peasants
broken into a palace.
The lordly beeches make a last effort to assert their supremacy, but
the limits of their kingdom are reached; the sharp wind sweeping over
the mountain-top, making them shake with impotent rage, is too keen
for their delicate constitutions. They dwindle away, perish, and die,
leaving the field to their hardier foe.
And now King Pine has it all his own way. _Le roi est mort. Vive le
roi!_ A minute ago we had been revelling in the beauties of the beech
forest, and now, courtier-like, we find ourselves thinking that the
pine woods are more beautiful yet by far. What can be more exquisite
than those feathery branches trailing down to the mossy carpet?
what more glorious than those straight-grown stems, each one erect
and strong, worthy to be the mast of a mighty ship? what scent more
intoxicating than the perfume they breathe forth?
Our reflections are presently broken in upon by a scramble close
at hand. One of our baggage-horses has trod upon an underground
wasp’s-nest, which intrusion having been duly resented by the indignant
insects, the horse takes to kicking violently, and finally rolls down
the wooded incline, scattering our baggage as he goes. Luckily, nothing
is lost or damaged, and after a little delay, the fugitive being
captured and reladen, we are able to proceed on our way. A little more
climbing, and then at last the forest walls unclose, and we stand on
an open meadow of short-tufted grass, where is built the rough wood
hut which is to give us shelter. To the right and left the pine woods
slope upward, their shadowy outlines gradually losing themselves in
the fast-gathering twilight; and in front, at a distance of some five
hundred yards, is a wall of rock overwashed by a foaming cascade, whose
music has been growing on our ears during the last few minutes.
The horses are relieved of their respective burdens and set loose to
graze; neither hay nor oats has been provided, nor do they expect
it. Our Wallachian guides busy themselves in collecting firewood and
kindling a large camp-fire, for the triple purpose of cooking the
supper, keeping themselves warm, and scaring off possible bears or
wolves that may come prowling about at night in quest of a horse. There
is here no difficulty in providing firewood enough for a splendid
bonfire, and no tree burns with such spirit as a dead fir-tree.
It is my duty here to forestall all possible anticipation, by frankly
acknowledging that no bear ever did come to disturb us on this
occasion. Yet the thought of the shaggy visitor who might at any moment
be expected to drop in upon us went a long way towards enhancing the
romance of the situation. During our whole stay in the mountains Bruin
was like a vague intangible presence hovering around, and causing us
delicious thrills of horror at every step. If we plucked a branch
of late raspberries on our path, it was with a trembling hand, lest
a furry paw should appear at the other side of the bush to claim its
rightful property; and we lay down to rest half expecting to be wakened
by an angry growl close at hand. Consequently, the raspberries we ate
and the sleep we snatched were sweeter far than common raspberries and
every-day sleep, feeling, as we almost got to do, as though each had
been fraudulently extorted from the bear.
Our shelter-hut, roughly put together of boards, consisted of a small
entrance-lobby with stamped earth floor, and of one moderate-sized room
about six paces long. All down one side, occupying fully half the depth
of the apartment, ran a sort of shelf covered with straw, supposed to
act as bed, where about a dozen persons might have room lying side by
side. A long deal table, a wooden bench, and a row of pegs for hanging
up the clothes completed the furniture. Besides the wooden shutters,
there were movable glass windows, which were regularly deposited in
a hiding-place under the foot-boards, lest they should be wantonly
broken by the all-destroying Wallachians. Each authorized guide only
is apprised of their place of concealment, to which he is careful to
restore them when the party breaks up.
This particular shelter-hut is an exceptionally well-built and
luxurious one, most such being devoid of windows, and often closed on
one side only.
By the time we had prepared our supper and cheered ourselves with
numerous cups of excellent tea it had grown quite dark, and we were
thankful to seek our hard couches. A railway rug spread over the
straw-covered boards rendered them quite endurable, and all superfluous
coats and jackets were pressed into the pillow service. All of us
lay down in our clothes, merely removing the boots; for it is hardly
possible to dress too warmly for a night passed in these Carpathian
shelter-huts; and despite the day having been so warm as to necessitate
the thinnest summer clothing for walking, the nights were piercingly
cold, and even a heavy fur sledging-cloak was not superfluous.
Though the splash of the water-fall and the tinkling bell of a grazing
horse were the only sounds which broke the stillness of the night, yet
our unwonted surroundings did not allow of much uninterrupted slumber.
But it is surprising to note to what a very minimum the necessary dose
of sleep can be reduced on such occasions; the body, renovated as by a
magic potion, seems unaccountably delivered from all physical weakness;
even the sore throat we had brought with us from the lower world has
vanished in the pure atmosphere of the upper regions.
FOOTNOTES:
[80] Reprinted from a publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian
Society.
CHAPTER LI.
THE BULEA SEE.
Next morning we proceeded to the real object of our excursion, the
Bulea See, a lake which lies at the foot of the Negoi, 6662 feet
above the sea-level, and situated about three hours distant from our
shelter-hut.
There was a steep climb till we had reached the top of the water-fall,
and then we found ourselves in a second valley, larger and wider than
the first, and of a totally different character. Here were neither moss
nor ferns, neither beech nor pine woods—only a deep and lonely valley
shut in by pointed rocks on either side, and thickly strewn throughout
with massive bowlder-stones, each of which would seem to mark the
resting-place of a giant. The only form of vegetation here visible,
besides the short scraggy grass sprouting in detached patches betwixt
the stones, were the stunted irregular fir-bushes (called _krummholz_),
which, blown by ever-recurring gales into all sorts of fantastic
shapes, resemble as many wizened goblins playing at hide-and-seek among
the giant tombstones, crawling and creeping into every hollow which
can afford them shelter from the inclemency of the winter storm; for
now we have entered a third kingdom, and the reign of the pine-tree
is at an end. Having once overpassed the height of 1800 metres (5905½
feet), above which fir-trees do not thrive, these once stalwart and
overbearing giants have degenerated to the misshapen and crooked
goblins we see.
Yet here again we are forced to acknowledge this new metamorphosis to
be but another step in the scale of loveliness. We had been enchanted
by the beech woods, ravished by the pine forest, yet now all at once
we feel that with the desolate wildness of these upper regions a yet
higher note of beauty has been struck; for here Nature, seeming to
disdain such toilet artifices as trees or ferns or cunningly tinted
mosses, like a classical statue, boldly reveals herself in her
glorious nudity, with naught to distract the eye from the perfection
of her sublime curves.
Something of the charm of this desolate stony valley lay no doubt, for
me, in its marked resemblance to Scottish scenery, recalling to my mind
some of the wilder parts of Arran, the upper half of Glen Rosa, or
portions of Glen Sannox, seen long ago but never forgotten; and for a
moment I experienced the pleasurable sensation of recognizing the face
of a beloved old friend in a strange picture-gallery.
The fierce barking of dogs aroused me from my comparisons, and now for
the first time I perceived that at one place the large loose stones had
been piled together so as to form a rude sort of hovel or cavern, the
headquarters of some shepherds come hither to find pasture for their
flocks during the brief mountain summer.
We approached the _stina_, as these _bergeries_ are called, and made
acquaintance with the shepherd, some of the gentlemen at my request
cross-questioning him as to his habits and occupation. He was ready
enough to enter into conversation with us and our guide, seemingly
rejoiced at the sight of other human beings after a long period of
isolation. We learned from him that the shepherds are in the habit of
coming up here each summer about the end of June, to remain till the
middle of September, after which date snow may be expected to set in,
and the shepherd, proceeding southward as the year advances, leads his
flocks into Wallachia and Moldavia to pass the winter. These flocks are
not the property of one individual, but each village inhabitant has his
particular sheep marked with his own sign. All the mountain pastures in
these parts belong to a Count T——, who receives forty-five kreuzers
(about 9_d._) per sheep for its summer pasturage.
This particular flock consisted of about eight hundred head, herded by
four shepherds only, and six or eight large wolf-dogs. The men receive
thirty florins (£2 10_s._) yearly wages, besides a pair of sandals
each, and a certain proportion of food, principally maize-flour, to
be cooked into _mamaliga_, and whatever cheese and sheep’s milk they
require. These wages are considered high enough in these parts, but
the work required is hard and fatiguing. The whole day the shepherd
must creep along the crags with his flock, at places where scarce a
goat could obtain footing, and at night he must sleep in the open air
whatever be the weather, ready to spring up at the slightest alarm of
wolf or bear.
