THE DESTRUCTION OF SZEGEDIX. 17 



high embankments on both sides. This regulation 

 of the river I shall enlarge upon further on we arc 

 now simply occupied with the bare facts. It was the 

 bursting of one of these embankments on the Szegedin 

 side of the river, about twenty miles further up stream, 

 that first placed the town in danger ; the waters thus 

 pouring down upon the lower level, burst a second 

 dam, situated eight miles above the town. An 

 immense area of country Avas thereby flooded in an 

 incredibly short space of time, and the irresistible 

 waters now poured on and on, till they reached the 

 opposing dike, which was Szegedin's last hope. The 

 gravity of the position was only too evident. I turned 

 from the busy scene on the dike with a heart-sinking 

 sense of despair. Leaving our boats and their con- 

 tents under the charge of an officer, we hastened into 

 the town to report our arrival to the burghermaster. 

 We directed our steps to the town-hall, a building of 

 some architectural importance. A tower springs from 

 its centre, which probably looked down upon the 

 Turks during their occupation of the place. On 

 entering, we were ushered into a fine old room of 

 considerable dimensions ; on the walls, and ranged 

 under the black-raftered ceiling, were hung a number 

 of silk flags, the ancient insignia of the city's power 

 and dignity. Here Kossuth uttered his last address 

 to the JSTational Assembly in 1849, and now, after 

 a lapse of thirty years, the aged patriot speaks again 

 to the townspeople, though from afar. He says in 

 VOL. v. B 



