The Races of the Danube.. 227 



has even become possible to talk about a " Latin 

 race " ! In like manner the Prussian of Konigs- 

 berg, his Lettic mother-tongue forgotten for six 

 generations, makes common cheer with the Suevi 

 of Stuttgart and the Alemanni of Munich. In 

 the border-land of the Danube, on the other hand, 

 whatever chance there might have been for any 

 such assimilation of races and dialects was cut 

 off by perpetual incursions of Tataric tribes pre- 

 venting the growth of anything like nationality. 

 Under some circumstances the pressure exerted 

 by a totally alien enemy might serve as a stimu- 

 lus to national consolidation. But here the va- 

 rious races were too recently brought together, 

 and the pressure of barbaric attack was so great 

 as to keep society disorganized. The races of the 

 Danube are accordingly still so heterogeneous 

 that it is worth while to point out their various 

 affinities and give some brief account of their past 

 career. 



In order to get a comprehensive view of the 

 subject, it is desirable to go back to the begin- 

 ning and recall the principal features of the settle- 

 ment of Europe by the people who now possess 

 it. According to the most probable opinion, the 

 present population of Europe is the result of the 

 pre-historic mixture, in varying degrees, of two 