“When did you last see a bear?” inquired our interpreter of the
solitary shepherd.
“This very night, _dommu_” (master), he replied, “the _ursu_ came
prowling about the camp, and had to be driven away by the dogs. Most
nights he does come, and four of my sheep has he carried off this year.
Not one of our dogs but has been torn or wounded by him in turn.”
“And where are your sheep at present?” was the next question, as we
looked round at the deserted camp.
The man pointed upward and uttered a shrill, unearthly cry, which
presently was repeated as by an echo coming from the topmost ledges
of the crags overhead; and there, looking up to where the jagged
peaks were sharply defined against the blue sky, we could see the
white sheep clinging all over the face of the precipitous cliffs like
patches of new-fallen snow. It was wonderful to see how these seemingly
senseless animals obey the slightest call of their shepherd, who by
the inflections of his voice alone guides them in whatever direction
he pleases; and it is almost incredible that out of a flock of eight
hundred sheep the shepherd should be able to recognize and identify
each separate animal.
When we came to see those sheep at close quarters later in the day, we
were surprised at the whiteness and fine quality of their wool—each
single animal looking as though it had been freshly washed and
carefully combed out, like the favorite poodle of some fine lady, and
presenting therein a striking contrast to the flocks down below on the
plains, whose appearance is dirty and unkempt. This superior toilet
of the mountain sheep seems due to the constant mists and vapors ever
flitting to and fro in these upper regions, which thus enact the parts
of cleansing spirits; but why, when they are about it, do not these
benevolent _kobolds_ wash the shepherd as well?
Besides the dogs, there is usually a donkey attached to each shepherd’s
establishment. It serves to carry the packs of cheese and milk, or the
heavy _bunda_ (sheepskin coat) of the shepherd, and follows the flock
about wherever its legs permit. On this occasion we met the inevitable
ass some few hundred yards farther up the valley, standing on one of
the giant tombstones, and with head thrown back, loudly braying up in
the direction of the mountain heights. He, too, had caught sight of
his beloved sheep scrambling so far out of reach up there, and weary
of his loneliness, was thus passionately entreating his eight hundred
sweethearts to return to his faithful side.
Two hours more up the lonely valley brought us to our destination.
There was one last rocky wall to be overcome, and, having scaled it, we
stood with panting breath before the Bulea See, a curiously suggestive
little loch, dark greenish-blue in color, which nestles in the stony
chalice formed by the rocks around.
Nothing but gray bowlder-stones lying here cast about; no plant save
the deadly monk’s-hood growing rank in thick, short tufts of deep
sapphire hue; no sign of life but one solitary falcon soaring overhead,
and some scattered feathers lying strewn at the water’s edge.[81]
The brooding melancholy of this solitary spot has a charm all its
own. This would be the place, indeed, for a life-sick man to come and
end his days, and if there be such a thing as a voluptuous suicide,
methinks these were the proper surroundings for it. Death must come so
swiftly and so surely in those still green waters, which have such an
insinuating glitter; no danger here of being saved and brought back to
unwelcome life by a meddlesome log of floating wood, or the officious
arm of an out-stretched branch. Everything here seems to breathe of the
very spirit of suicide; the cold green waters, the deadly monk’s-hood,
the hovering falcon, all seem to agree, “This is the end of life—come
here and die!”
But let the hapless wretch bent on leaving this world beware of looking
round once more before executing his resolve, for if he but turn and
gaze again at the magnificent panorama at his feet, he will assuredly
be violently recalled to life.
I do not recollect having seen any single view which in its glorious
variety ever impressed me as much as what I saw that day, looking from
the platform beside the Bulea See; neither a framed-in picture nor
yet a bird’s-eye view, it rather gave me the feeling as though I were
standing at the head of a giant staircase whose balustrades are formed
by the nicked-out peaks of the crags on either side, and whose separate
steps present as many gradations of variegated beauty.
Close to our feet lay the stony valley we had just been traversing,
with its gigantic tombstones and wizened dwarf bushes, and the flashing
crest of the water-fall, just visible, like a silver thread, at the
farthest point. Then, after a sudden drop of several hundred feet, our
eye lights upon the pine valley, with the shelter-hut where we had
passed the previous night. With a telescope we could just make out the
place of the camp-fire and the figures of some grazing horses. Of the
third step of this giant ladder—namely, the beech forest—we could see
only the billowy tops of the close-grown trees, a mass of waving green,
touched here and there by the hand of autumn into russet and golden
tints; then far, far below lay stretched the smiling plain, streaked
with occasional dark patches we knew to be forests, and sundry white
dots we guessed at as villages, and the serpentine curves of the river
Alt, winding like a golden ribbon between them.
A long bank of clouds which had been hovering over the plain now sank
down, gradually obscuring that part of the view, but not for long. This
was but another freak of nature, one more turn in the kaleidoscope; for
now the mist has sunk so low that the plain itself appears above it,
and we behold the landscape framed in the clouds, like a delusive _Fata
Morgana_.
This is indeed a picture never to weary of, and after gazing at it for
ten ecstatic minutes, I defy the life-sick man to turn away and carry
out his suicidal intentions. The cold green waters have lost their
attraction for him, and the spell of the deadly monk’s-hood is broken;
for another voice whispers in his ear, and it tells him of life and of
hope: a few minutes ago he had felt like a condemned criminal in sight
of his grave, but now, with this glorious world at his feet, he is fain
to think himself monarch of all he beholds.
The giant’s ladder contains one more step, for by scrambling up the
rocks at one side of the loch one may reach the crest of the mountains,
and walking there for hours on the confines of Roumania, gain an
extensive view into both countries.
This is what some of the gentlemen of our party did, in hopes of coming
across chamois; while the rest of us remained below, well content
with what we had achieved, settling down, not to suicide, but to such
healthier, if more commonplace, pursuits as luncheon and sketching. At
least the luncheon was eaten and the sketch was begun; but beginning
and finishing are two very different things in these regions, and
one cannot reckon without the mountain-sprites, who were this day
mischievously inclined.
A tiny white cloudlet, snowy and innocent-looking as a tuft of
swan’s-down, had meanwhile detached itself from the bank of clouds
below the plain, and was speeding aloft in our direction. Incredibly
fast this mountain-sprite ascended the giant staircase—gliding over
the space it had taken us three hours to traverse in not the tenth part
of that time; jumping two steps at once, it seemed in its malicious
haste to spoil our pleasure. Now it has reached the terrace where we
are sitting; we feel its cold breath on our cheek, and in another
minute it has thrown its moist filmy veil over the scene. The lake at
our side has disappeared; we cannot see ten paces in front, and we
shiver under the warm wraps we just now despised.
The mist, which feels at first like a soft, invisible rain, gradually
becomes harder and more prickly; there is a sharp, rattling sound in
the air, and we realize that we are sitting in a hail-storm, from which
we vainly try to escape by dodging under the overhanging rocks.
As quickly as it came it is gone again, for scarce ten minutes later
the sun shone out triumphant, dispersing the ill-natured vapors. Yet
a little longer will the sun lord it up here as master, and come
victorious out of all such combats; but these impish cloudlets are the
outrunners of the army of the dread ice-king, and will return again day
by day in greater numbers, soon to be no more driven away from these
regions.
FOOTNOTES:
[81] These feathers, of a bluish color, we identified as those of
the garrulous roller, _Coracias garrula_; and as this bird is never
to be found at the aforementioned height, it must apparently have
been crossing the mountains to migrate southward, when its travelling
arrangements were disturbed by the watchful falcon.
CHAPTER LII.
THE WIENERWALD—A DIGRESSION.
I shall never forget the shock to my feelings when, shortly after
leaving Transylvania, I went to spend the summer months in the
much-famed Wienerwald near Vienna. In former years I had often
visited this neighborhood, and had even retained of it very pleasant
recollections; but now, fresh from the wild charm of undefiled and
undesecrated nature, the Wienerwald and everything about it appeared
in the light of a pitiable farce. In fact, I do not think I had ever
rightly appreciated the Transylvanian mountain scenery till forced to
compare it with another landscape.
