lie turn to Vienna. 115 



OR the surface of the earth, in the comitats of Szalhmar, Bihar, 

 and others. The labours for collecting it are pretty considerable, 

 sufficient to answer the demands of Hungary and Austria. Near 

 7000 quintals were taken on the account of Government in 1802, 

 but the produce might have been much augmented. 



My next route was from Debretzin to Pest, a journey of four 

 days, across the great plain, which constitutes in some measure, 

 the centre of the whole country. The superficial extent, from 

 the Danube to the mountainous parts, is not less than 40,000 

 square leagues. In all this range, the traveller, especially in the 

 latter part of the season, might fancy himself in the heart of a 

 desert, with no apparent road, and whatever dwellings might be 

 traced, would lie scattered, in various directions in the chief towns, 

 at vast distances one from another. And what are a great number 

 of these habitations ? wretched hovels, built of earth and straw, 

 or a sort of rough bricks dried in the sun. Not a tree, not a hill, 

 for the eye to repose upon ; and the flat surface, from the effect 

 cf refraction, seems every where to rise and fall in gentle slopes. 

 At the extremity of the visual horizon one might, in some mear- 

 sure, take the height of the stars, as at the horizon of the sea. 

 Sensibilityseems to recoil at the idea of such an immense expanse, 

 bounds to which (lie eye in vain looks for. A profound silence reign- 

 ing throughout the day, it is not without satisfaction, therefore, 

 that the traveller, fatigued with so monotonous a tableau, hails 

 the approach of night, that will relieve the stretch of vision and 

 fancy, by fixing it within the range of his narrower optical sphere, 

 Tiie silence is then interrupted by the cries of water-fowl, and 

 soon the numerous fires, kindled by the herdsmen, the peasants, 

 and by the drivers of carriages, &c. that lodge in the plain, afford 

 an aspect more gay and cheerful. Then, indeed, the traveller 

 does not appear alone, in a desert. But the fires are often, in 

 reality, at very great distances, though to an observer, little used 

 to survey objects over so vast and level a superficies, they may 

 seem very near. It has been my lot, more than once, to spend 

 two hours in a voiture with four horses, to reach one of those 

 .fires, that 1 had thought of coming at in ten minutes. This made 

 me speculate on the angular distances of the fires, which seemed 

 disposed in circles about me, and so near to each other, that the 

 parties might easily form an intercourse. Those distances were 

 not less than two or three leagues. 



This plain becomes the receptacle of all the waters of the east 

 and north ; in general it is extremely humid, and as it every 

 where keeps its level, the rivers that traverse it, not being con- 

 fined within their banks, render the lands miry, or form impracti- 

 cable marshes. The eastern part especially, that is to say, all 

 .the plain to the left of the Theysse, exhibits a sort of extensive 



