THE DESTRUCTION OF SZEGEDIN. 9 



informant mentioned that the last time he had been 

 at the place was in the autumn of 1876, when there 

 was a very interesting exhibition of natural produc- 

 tions and manufactured articles. It was one of those 

 smaller shows, which in their local way have honour- 

 ably followed the example set by the International 

 Expositions. My friend went on to say that the 

 people of Szegedin were most energetic about all edu- 

 cational matters. The largest building in the town is 

 the schoolhouse a good sign always. I saw it later, 

 an imposing structure of four storeys, the highest in 

 the whole place ; and, as it turned out, it was a very 

 ark of refuge for the poor drowning people, saving 

 hundreds of lives. 



Szegedin, it seems, is not without some historical 

 associations. In the dreary time when the Turks had 

 possession of a great part of Hungary, and threw 

 civilisation back at least three centuries, they estab- 

 lished themselves strongly at Szegedin. They built 

 there a considerable fort, which is a feature in the 

 present town. The encroachment of the Theiss is 

 shown by the fact that one of the Turkish towers is 

 now completely surrounded by water. The Romans, 

 too, probably had a colony on the same site, for a 

 great quantity of Roman remains have been found in 

 the immediate vicinity.' 



The inhabitants of Szegedin are principally Mag- 

 yars, but no part of Hungary is free from admixture 

 of other races ; and there is a large infusion of Servs, 