The country about Vienna—of which its natives are so proud—is
beautiful, it is true, or rather it has been beautiful once; but,
alas! how much of its charm has been destroyed by that terrible
_Verschönerungs Verein_ (Beautifying Association), as those noisome
institutions are called, loathsome abortions of a diseased German
brain, which have the object of teaching unfortunate mankind to
appreciate the beauties of nature in the only correct fashion
authorized by science.
Viewed in the abstract, an ignorant stranger unacquainted with the
habits of the country might be prone to imagine taking a walk up any
of those beautiful wooded hills to be a comparatively simple matter,
provided his lungs and his _chaussure_ be in adequate walking trim.
Ridiculous error! to be speedily rectified by painful experience before
you have spent many days in the neighborhood of the Austrian capital.
It is here not a question of boots, but of books; of science, not of
soles; your lungs are useless unless your mind be rightly adjusted;
and the latest edition of Meyer’s “Conversations Lexicon” will be far
more necessary to fit you for a walk in the Wienerwald than a pair of
Euknemida walking-shoes.
To go into a civilized Austrian forest requires at least as much
preparation as to enter a fashionable ball-room; and unless you have
been thoroughly grounded in contemporary literature, general history,
and the biographies of celebrated men, you had far better stay at home.
There you are not left to yourself to make acquaintance with trees and
flowers, as your ignorant rustic fashion has hitherto been; but your
exact relations to the botanical world around you are precisely defined
from the very outset. At every step you make you are overwhelmed with
alternate doses of advice, admonition, entreaty, or threat; but never,
never by any chance are you left to your own devices! You cannot feel
as if you were alone even in the most hidden depths of the forest,
for the tormenting spirit of the _Verschönerungs Verein_ will insist
on following you about step by step, its jarring voice ever breaking
in on your most secret reveries. It _warns_ you not to tread on the
grass; it _entreats_ you to spare the pine-cones; it _instructs_ you to
avoid meddling with the toadstools; it _recommends_ the flowers to your
protection; it _advises_ you to be careful with your cigar-ashes; it
_commands_ you to muzzle your unhappy terrier; it weighs you down with
a crushing sense of your own unworthiness by appealing to your sense
of honor, of probity, of refinement, of patriotism, and to a hundred
other noble qualities you are acutely conscious of _not_ possessing;
then passing from fawning flattery to brutal menace, it growls dark
threats against your liberty or your purse, should you have remained
deaf to its hateful voice, and presume to have overstepped the limits
of familiarity prescribed towards an oak-tree or a bush of wild-rose.
If, chafing in spirit at these reiterated pinpricks, you would take
some rest by sitting down on one of the numerous benches placed there
for the accommodation of exhausted but perfectly educated individuals,
you are abruptly called upon to choose between Goethe and Schiller,
Kant or Hegel, Lessing or Wieland, to the immortal memory of each of
which celebrities the proud monument of six feet of white-painted board
has been dedicated.
A harmless enough looking little bridge is designated as Custozza
bridge, and a delicious opening in the forest redolent of wild
cyclamen desecrated by the base appellation of _Philosophen Wiese_
(Philosopher’s meadow). Even the source where you pause to slake your
thirst has been christened by some such preposterous title as the
fountain of friendship or the spring of gratitude. You cannot, in fact,
move a hundred yards in any given direction without having the names
of celebrated men, cardinal virtues, or national victories forced down
your throat _ad nauseam_, and—what to my thinking is the cruelest
grievance of all—you are there debarred the simple satisfaction of
losing your way in a natural unsophisticated manner, every second
tree having been converted into a sign-post, which persists in giving
information you would much rather be without.
Latitude and longitude are dinned into your ears with merciless
precision; staring patches of scarlet, blue, and yellow paint, arranged
to express a whole series of cabalistic signs, disfigure the ruddy
bronze of noble pine-stems; gaunt pointing fingers, multiplied as
in a delirious nightmare, meet you at every turn, informing you of
your exact bearings with regard to every given point of the landscape
within a radius of ten miles. “Two hours from Bürgersruhe,” they tell
you; “Five hours from Wienerlust;” “An hour and a half from Philister
Berg”—and oh, how many weary miles away from anything resembling
nature and freedom, eagles and poetry!
You long to be gone from the mournful spectacle of nature profaned
and debased; your independent spirit chafes and frets under the
oppressive tyranny of a vulgar despot, who, not content with directing
your movements and restricting your actions, would further extend
his detested interference to the inmost regions of your thoughts
and feelings. Why should I be confronted with Hegel, when I wish to
cultivate the far more congenial society of an interesting stag-beetle?
Wherefore disturb the luxurious feeling of gloomy revenge my soul is
brooding by the suggestion of any sentiment as sickly and as utterly
fabulous as friendship or gratitude? Why dishonor the fragrance of
pale cyclamen by a bookworm odor of mustiness and mildew? Why, O cruel
_Verschönerungs Verein_, skilful annihilator of all that is beautiful
and sublime, have you left no margin for poetry or imagination, romance
or accident, conjecture or hope, in visiting these regions? “_Lasciate
ogni speranza voi ch’ entrate_” it is indeed the case here to say; or
rather, if you be wise, do not enter these hopeless regions at all, but
turning your back on all such, go straight through to Transylvania,
where you will find in profusion all those charms of which the
Wienerwald has been so cruelly robbed!
CHAPTER LIII.
A WEEK IN THE PINE REGION.
Our quarters at the shelter-hut in the pine valley were so
satisfactory, and its situation so delightful, that instead of
remaining only two nights, as had been originally intended, we stayed
there a whole week, exploring the valley in all directions, making
sketches of the principal points, and collecting supplies of the rare
ferns and mosses with which the neighborhood abounded, along with the
alpen-rose, which we often discovered still flowering at sheltered
places.
A thorough dose of nature enjoyed in this way acts like a regenerating
medicine on a mind and body wearied and weakened by a long strain of
conventionalities. It is refreshing merely to look round on a beautiful
scene as yet untainted by the so-called civilizing breath of man, who,
too often attempting to paint the lily, invariably vulgarizes when
he seeks to improve the work of the Creator. What unmixed delight to
see here everything unspoiled and unadulterated, each tree and flower
living out its natural life, or falling into beautiful decay, without
having been turned aside from its original vocation, or distorted
to an unnatural use to minister to some imaginary want of sensual,
cruel, greedy, rapacious man; to find one little spot where nature yet
reigns supreme; to be able to gaze around and say that those splendid
fir-stems will _not_ be cut up in a noisy saw-mill, nor yet defiled by
vulgar paint; those late scarlet strawberries hanging in coral fringes
from pearl-gray rocks will _not_ be sold at so much a pint and cooked
into sickly jams; those prickly fir-cones will _not_ be abstracted from
their rightful owners, the red-coated squirrels, to adorn the tasteless
veranda of some popular beer-house; the swelling outlines of those
glorious blue gentians will be flattened in _no_ improved herbarium,
nor those gorgeous butterflies invited to lay down their young lives to
further the interests of science; those brown leaping trout will, thank
Heaven, never, never figure on an illuminated _menu_ card as _truites
à la Chambord_, to flatter the palate of some dissipated sybarite! The
pure light of the north star alone will point out my direction, and
neither Kant nor Hegel will rise from his grave to torment me here.
[Illustration: THE PINE VALLEY.[82]]
* * * * *
It is wonderful how soon one gets accustomed to roughing it, and
doing without the comforts and luxuries of daily life, and it is
delightful to discover that civilization is only skin-deep after all.
On the second morning it seemed no hardship to perform our toilet at
a mountain spring shrouded in a pine-tree boudoir; empty bottles were
very worthy substitutes for silver candlesticks; and for brushing our
dress and cleansing our boots, a wild Wallachian peasant quite as
useful as a trained _femme de chambre_.
Dress and fashion, uniforms and coffee-houses, the wearisome chit-chat
of a little country town, as well as the intricacies of European
politics, had all passed out of our lives as though they had never
existed, leaving no regret, scarcely even a memory. It seemed hardly
possible to believe that such useless and unnatural things as false
hair, diamond ear-rings, military parades, cream-laid note-paper,
calling-cards, sugar-tongs, intrigue, envy, and ambition existed
somewhere or other about the world. Were there really other forms of
music extant than the lullaby of the water-fall, and the wild pibroch
of the wind among the fir-stems? other sorts of perfumes than the pine
wood fragrance and the breath of wild thyme?
