18 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



his recent letter of sympathy to the Emperor which, 

 by the way, buries the party rancour of a lifetime 

 " Szegedin must live ; Szegedin must not be lost." 



But I anticipate. At present the aspect of this 

 lofty council-chamber is sad and troubled enough. 

 The carved tables and the high-backed chairs, which 

 were wont to seat the worshipful burghers, have been 

 pushed away, huddled together without care, to make 

 room for rows of mattresses for the fugitives who had 

 come in from the neighbouring villages. 



We received a hearty welcome from the burgher- 

 master, more especially as one of our number, Mr 

 Gerster, is a director of the Francis Canal Towage 

 Company, and he was no stranger in the town. It 

 was by his orders that the steam-tug Czongrad had 

 been sent to Szegedin to await our arrival. Mr 

 Gerster placed the steamer at the disposal of the 

 authorities ; and it was after some consultation with 

 them that we agreed to make an expedition the 

 following morning up the Theiss to render help to 

 a party of four hundred workmen, who were believed 

 to be isolated by the waters, and in danger of their 

 lives. This plan of course depended on all going on 

 well through the night. 



After the interview with the authorities at the 

 Varos-haz, I walked about the town for a couple 

 of hours to take note of the situation. In the lower 

 parts, the people were much occupied in plastering 

 up the house doors, or even building them in with 



