Herein alone existed any distinction of dress between the oldest matron and the youngest maiden; the garments varying only in the richness of their material. A chemisette of white linen reaching to the throat, where it was confined by a band worked with coloured worsteds, continued down the front of the bosom, and along the tops of the large, full sleeves, was girt about the waist with two woollen aprons worn like those of Servia, but falling only to the knee; where they terminated in a deep fringe of the same colours as the apron, that descended to the ancle. Some few made use of the same unsightly sandals as those of the men, but they were principally barefooted.
The Hungarian peasantry are all soldiers when their services are required, but resume their agricultural and domestic duties immediately that the necessity has ceased to exist; hence they are all erect, and smart-looking; and as they are a remarkably fine race of men, their appearance is very striking. Of the women I cannot in candour say so much, as they are, generally speaking, very plain; with flat features, and expressionless countenances. There were, however, several startling exceptions; and I know not whether in such cases it be actually the intrinsic degree of beauty possessed by the individual, and that in a land of plain women, Nature lavishes on the few all that she has withheld from the many; or that the dearth of good looks in the many may lead a stranger involuntarily to heighten to himself those of the few; but it is certain that I saw in Hungary, as I thought at the time, half a dozen of the loveliest girls imaginable.
We had left Orsova only a few miles behind us, when, descending a short but precipitous declivity, we entered upon a road skirting the mountain ridge on the one hand, and bounded on the other by the bed of a torrent; whose waters, now in a state of comparative repose, brawled over the masses of rock with which their own violence had cumbered the channel during the winter storms; and ran dancing in the light, as their course was further impeded by the fishing-dams of the peasantry; and, after forming a thousand pigmy cascades, fell flashing back into the depths of the ravine, to form a mirror for the overhanging hills.
Another hour of rapid travelling brought us to the ruins of Trajan’s road. Six of the arches, built against the solid rock, still remain nearly perfect; and hence this stupendous work may be traced for several miles, as well as the massy fragments of a bridge across the torrent.
A lovely valley succeeded, hemmed in by hills, and dotted over with little villages, seated on the banks of the mountain stream; looking, from the peculiar formation of their small reed-thatched huts, like gigantic apiaries. Every narrow shelf of rock that could be redeemed from the forest, for such the whole line of heights, (gigantic as they were), may literally be called, was in a high state of cultivation. Patches of Indian corn, flourishing vineyards, green pasture lands, and thriving orchards, were to be seen on all sides; while the effects of the flitting light upon the autumn-touched timber were so magical, so various, and so brilliant, that words are inadequate to paint them. Here and there, among stretches of foliage, varying from the faint silvery green of the river-willow, and the white lining of the aspen-leaf, to the bright gold of the decaying beech, and the rich brown of the withering oak, stood out a huge mass of bare calcareous rock; looking like a giant portal closed upon the hidden treasures of the mountain’s heart. And amid all these glorious hills, this jewel-like foliage, and these flashing waters, we travelled on with the speed of lightning, through an avenue of fruit-trees several miles in length.
A second stretch of the mountain-road conducted us to a spot where a descent had been made to the bed of the torrent; and here, leaving the direct line to the town of Mahadia, we forded the stream, and struck into a byway, which, traversing a dense wood, led immediately to the Baths. It was but an exchange of beauty. And, as we entered the gorge of two stately mountains draped in forest-foliage, and lifting to the sky their high and leafy heads; and saw the eagles planing above them in majestic security, while flowers bloomed beside our path, and small birds twittered among the branches; while the sound of the shepherd’s reed-pipe came sweeping down into the valley from the giddy heights on which his flock were browsing; and the luxurious cattle standing mid-way in the stream, lowed out their enjoyment to their fellows, as if to lure them from the mountain glades amid which they were wandering; I thought that I had never traversed a country so lovely as this corner of Hungary. I would not have missed that morning landscape for another term of quarantaine!
We were quite unprepared for the scene that awaited us at the Baths. The gorge in which they are built is so narrow that the rocks on either side almost overhang the houses; and the torrent rushes brawling along at their base, fed by continual springs. The establishment, which is becoming every year more popular, is on a very large and handsome scale; and the whole aspect of the place is so enchanting, so bright, so calm, and so delightful, that, could we have woven the web of our day to a week’s duration, I am quite sure that not one of our party would have wearied of it.
The Baths are of Roman origin; and in the wall of one of the principal apartments a stone is imbedded which still bears most legibly the following inscription: “To Venus, Mercury, and Hercules, these springs, conducive to Beauty, Activity, and Strength, are dedicated.” They are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and produce on a first trial extreme and almost painful exhaustion; but they are considered to be so very efficacious, particularly in chronic diseases, that the government have erected an Invalid Hospital and Bathing House at the extremity of the mountain, for the use of the troops.
We partook of an excellent dinner at the Table d’Hôte on leaving the Baths; and, greatly to our regret, were then compelled to retrace our steps in order to reach Orsova before dusk. But we had already lingered too long; and, on arriving in the court of the hotel where the post-waggons were awaiting us, we were met by the declaration of the drivers that they would not stir until daylight; the road to Drinkova being cut along the brink of the mountain precipices, and so slightly protected as to be even dangerous at noon-day.
We were, one and all, extremely annoyed at their decision, not knowing if we could afford a loss of time on which we had not calculated; and we almost began to ask ourselves whether the more incurious portion of the party, who had quietly mounted the luggage-waggons at the quarantaine-gate, and pursued their direct road to the steam-station, had not been also the most prudent. For myself, despite the fatigue that I had undergone during the day, and the enervating effect of the sulphuric bath, I had so nerved myself for the night-journey, that I was sincerely disappointed when assured that it was quite impracticable; but, as there was no alternative, we resolved on retiring early to our apartments, whose cleanliness and comfort were enhanced tenfold in our eyes by our recent endurance of the disarray and desolation of the quarantaine cells.