While we were thus revelling in the pure ozone above, two emperors
were meeting in some dull corner of the dingy earth below,[83] and all
Europe was looking on and holding its breath, in order to catch some
echo of the royal syllables interchanged.
For our part, we completely skipped this page of European history, and
felt none the worse of it. Everything changes proportion up here, and a
real eagle becomes of far more absorbing interest than a double-headed
one. We were virtually as isolated as though cast on a desert island in
the Pacific; and but for one messenger despatched to assure us of the
welfare of our respective families, we had no communication with the
world we had left.
Here we had a hundred other sources of interest of more absorbing
and healthier kind than the so-called pleasures we had left below.
First there was the water-fall, a never-failing element of beauty and
interest. It was delightful to sketch it, sitting on a moss-grown stone
at the edge of the torrent; it was yet more delightful to clamber up to
its base, and clinging on to a rock, receive the breath of its spray
full on our face, and enjoy at close quarters the musical thunder
of its voice. Not far from this was the place where, three years
previously, the great avalanche had swept over the valley, felling
prostrate every tree which came in its passage. All across one side of
the glen, and half-way up the opposite hill, can still be traced the
ravaging march of the destroying forces; for here the woodman never
comes with his axe, and each tree still lies prostrate where it was
stricken down, like giant ninepins overthrown; and here they will lie
undisturbed till they rot away and turn to soft red dust, mute vouchers
of the terrible power of unchained nature. One felt inclined to envy
the bears and eagles for this glorious sight, of which they alone can
have been the fortunate spectators.
Another point of interest indicated by our guides was the bridge of
fir-stems over a steep ravine, where years ago a terrified flock of
sheep, pursued by a bear in broad daylight, had leaped down over the
precipitous edge, upwards of three hundred breaking their legs in their
frenzied attempts to escape.
The shepherds who lived above in the stony valley came frequently down
to our shelter-hut, and we used to find them comfortably ensconced at
our camp-fire, in deep conversation with the guides. In their lonely
existence it must have been a pleasant experience to have neighbors at
all within reach, and our hospitable camp-fire was doubtless as good
as a fashionable club to their simple minds. They brought us of their
sheep’s milk and cheese. The latter, called here _brindza_, was very
palatable, and the milk much thicker and richer than cow’s milk, but of
a peculiar taste which I failed to appreciate.
There was a shepherdess, too, belonging to the establishment; but let
no one, misled by the appellation, instinctively conjure up visions
of delicate pastel-paintings or coquettish porcelain figurines, for
anything more utterly at variance with the associations suggested
by the names of Watteau and Vieux Saxe, than the uncouth, swarthy,
one-eyed damsel who inhabited the bergerie, cannot well be imagined.
The male shepherds were four in number—two of them calling for no
special description; the third, a boy of about fourteen, with large,
senseless eyes and a fixed, idiotic stare, looked no more than
semi-human. The most distinguished member of the party, and, as we
ladies unanimously agreed, decidedly the flower of the flock, was
a good-looking young man of some twenty years, with straight-cut,
regular features, a high brown fur cap, and a wooden flute on which he
played in a queer, monotonous fashion, resembling the droning tones
of a bagpipe. He had come from Roumania, he told us, and had been for
a time tending flocks in Turkey, where he had picked up something of
the language. It was a curious country, he observed, and the people
there had curious habits—such, for instance, as that of keeping
several wives; the richer a man was, the more wives he kept. Our
young shepherd shrugged his shoulders as he made this remark in a
supercilious manner, evidently of opinion that women were an evil which
should not be unnecessarily multiplied; and certainly, judging from the
solitary specimen of female beauty which the stony valley contained, no
man could feel tempted to embark in a very extensive harem.
We afterwards ascertained that the interesting shepherd with the fur
cap and wooden flute had committed a murder over in Roumania, and been
obliged to fly the country on that account. This disclosure rendered us
somewhat more reserved in our intercourse with our romantic neighbor,
and though we could not exactly put a stop to his visits, we avoided
over-intimacy, and always felt more at ease in his society when there
was a gun or revolver within handy reach.
Our Wallachian guides proved thoroughly satisfactory in every
way—active, obliging, and full of inventive resources. They were
very particular about keeping their fast-days as prescribed by the
Greek Church, and would refuse all offers of food at such times. When
not fasting they were easily made happy by any scraps of cheese or
bacon left over from our meals, or by a glassful of spirits of wine
judiciously adulterated with water. On one occasion a parcel containing
a dozen hard-boiled eggs, grown stale (to put it mildly) from having
been overlooked, was received with positive rapture by one of these
unsophisticated beings, who devoured them every one with a heartfelt
relish not to be mistaken.
Ham, sausages, and bread and cheese, formed the staple of our
nourishment in this as in other Transylvanian mountain excursions—for
after the first day, of course, no fresh meat could be procured. Also,
the Hungarian _paprica speck_—viz., raw bacon prepared with red
pepper—is useful on these occasions, as it gives much nourishment
in a very small compass. I never myself succeeded in reaching the
point demanded by Hungarian enthusiasm for this favorite national
food; so that all I can conscientiously say for it is that, given the
circumstances of a keen appetite, bracing mountain air, and no other
available nourishment, it is quite eatable, and by a little stretch
of indulgence might almost be called palatable. The Magyars, however,
pronounce this bacon to be of such superlatively exquisite flavor as
only to be fit for the gods on a Sunday! So I suppose it can only be
by reason of some peculiarly ungodlike quality in my nature that I am
unable to appreciate this Elysian dish as it deserves.
The Roumanians have, like the Poles, a certain inbred sense of courtesy
totally wanting in their Saxon neighbors; it shows itself in many
trifling acts—in the manner they rise and uncover in the presence of
a superior, and the way they offer their assistance over the obstacles
of the path. One day that I had hurt my foot, and was much distressed
at being unable to join a longer walk, I found in the evening a large
nosegay of ripe bilberries, surrounded by red autumn leaves, lying at
the foot of my sleeping-place—a delicate attention on the part of our
head guide, who wished thereby to console me for the pleasure I had
lost.
The peasants were always pitying us for the disadvantages of our
_chaussure_: how could we be so foolish as to submit to the torture
and inconvenience of shoes and stockings, instead of adopting the
comfortable opintschen they themselves wore? And they almost succeeded
in persuading me to make the attempt on some future occasion, although
I feel doubtful as to how far a foot corrupted by civilization could be
induced to adapt itself to this unwonted covering.
We celebrated our last evening in the pine valley by ordering an extra
large bonfire to be made. Accordingly, three good-sized fir-trees were
felled, and bound together to form a sort of pyramid. A glorious sight
when the flames had scaled the heights, turning each little twig into a
golden brand, and drawing a profusion of rockets from every branch—far
more beautiful than any fireworks I had seen.
One of our guides, called Nicolaïa—the tallest and wildest-looking
of the group—especially distinguished himself on this occasion. He
had evidently something of the salamander in his constitution, for he
seemed to be absolutely impervious to heat, and to feel, in fact, quite
as comfortable inside the fire as out of it. By common consent he was
generally assigned the part of cat’s-paw, to him being delegated the
office of taking a boiling pot off the fire or picking the roasted
potatoes from out the red-hot embers. Standing as he now was, almost in
the centre of the glowing pile, supporting the burning fir-trees with
his sinewy arms, while a perfect shower of sparks rained thickly down
all over his ragged shirt and bare, tawny chest, it required no stretch
of imagination to take him for a figure designed by Doré and stepped
straight out of Dante’s Inferno.
* * * * *
Our last morning came, and with heartfelt regret we prepared to leave
the lovely valley where we had spent such a truly delicious week. An
additional pack-horse having been sent for from the village below, we
were surprised to see the animal in question make its appearance led by
the Roumanian cure of the parish, who, having heard that a horse was
required, had bethought himself of earning an honest penny by hiring
out his beast and enacting the part of driver. Anywhere else it would
be a strange anomaly to see a clergyman putting himself on a level with
a common peasant, attired in coarse linen shirt and meekly carrying
our bundles; but here this is of every-day occurrence. The Roumanian
peasant, however rigorously he may adhere to the forms of his Church,
has, as I said before, no inordinate respect for the person of his
clergyman, whose infallibility is only considered to last so long as he
is standing before the altar; once outside the church walls he becomes
an ordinary man to his congregation, and not necessarily a particularly
respected or respectable individual. This particular popa was, as it
appeared, not only accustomed to serve as driver, but likewise as beast
of burden himself—as he genially volunteered to carry all the mosses
and ferns we collected on the way. I am ashamed to say that we basely
accepted his services, and loaded him unmercifully with the spoils
of the forest, thus unceremoniously apostrophizing him: “Here, popa,
another hart’s-tongue;” or, “Take this ivy trail, will you?” till he
was wellnigh smothered in sylvan treasures.
