THE DESTRUCTION OF SZEGEDIX. 33 



calm succeeds. In the case of inundation, however, 

 the trouble only passes away with despairing slow- 

 ness. It is impossible to arrive at any estimate at 

 present of the loss incurred by the agriculturist. 

 The fields belonging to Szegedin alone are said to 

 comprise an area of 315 square miles. When the 

 Emperor visited the scene of the calamity, the mayor 

 addressed him, saying : " Your Majesty, we have lost 

 all our fields, our goods, our houses, all we have is 

 destroyed." The havoc is indeed terrible, but it must 

 be hoped that the " fields " may not be utterly lost ; 

 the injury depends very much on whether the irrup- 

 tion of the Avaters was violent or otherwise. 



This question brings us to a consideration of the 

 causes which induced the overflow of the Theiss. 

 Before doing so, however, I will give a brief extract 

 from the official report of His Excellency Count 

 Ivarolyi to the Lord Mayor of London. " The 

 two communities of Algyb and Tape," says the 

 Austro - Hungarian Ambassador, " have had their 

 whole territory overrun by water. In Tape 477 

 houses fell, in Algyb 425 houses; the inhabitants, 

 to the number of nearly six thousand at the latter 

 place, left, abandoning all their property. 8014 

 acres of land in Tape, and 2243 acres in Algyb, are 

 flooded. The community of Dorosnm had 1820 

 houses, with 9688 inhabitants, 32,359 acres of land. 

 Only 300 houses remained standing ; the rest, with 

 all provisions and stores, and the largest part of the 



VOL. v. c 



