THE DESTRUCTION OF SZEGEDIN. 15 



found side by side, master and servant, the well- 

 dressed citizen, the scantily-clothed Slav, the poor 

 women, and even the little children all plying to 

 and fro with their burdens. The men wheeling 

 loaded barrows up the steep incline, the women 

 struggling up with their market-baskets filled with 

 earth ; the strong, the weak, all alike bent on the 

 one object the struggle for dear life against those 

 whelming waters. It wanted but a few inches, and 

 the overmastering flood would have its way ; still the 

 poor people were not without hope. For twenty-four 

 hours the water had not risen : this was a good sign, 

 and the brave multitude took heart of grace, and hour 

 after hour, day and night, the steady work went on. 

 I was greatly impressed by the quietness and order 

 which was maintained throughout ; a state of things 

 which reflects infinite credit on the townspeople 

 generally. 



It is true that Szegedin was really in a state of 

 siege, and the inhabitants under martial law. A few 

 days previous to our arrival, the danger of inundation 

 had become so obvious, that General Pulz, the com- 

 mander of the troops stationed in the town, number- 

 ing about two thousand, had issued orders that all 

 the inhabitants were liable to be called out to work 

 on the dike ; and the orders were to be obeyed on 

 pain of death. Companies of soldiers went out from 

 time to time, and marshalled the townspeople in 

 batches of one hundred and fifty each, bringing 