Our path to the foot of the mountains, where our carriages were to
await us, was a walk of about three hours; but soon after starting,
our sacerdotal porter having volunteered to show us a short cut, which
should take us down in two-thirds of that time, we gladly grasped
at this proposition and at the prospect of seeing a new part of the
forest; and our other guides being on ahead with the horses, we blindly
intrusted ourselves to the guidance of the holy man, who forthwith
began to lead us through the very thickest forest-mazes, over rocks
and torrents, through bogs and brier, up hill and down dale, till
our clothes were torn, our hands were bleeding, and our tempers were
soured. “The way must be very short, indeed, if it is so bad,” was the
reflection which at first kept up our spirits; but we had yet to learn
that brevity and badness do not always go hand in hand, and that an
execrable path may be lengthy as well. Like jaded warriors overcome by
the fatigue of an excessive march, we now disburdened ourselves of our
rich spoils, having no further thought but to find our way from out
this bewildering labyrinth of smooth beech-stems. Clumps of exquisite
maidenhair ferns, but now so tenderly dug up, were callously cast
aside, and the much-prized layers of velvety moss were brutally left
to perish. All noble instincts seemed dead within us, our weary limbs
and empty stomachs being all we cared for. The forest had suddenly
grown hideous, and we wondered at ourselves for ever having thought it
beautiful. The priest was a ruffian luring us on to our destruction.
Utterly losing sight of his sacerdotal character, we abused him in
harsh and vigorous language, which he meekly bore—I must say that
much for him. Perhaps he had heard similar language before, and was
accustomed to it.
Whether the popa had lost his way and did not wish to acknowledge
it, or whether, as I rather suspect, he had never been in the forest
before, remains an unsolved mystery; the result was, however, that
after nearly seven hours of remarkably hard walking we were still lost
in the depths of the forest, and apparently no nearer our destination
than when we had set out.
At this juncture one of the ladies lay down on the ground, declaring
herself incapable of going a step farther. She was nearly fainting
with fatigue and hunger, for all our provisions had been sent on with
the horses. The predicament was a most unpleasant one; for although
the popa swore for at least the twentieth time that we should arrive
in less than half an hour, we had been too cruelly deceived, and our
confidence in him was gone. Half an hour might just as well mean three
or four hours farther; and even if he spoke the truth our unfortunate
companion was far too much exhausted to proceed.
After a brief consultation we determined that, leaving two gentlemen
in charge of the invalid, some of us should go on with the miscreant
priest as guide, sending back a horse and some restoratives to the
spot. This plan proved successful; for after about three-quarters of an
hour more of clambering and climbing, we reached the forest edge, and
found our guides waiting for us and much perplexed at our nonappearance.
“The devil take the popa!” was their hearty and unanimous exclamation
when we had related our adventure; “who could be fool enough to follow
the priest? Did we not know that it was bad-luck even to meet a popa?”
they asked us pityingly; and certainly, under the circumstances, we
felt inclined for once to attach some weight to popular superstition,
and inwardly to resolve never again to trust ourselves to the guidance
of a Roumanian popa.
FOOTNOTES:
[82] Reprinted from a publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian
Society.
[83] The meeting of the Emperors of Austria and Russia at Skiernevice,
in September, 1884.
CHAPTER LIV.
LA DUS AND BISTRA.
This first taste of the delights of a Transylvanian mountain excursion
had but stimulated our desire for more enjoyment of the same kind.
After revelling so unrestrainedly in the pure mountain air, it was not
possible to settle down at once to the monotony of every-day life.
Some touch of the restless, roving spirit of the gypsies had come over
me, and I began to understand that the life they lead might have a
fascination nowhere else to be found. I positively hungered for more
air, more sunshine, for deeper draughts of the pine wood fragrance,
further revelations of the mountain wonders. I could not afford to
waste the very last days of this glorious summer weather cooped up
within narrow streets; and as one or two of my late companions were of
the same way of thinking, another expedition was speedily resolved upon.
It was, however, not without difficulty that we organized this second
excursion, which could not possibly be attempted by two ladies without
at least an equal number of gentlemen. Especially if there were going
to be any more fainting-fits, a second protector was an imperative
necessity; and who could tell (women being proverbially incalculable in
their doings) whether we might not both select the self-same moment for
swooning away? As yet only one of the stronger sex had been secured,
and a second seemed to be nowhere forthcoming. As I before remarked,
it is no easy matter to find a person with exactly the requisite
qualifications for a mountaineering companion, and I am inclined to
believe that Diogenes must have been contemplating some such ascent
when he ran about the streets of Athens with a lantern. We had gone
over the list of our dearest friends, and had rejected most of them,
feeling convinced that we should get to detest them in the course
of the first forty-eight hours. Of those few who remained some were
unwell and others unwilling; some had no time and others no boots; the
cavalry officers rarely cared to walk at all, and infantry officers
were of opinion that they had quite enough walking already in their
usual routine of military duty; and it is mournful to have to record
that out of a population of about twenty-two thousand inhabitants, not
another man could be found both willing and able to walk up a hill with
a couple of ladies.
Our plan, therefore, seemed doomed to dire disappointment, when a
bright thought struck me—the very brightest I ever had. Besides the
population of 13,000 Germans, 3737 Roumanians, 2018 Magyars, 238 Jews
and Armenian gypsies, and 443 infants, shown by the latest statistical
return of the town, Hermanstadt could boast of something else—namely,
one Englishman; and on this one solitary countryman all my hopes were
accordingly fixed.
The gentleman in question, who had made his appearance here some months
previously along with his wife and child, had long been a source of
deep and perplexing interest to the inhabitants of Hermanstadt. None
of them knew his name, and no name was required, “Der Engländer” being
sufficient to describe the fabulous stranger who had found his way
to these remote regions. No one spoke of him in any other way, and
his bills and parcels were sent to him invariably addressed to “Der
Engländer.” His wife and his hat, his umbrella and his stockings, his
boots and his baby, were as many sources of puzzling conjecture to
these worthy people, who regarded him with all the deeper suspicion
just because the life he led was so apparently harmless.
What had brought him to this out-of-the-way corner of Europe? was
the question which troubled many a Saxon mind; and more than one was
of opinion that he was a British spy sent by Mr. Gladstone for the
express purpose of studying the military resources of the country
and corrupting the population. No one would, I think, have been much
surprised if some dark crime had been brought home to him, or if a
supply of nitro-glycerine had been found concealed in the baby’s
perambulator—the two most suspicious circumstances about him being,
that he had occasionally been seen looking on at the military parade,
and had an uncanny habit of taking long walks in the country. It
was, however, precisely this last ominous symptom which had directed
my thoughts to him on this occasion; and having formed a slight
acquaintance with Mr. P—— and his wife, I felt sure that he would
prove equal to the occasion.
A deep analysis of international character has led me to the conclusion
that, in a contingency like the present, one Englishman may be fairly
balanced against a trifling majority of some twenty thousand other
mixed races; so I put forward my candidate, expressing a conviction
that my countryman would in no way fall short of the national standard
which demands that every Englishman shall do his duty.
“Very well,” said my friend, half reluctantly, “let us ask ‘Der
Engländer,’ if you really think it safe.” So after I had pledged my
honor that the country’s security would in nowise be imperilled, I
secured the valuable and agreeable companionship of Mr. P——, and we
set out once more, a small party of four people, with the requisite
number of guides and baggage-horses.
This second expedition was to be conducted on a somewhat different
principle from the first; for, instead of taking up our quarters at one
given point, we proposed wandering over the mountains in true gypsy
fashion, sleeping wherever we happened to find shelter in shepherds’
huts or foresters’ lodges, or, in the absence of these, camping under a
sail-cloth tent we carried with us. It had been planned that we were to
remain out fully ten days, returning by a different route, and making a
short excursion into Roumania.
