Salzburg, or Vizakna as it is named in Hungarian, renowned1 for its salt-mines, is the first station on the line on leaving Hermanstadt—a melancholy3, barren-looking place, seemingly engendered4 by Nature in one of her most stagnant5 moods. A wearisome stretch of sandy hillocks, their outlines broken here and there by unsightly cracks and fissures6, is all that meets the eye; not a tree or bush to relieve the monotony of the short stunted7 grass, where starved-looking daisies, and spiritless, emaciated8 chamomiles, are all the flowers to be seen. No wonder the great white cattle look moody9 and dissatisfied, as from the sandy cliff above they sullenly10 gaze down at their own reflections in the dull green waters of the T?k?li Bath. This bath, highly beneficial in cases of acute rheumatism11, 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 T?k?li and other salt-mines, which, only worked in winter, yearly furnish some eighty thousand hundred-weight of salt. But the weirdest12 and gloomiest spot about Salzburg is an old ruined mine, deserted13 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 shaft14, 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{340} 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 wretches15 are forced to sue for their lives in deadliest fear.
The prettiest of the Saxon towns we passed on our way to Kronstadt is Sch?ssburg, situated16 on the banks of the river. Towers and ramparts peep out tantalizingly17 from luxurious18 vegetation, making us long to get out and explore the place; particularly inviting19 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, Pet?fi, perished in the battle of Sch?ssburg 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.
Pet?fi’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 valid20 reason for believing this tale, and more likely his was one of the many mutilated and unrecognizable corpses21 which strewed22 the valley of Sch?ssburg on that disastrous23 day.
SCH?SSBURG.
(Reprinted from publication of the Transylvanian Carpathian Society.)
To the west of the town we catch sight of a solitary24 turret25 perched on the overhanging cliff above the river; it is said to mark the place where a Turkish pacha, besieging26 the town with his army, was slain27 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 inscription28 on the pacha’s resting-place has become almost illegible29, but the legend still runs in the people’s mouths, and is told in verse as follows:
“By Sch?ssburg, on the mountain
A turret gray doth stand,
{343}
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 doughty30 deeds and bold.
Still faithfully the people
Relate this legend old:
In by-gone days of trouble
Went forth31, with sword and brand,
A mighty32 Turkish pacha,
To devastate33 the land.
“Thus also would he conquer
This ancient Saxon town;
But here each man was ready
To die for its renown2.
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 haughty34 Moslem35
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 fortress36 turret,
With deadly aim and true.
A sturdy goldsmith was it
Who fired this famous shot;
The Turkish horde37, which seeing,
Their courage all forgot.
“And panic-struck escaping,
Their pacha left to die,
The elephant still bestriding,
With fixed38 and glassy eye.
Then sallied forth the Saxons
As thus the Moslems fled,
{344}
And gazed on the dead pacha
With joy and yet with dread39.
“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 plaintive40 wailing41
May here be heard at night;
Or chance you to see flitting
A phantom42 figure white,
The pacha ’tis, who cannot
Find lasting43 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 knights44 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 vows45 of chastity and obedience46. 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 negotiations47 between the monarch48 and the Teutonic order seem to have lasted several years, being finally brought to a conclusion{345} in 1211 in a treaty signed by the King in the presence of eighteen distinguished49 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 thereby50 to obtain pardon of his sins and secure eternal salvation51 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 lengthy52 and involved, are likewise set forth all the rights, obligations, privileges, and restrictions53 of the said knights. They were exempted54 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 erect56 the wooden fortresses57 and citadels58 which were amply sufficient to resist attacks from the barbarians59, it was distinctly stipulated60 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 ignominiously61 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 feudal62 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 bribing63 away German colonists64 to settle on their own land to the detriment65 of other provinces—all of which things were distinctly interdicted66 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 marshes67 round Marienburg,{346} each man armed with a long switch wherewith to flog the troublesome frogs, whose croaking68 disturbed the slumbers69 of the holy men up in the castle.
King Andreas, who was of a weak, vacillating disposition70, was easily persuaded by counsellors antagonistic71 to the order to revoke72 the deed of gift, which proclamation was issued in 1221, accompanied by an order to the knights to evacuate73 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 reconciliation74, the result of which was a fresh treaty confirming the previous donation. This renewed deed of gift not only ratified75 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 prospects76 thereby opened of enlarging their domains77, the Teutonic knights were not destined79 to shine much longer in the land they had thus successfully civilized80 and made arable81. 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 supremacy82 of the Burzenland to the Holy See, begging the Pope to enroll83 this province among the Papal States. Of course the knights had no right thus to dispose of a domain78 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 proceeding84 which could only be regarded as the blackest high-treason. This time the breach85 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 eldest86 son (afterwards Bela IV.) was strenuous87 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 relinquished88 the hope of ultimately regaining89 their lost paradise. But all efforts in this direction proved unavailing; for it was decreed that the German knights were to behold90 the Burzenland no more.
{347}
CASTLE OF T?RZBURG.
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 lamented91, 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 T?rzburg, another of those seven fortresses raised by the Teutonic knights during their brief but brilliant reign55. 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 edifice92 to its original form by rebuilding the slender turrets93 of which it had been divested94.
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{348} 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 aged95 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 intoxicated96, 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.
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1
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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renown
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| n.声誉，名望 | |
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3
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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4
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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6
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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8
emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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9
moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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10
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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11
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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12
weirdest
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| 怪诞的( weird的最高级 )； 神秘而可怕的； 超然的； 古怪的 | |
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13
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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14
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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15
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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16
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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17
tantalizingly
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| adv.…得令人着急，…到令人着急的程度 | |
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18
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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19
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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20
valid
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| adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的 | |
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21
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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22
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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23
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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24
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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25
turret
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| n.塔楼，角塔 | |
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26
besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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27
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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28
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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29
illegible
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| adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的 | |
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30
doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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31
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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32
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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33
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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34
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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35
Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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36
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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37
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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38
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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39
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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40
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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41
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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42
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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43
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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44
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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45
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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46
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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47
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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48
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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49
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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50
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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51
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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52
lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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53
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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54
exempted
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| 使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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56
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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57
fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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58
citadels
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| n.城堡，堡垒( citadel的名词复数 ) | |
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59
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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60
stipulated
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| vt.& vi.规定；约定adj.[法]合同规定的 | |
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61
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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62
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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63
bribing
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| 贿赂 | |
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64
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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65
detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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66
interdicted
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| v.禁止（行动）( interdict的过去式和过去分词 )；禁用；限制 | |
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67
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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68
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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69
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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70
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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71
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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72
revoke
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| v.废除，取消，撤回 | |
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73
evacuate
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| v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便 | |
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reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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ratified
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| v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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arable
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| adj.可耕的，适合种植的 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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enroll
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| v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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