We drove to the foot of the hills, and then commenced our ascent from
a Roumanian village, where the white-veiled women plying the distaff
in front of their doors sent us courteous salutations as we passed.
The weather was radiantly beautiful, the atmosphere of a faultless
transparency, without a breath of air to hasten the falling leaves, or
a cloud to mar the effect of the deep-blue vault. There were still wild
flowers enough—campanulas, gentians, and wild carnations—growing on
the steep grassy slopes, to make us fancy ourselves in midsummer; and
the gaudy insects disporting themselves thereon—butterflies blue and
purple, gold and scarlet grasshoppers, and shining bronze beetles—were
as many brilliant impostors luring us on to the belief that winter was
still far away.
But the furry caterpillars scuttling across our path at headlong speed,
in their haste to wrap themselves up in their warm winter cocoons, knew
better; and so did the ring-doves and martens, which, with other tribes
of migrating birds, were all winging it swiftly towards the south,
making dark streaks in the blue sky overhead.
For our part, we felt it almost too hot to walk uphill in the sun, and
were thankful when, after an hour’s ascent, we gained the shade of the
dense pine forests which, without admixture of beech, clothe all this
part of the country.
There is no sense of monotony in these beautiful pine woods, though
one may walk in them for many days without reaching the end of the
forest, for no two parts of it are alike, and surprises await us at
every turn. Thus one region is distinguished by a profusion of coral
ornaments, the huge red toadstools, sprouting everywhere on the
emerald moss, looking like monster sugar-plums which have fallen from
these gigantic Christmas-trees; then suddenly a new transformation
takes place, and we are walking in a mermaid’s grove far beneath the
sea—for are not the trees here adorned with tremulous hangings of
palest green sea-weed? Yet this is no other than a lichen, the _Usnea
barbata_, or bearded moss, also called Rübezahl’s hair, which with such
strange perversity will sometimes seize upon a whole forest district,
thus fantastically decking it out in this long, wavy fluff, hanging
from each twig and branch in fringes and bunches like a profusion of
gray-green icicles; while elsewhere, under apparently the self-same
conditions of soil and vegetation, we may seek for it in vain.
Farther on we come upon a scene still more weird and suggestive, as
we seem to have stepped unawares into a land of ghosts. Hundreds of
dead fir-trees, bleached and dry, are standing here upright and stark.
Untouched by the storm, and unbroken by old age, with every branch
and twig intact, they have been stricken to the heart’s core by a
treacherous enemy, the _Borkenkäfer_ (_Bostrichus typographus_), a
small but baneful insect, which for years past has been plying its
deadly craft, and, vampire-like, sapping their life away. It is a
relief to quit this death-like region, and return to the exuberant life
expressed in every line of those gorgeous trees, growing scarce fifty
paces ahead of their stricken brethren, whose lower branches, weighed
down beneath the burden of their own magnificence, have sunk to the
ground, where they lie voluptuously embedded in the rank luxuriance of
the moss-woven grass. Yet here, too, the deadly insect will come, in
scarce half a dozen years, to turn those emerald giants into staring
white ghosts. Day by day it is creeping nearer, and though they know it
not, those deluded trees, their days are already counted. Let us pass
on; life is not blither than death after all!
Our first halt was made at La Dus, a small group of huts tenanted in
summer by Hungarian gendarmes, there stationed for the purpose of
keeping a lookout on smugglers and possible military deserters, who may
hope to evade service by concealing themselves among the shepherds, or
going over the frontier into Roumania. The immediate surroundings of
this little establishment are somewhat bleak and desolate, the forest
having been of late much cleared out at this spot. A tiny cemetery
behind the houses seems to act the part of pleasure-ground as well;
for right in its centre, separating the seven or eight graves into two
rows, is a primitive skittle-ground—which curious arrangement can only
be explained by the supposition that here the skittles had the right of
priority, the dead men being but dissipated interlopers, who, having
loved to play at skittles during their lifetime, desired to be united
to them even in death. The remains of a camp-fire I observed in one
corner was another sign of the peculiar way the defunct are treated in
this obscure church-yard, the ashes on closer investigation showing the
charred wrecks of some of the crosses and railings missing from more
than one grave.
In a wooden _châlet_ reserved for the occasional visits of inspection
of a head forester we obtained night-quarters, proceeding next
morning on our way, which again took us through similar pine woods,
reaching this time a comfortable shooting-lodge lying deep in the
forest of Bistra, where we were made welcome by a hospitable Roumanian
game-keeper and four or five remarkably amiable pointers, which
threatened to stifle us with their affectionate demonstrations.
The weather had now begun to change, and a small drizzling rain had
already surprised us on the way. Reluctantly we acknowledged that the
caterpillars were by no means so devoid of sense as had appeared at
first sight; and those migrating winged families, which had seemed
so unreasonably anxious to start for Italy, were now slowly rising
in our estimation, and as we were very comfortably installed at the
game-keeper’s lodge, we resolved to stay there two nights in order to
give the weather time to improve before venturing on to higher ground.
This intervening day of rest was spent pleasantly enough in walking
about and sketching, despite occasional showers of rain; while the
gentlemen proceeded to shoot _haselhühner_ in the forest. For the
benefit of those unacquainted with these delicious little birds, I
must here mention that they are about the size of a partridge, but
of far superior flavor. They are mostly to be found in pine forests,
where they feed on the delicate young pine-shoots, along with
juniper-berries, sloes, and heather-nibs, which gives to them (in a
fainter degree) something of the sharp aromatic taste of the grouse.
Close to the game-keeper’s lodge there was a dashing mountain torrent
of considerable volume, and this point had been selected for the
construction of a _klause_ (literally cloister)—or to put it more
clearly, a monster dam—across the torrent-bed, with movable sluices.
By means of the body of water obtained in this way, the wood of the
forest is conveyed to the lower world. The river-banks are here
enlarged till they form a small lake, and the dam, built up securely
of massive bowlder-stones, is, for greater preservation against wind
and weather, walled and roofed in with wooden planking, which gives
to it the appearance of a roomy habitation. In connection with this
lake are numerous wooden slides or troughs, which, slanting down from
the adjacent hills, deposit whole trunks at the water’s edge, there
to be hewn up into convenient logs and thrown into the water. When a
sufficient quantity of wood has been thus collected the sluices are
opened, and with thunder-like noise the cataract breaks forth, easily
sweeping its wooden burden along.
Even greater loads sometimes reach the lower world by this watery road,
and occasionally twenty to twenty-five stems, roughly shaped into beams
for building purposes, are fastened together so as to form a sort of
raft, firmly connected at one end by cross-beams and wooden bands,
but left loose at the opposite side to admit of the beams separating
fan-like, according to the exigencies of the encountered obstacles, as
they are whirled along. Two men furnished with lengthy poles act as
steersmen, and it requires no little skill to guide this unwieldy craft
successfully through the labyrinth of rocks and whirlpools which beset
the river’s bed. The perils of such a cruise are considerable, and used
to be greater still before some of the worst rocks were blasted out of
the way. Sometimes the whole craft goes to pieces, dashed against the
bowlders, or else a fallen tree-stem across the river may crush the
sailors as they are swept beneath. From this fate the navigators may
sometimes barely escape by throwing themselves prostrate on the raft,
or by leaping over the barrier at the critical moment; or else, when
the obstacle is not otherwise to be evaded, and seems too formidable
to surmount, they find it necessary to make voluntary shipwreck by
steering on to the nearest rock. The thunder-like noise of the cataract
renders speech unavailing, so it is only by signs that the men can
communicate with each other.
This particular klause is not in use at present, as there are similar
ones in neighboring valleys; so the little colony of log-huts built
for the accommodation of workmen is standing empty, and single huts can
be rented at a moderate price by any one who wishes to enjoy some weeks
of a delightful solitude in the midst of fragrant pine forests.
CHAPTER LV.
A NIGHT IN THE STINA.
As on the second morning the rain had stopped, we thought we might
venture to proceed on our way, the next station we had in view being
the Jäeser See, a mysterious lake lying high up in the hills, of which
many strange tales are told. This _meeresauge_ (eye of the sea, as all
such high mountain lakes are called by the people) is the source of the
river Cibin, and believed by the country-folk to be directly connected
with the ocean by subterraneous openings. The bones of drowned seamen
and spars from wrecked ships are said to have been there washed ashore;
and popular superstition warns the stranger not to presume to throw
a stone into its gloomy depths, as a terrible thunder-storm would be
the inevitable result of such sacrilege. According to some people, the
Jäeser See would be no other than the devil’s own caldron, in which
he brews the weather, and where a dragon sleeps coiled up beneath the
surface.
No wonder we felt anxious to visit such an interesting spot, and that
we pressed onward without heeding the driving mists which every now and
then obscured our view. We had now reached the extremity of the pine
region, and were walking along a mountain shoulder where short stunted
bushes of fir and juniper afforded shelter for countless _krametsvögel_
(a sort of fieldfare), which flew up startled at our approach, uttering
shrill, piercing cries. Several birds were shot as we went along; but
as we had no dog to seek them out, they were mostly lost in the thick
undergrowth where they had fallen.
The sun had now hidden itself, and a sharp piping wind was blowing
full in our faces. We struggled on manfully notwithstanding, for some
time, in face of discouragement; but when at last the mist had turned
to a driving snow-storm, blinding our eyes and catching our breath,
we forcedly came to a stand-still, to consider what next was to be
done. There was no shelter to be obtained by going on, as our guides
explained; even did we succeed in reaching the lake, which was doubtful
in this weather, there was neither hut nor hovel near it, nor for
many miles around, and we ruefully acknowledged that our much-vaunted
sail-cloth tent would afford but scanty shelter against such a storm
as was evidently coming on. It was too late to think of returning to
the forester’s lodge, being near four o’clock, and darkness set in soon
after six. By good-luck, as we happened to remember, we had passed a
seemingly deserted shepherds’ hut about half an hour previously, the
only habitation we had seen that day. By retracing our steps we might
at least hope to pass the night under cover.
It proved no such easy matter, however, to find the place in question,
for the heavy mists which accompanied the snow-storm enveloped us on
all sides as with a veil, and we could not distinguish objects only
twenty paces off; and although the hut stood out upon an open slope of
pasture, we passed it close by more than once without suspecting. At
last, despatching a guide to ascertain the exact bearings, we waited
till his welcome shout informed us that our place of refuge was found,
and a few minutes later we had reached the stina.
This hut, very roughly put together of logs and beams, had been
evacuated by the shepherds some ten days previously; its walls were
very low, the roof disproportionately high; there were no windows,
and none were required, for there were as many chinks as boards, and
fully more holes than nails about the building, and these, in freely
admitting the wind and the rain, furnished enough daylight to see by
as well. Yet such as it was, it was infinitely better than our flimsy
tent, and we felt heartily thankful for the shelter it afforded.
The hut inside was divided off into two compartments, one for living
and sleeping, the other a sort of store-room where the shepherds are
in the habit of keeping their milk and cheeses. Some rude attempt at
furnishing had also been made; one or two very primitive benches, some
slanting boards to serve as beds, and a rickety table, weighted down
by stones to keep it together. Bunches of dried juniper were stuck
at regular intervals along the eaves of the roof inside by way of
decoration; perhaps, also, as a charm to keep the lightning away. Some
little objects carved out of wood, knives, spoons, etc., came likewise
to light in our course of investigation.
There was no such thing as a fireplace or chimney, but a heap of gray
wood-ashes in the centre of the stamped earth floor testified that a
fire could be made notwithstanding, and only the patient smoke of many
summers could have polished those beams inside the hut into that shiny
surface of rich brown hue.
We took the hint, and presently the welcome sight of dancing flames
lit up the scene. At first a dense smoke filled the building, and
there seemed really no choice between freezing and suffocation, when
some inventive spirit bethought himself of knocking out a portion of
the roof by means of a long pole, and so making an improvised chimney.
The current of air thus effected instantaneously carried off the dense
smoke-clouds, and left the atmosphere comparatively clear.
Like fire-fly swarms the sparks flew upward, probing the mysterious
darkness of the cavernous roof; and now as the blast swept by outside,
shaking the walls and fanning the flames to an angry growl, the dead
wood-ashes were likewise stirred to life, and, wafted aloft in the
guise of fluttering white moths, they joined in a whirling dance with
the golden fire-flies.
We had suspended our drenched cloaks from the cross-beams near the
fire, and were beginning to prepare our supper, when a startling
interruption gave a new current to our thoughts. One of the guides who
had been collecting firewood outside now rushed in, exclaiming, “A
bear! a bear! There is a young bear up there among the rocks.”
Breathless we all hurried to the door, and Count B—— seized his gun,
trembling with joyful anticipation, and almost too much agitated to
load. The snow-storm had momentarily relaxed its violence, and there,
sure enough, on the rising ground a little above the hut, we espied
a black and shaggy animal gazing at us furtively from over a large
bowlder-stone. It could be nothing else but a bear.
With palpitating hearts we watched the huntsman steal upward till
within shot, terrified lest the bear should take alarm too soon. But
no; this was not the sort of disappointment in store for us! The animal
let itself be approached till within a dozen paces; it was a perfectly
ideal bear in all respects, coming as it seemed with such obliging
readiness to be shot at our very threshold.
Delusive dream! too beautiful to last! One moment more and the shot
would be fired; we held our breath to listen—and then—oh, woful
disappointment!—the gun was lowered, and the would-be bear-hunter
called out in heart-rending accents, “It is only a dog!”
Only a poor half-starved dog, forgotten by the shepherds on their
descent into the valley, and which probably had been prowling round
the hut ever since in hopes of seeing his masters return. The animal
was shaggy and uncouth in the extreme, gaunt and wild-looking from
hunger, with glaring yellow eyes which gazed at us piteously from out
its bushy elf-locks. Even at a very short distance, the resemblance to
a bear was striking.
We called the poor outcast, and would fain have given him food and
shelter; but he was scared and savage, and misunderstanding our
benevolent intentions, could not be persuaded to approach. We had
therefore to content ourselves with throwing food from a distance,
which he stealthily devoured whenever he thought himself unobserved.
After this bitter disappointment we returned to the hut, and there made
ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would permit, completing our
cooking arrangements, not without a sigh of regret for the delicate
bear’s-paws we had just now been expecting to sup upon; though a brace
of haselhühner shot the previous day in the Bistra forest, and now
roasted on a spit, gave us no cause to complain of the quality of our
food.
Our next care was to prepare our sleeping-couches, for here there was
not even a sprinkling of straw to soften the hard boards. Luckily,
these forests contain an endless supply of patent spring mattresses,
and a few armfuls of fresh-cut fir-branches, with a rug spread over,
makes as good a bed as any one need desire. A Scotch plaid (my faithful
companion for many years) hung along the wall kept off the worst
draughts, and a roaring fire sustained the whole night prevented us
from perishing with cold. Our sleeping-boards were close alongside
this improvised hearth, with barely room enough to pass between
without singeing one’s clothes; yet while our faces were roasting, our
backbones were often as cold as ice, so it became necessary to turn
round from time to time when in imminent danger of getting over-done at
one side. Opposite us slumbered the guides, taking turns to sit up and
tend the fire.
Many a massive log was burned that night, and not only trunks and
branches, but much of the rustic furniture as well, was pressed into
service as fuel. The shepherds will require to furnish their house anew
next summer.
It was late ere sleep came to any of us, and when it came at last it
brought strange phantoms in its train; visions of ghosts and sorcerers,
of bears and bandits, flitted successively through our brain; and
scarcely less strange than dream-land was the reality to which we
were occasionally roused by alternate twinges of cold and heat—the
smouldering fire at our elbow, the slumbering guides, and the white
moths and fire-flies whirling aloft in the frenzied mazes of a wild
Sabbath dance, to which the moaning wind, like the wailing voice of
some unquiet spirit, played a mournful accompaniment.
When morning came we reviewed our situation dispassionately. The storm
was over, and the day, though dull, was fair as yet; but the horizon
was clouded, and some peasants coming by told us of snow lying deep on
the mountains we were bound for. We could no longer blind ourselves to
the fact that summer was over, and that the troublesome mists, which
but a fortnight ago could easily be dispersed by the sun’s disdainful
smile, were now the masters up here.
It was clearly impossible to proceed farther under the circumstances;
so, remembering that discretion is often the better part of valor,
we resolved to cut short our expedition, postponing all further
explorations to a more favorable season.
When our little caravan was set in motion, I turned round to take a
last look at the hut which had sheltered us, and which most likely
I shall never see again. There, motionless on a neighboring rock,
crouched the gaunt figure of the hungry dog, gazing intently before
him. Then, as I watched, he crept stealthily down till he had reached
the half-open door of the empty stina, where, after a cautious
investigation to assure himself of the coast being clear, he entered,
and was lost to my sight. Doubtless he thought to warm himself by the
fire we had left, and to discover some food-scraps remaining from our
meals.
That dog haunted my thoughts for many days afterwards, and I could
not refrain from speculating on its fate, which can only have been a
tragic one. Did it perish of cold and hunger, or else fall a prey to
the wild beasts of the forest? After having but yesterday unconsciously
enacted the part of the bear, perhaps Bruin himself came to fetch it on
the morrow. It would, after all, have been more merciful if the error
had lasted a little longer, and a kindly bullet been lodged in its
unsuspecting heart.
CHAPTER LVI.
FAREWELL TO TRANSYLVANIA—THE ENCHANTED GARDEN.
So the end of our Transylvanian sojourn had actually come, and like
many things whose prospect appears so unconditionally desirable when
viewed in the far distance, the realization of this wish now failed to
bring altogether the anticipated satisfaction.
[Illustration: THE CAVERN CONVENT, SKIT LA JALOMITZA.[84]]
Whoever has read Hans Andersen’s exquisite tale of the fir-tree will
understand the indescribable pathos assumed by commonplace objects as
soon as they are relegated from the present tense into the past; and
those who have not read this fairy tale will understand it equally
well, for is not the story of the fir-tree the history of each of our
own lives?
I had indeed often longed to be back again in the world; I had yearned
to be once more within reach of newspapers and lending-libraries, and
to be able to get letters from England in three days instead of six. Of
course I would return to the world some day or other; but that day need
not have come just yet, I now told myself, and I should have liked to
spend one more summer in face of that glorious chain of mountains I had
got to love so dearly.
All at once I became acutely conscious of a dozen projects not yet
accomplished—of points of interest as yet unvisited, of pictures I had
not yet looked upon, of songs I had not heard. The proud snowy Negoi
I had so often dreamed of ascending now smiled down an icy smile of
unapproachable majesty upon my disappointment; the dark pine forests I
had expected to revisit seemed to grow dim and shadowy as they eluded
my grasp, and with them many other objects of my secret longing. That
other mountain, the Bucsecs, where live those solitary monks, snowed up
during the greater part of the year in their cavern convent scooped out
of the rock; the noble castle of the great Hunyady, pearl of mediæval
citadels; those wondrous salt-mines of Maros-Ujvar, whose description
reads like a vision in a fairy tale; and those rivers whose waters may
literally be said to “wander o’er sands of gold”—the thought of these,
and of many other such items, now rose up like tormenting spectres to
swell the mournful list of my blighted hopes. There were dozens of
old ruined towers whose interior I had not yet seen, scores of little
way-side chapels I had proposed to investigate. Why, even in this very
town of Hermanstadt there were nooks and corners I had not explored,
church-towers I had not ascended, and mysterious little gardens as yet
unvisited. Precisely the most inviting-looking of these gardens, the
most mysteriously suggestive, and the one which showed the richest
promise of blossom peeping over the wall, had hitherto baffled all
attempts at entrance. Nearly every day for the last two years I had
passed by that garden, which towered over my head like a sea-bird’s
nest perched on a steep rocky island, and always had I found the gate
to be persistently locked against the outer world. Was I actually
going to leave the place without having set foot within its enchanted
precincts? without having plucked that head of golden laburnum just
breaking into flower, which nodded so mockingly over the wall? and all
at once an irresistible longing came over me; I felt that I _must_
enter that garden, _must_ gather that flower, even were it defended by
dragons and witches.
And my wish did not seem to be impracticable at first sight—the
garden, as I knew, belonging to the cure, a jovial-faced old man, with
whom I had merely a bowing acquaintance, but who, I felt sure, would
be delighted to show me his garden. Accordingly one forenoon, about a
week before my departure from Hermanstadt, I sent my two boys with a
calling-card, on which was indited my request in the politest terms and
most legible handwriting at my command.
The small messengers I had despatched to the presbytery came back even
sooner than I had expected, but their mien was crestfallen, and their
eyes suspiciously moist.
“What is the matter?” I asked, in surprise. “Have you not brought me
the key of the garden? Did not the cure say Yes?”
[Illustration: CASTLE VAJDA HUNYAD BEFORE ITS RESTORATION.]
“He said nothing; we never saw him. The whole house was full of doctors
and of pails of ice,” was the somewhat incoherent explanation. “And
then there came an old woman with a broom and made us go away.”
Evidently the subject of the broom was too painful to be dwelt upon,
for the moisture in the eyes showed symptoms of reappearing. Further
inquiries elucidated the situation. Alas! it was but too true; the
cure had been seized with a stroke of apoplexy that morning; and after
waiting for two whole years, I had appropriately selected that very
moment to request the loan of his garden key!
Two days later he died, and was buried with much pomp; and then, after
waiting for three days more, I thought I might without indelicacy
repeat my request, applying this time to the sacristan.
The branch of laburnum had now burst into full flower, and the more
I gazed the more absolutely impossible it seemed to leave the place
without it.
This time, in consideration of the broom and the old woman, I had
despatched a full-grown messenger, desiring him on no account to
presume to return without the key; but the answer he brought, though
polite, was yet more hopeless, and he, too, had come back empty-handed.
“Have you been to the sacristan?” I sternly inquired. He had, as he
humbly informed me, and not only to him, but likewise to the next
priest in rank, as well as to the sister and nephew of the deceased,
and to his best friend.
“The gentlemen were all very polite, and much regretted not being able
to oblige me,” he said; “but the garden gate had been closed with the
official seal immediately after the death, and this key, along with all
others, deposited at the _gericht_ (court of justice) till a successor
should be elected.”
“And when will that be?”
“In about six months probably.”
In six months! They dared talk to me of six months, when I should be
gone before as many days! And what cared I for their hypocritical
expressions of regret, now that I knew them to be dragons in disguise?
Hope was now dead within me, for even British pertinacity cannot cope
with supernatural agency, and expect to penetrate realms defended by
witches and dragons.
* * * * *
Driving to the station, we passed for the last time by the impenetrable
stone-wall which masked the object of all this useless longing and
effort, and which, like all unattainable things, looked more than
ever desirable on the balmy May evening we turned our backs upon
Hermanstadt. In vain my eyesight strove to penetrate the dense screen
of flowery shrubs hiding from my view—I know not what. Perhaps an old
temple with shattered columns, or a fountain which has ceased to play?
Maybe an ancient statue draped in ivy, or a tombstone bearing some
long-forgotten name?
Naught could I see but the dense-grown tops of gelder-rose and
bird-cherry pressed tightly together, and one clustering branch of
overblown laburnum dropping its petals in amber showers on to the road.
Were you mocking me, or weeping for me, enigmatical golden flower?
Shall I ever return to gather you?
THE END.
[Illustration: TRANSYLVANIA.]
FOOTNOTES:
[84] Reprinted from a publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian
Society.
* * * * *
[Transcriber’s Note: A number of typesetting errors in the original
where ‘e’ and ‘c’, and ‘u’ and ‘n’ appear to have been used
interchangeably have been corrected without note. In addition, the
following changes have been made to this text:
Page ix: Sehaguna changed to Schaguna.
Page 27: suéde changed to suède.
Page 47: Engene changed to Eugene. Forgarascher changed to Fogarascher.
Page 125: Gerando changed to Gérando.
Page 168: Cogalnitseheann changed to Cogalnitscheanu.
Page 209: Schäsburg changed to Schässburg.
Page 210: Maros-Varshahely changed to Maros-Vasharhely.
Page 236: Grellnan changed to Grellman.
Page 281: badak changed to hadak.
Page 339: Vizkana changed to Vizakna.
Footnote 26: Nyagon changed to Nyagou (twice).]
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