HUNGARY. 



351 



The configuration of t!ii* conntry presents to us the 

 saost oppom'te regioni and climates ; rugged ami onor- 

 MB mountain', where men sterility and eternal 

 now*, and which cover almo-t one- third of the whole 

 kingdom ; extensive flats, irrigated by numerous rivers 

 and lake*, where winter i scarcely known ; plain* of 

 and driven by the win. I, which threaten the traveller 

 with instant death ; fertile and smiling vallrer prulu- 

 cing every nere*s*ry, ami many of th luxork-n. of life 

 in the greatest abundance ; numerou* morams, which 

 corer the surrounding country with their noxioin ex- 

 halations ; and imtneme fore, where the foot of man 

 MM never penetntted. 



On entering the Banmt of Temeachwar on iltf east, 

 the country ipneari like Flanders, flat, and entirely 

 destitute of wood, exeej ' vicinity of the vil- 



lage*. The soil i extreme ly fertile ; and the piospect 

 as we advance exhibit* immenv nestnre* covered with 

 rowi, sheep, and hone* : or wide field* of corn without 

 enclofire*. Silk plantation', and orchard* of peach, 

 t berry, and plum-tree* are eterv where IUMUHNI. Pro- 

 ceeding westward, the country towards Saegedin be- 

 come* sandr ; and after crossing the Thte**e low 

 swampy pMns, full of stagnant pool*, where nothing 

 s heard but the croaking of toads, fill up the distant* 

 to Ketwhkrnx-t. From thence the country, theegh 

 well rttKivatrd in some placet, i flat and 



Itttsia ; and, on approaching the 

 , a chain of mountains appears, which rise with 

 grandeur on the western side of tne hrcr. From Bo* 

 da, towards Gran, the country is rich, popolosjs, and 

 Sills are covered with vine- 

 i to their very mnmits ; nnd every where are seen 

 tfil village* filled witb healthy inhabitants. 



l)nul>r, the mountainous distrii i 

 w*rl- agreeably pictureqne ; and us we 



approach that town, the scenery become* sublime. 

 The appmrance of thi* hemuifal country," say* Mr 

 - nlihnti^h -.urroundrd by momtams, remmded 

 Kent. The cottage* are remarkable 

 ir prest rleanlinem ; and there are numerous vil- 

 lifrirt betwer-- ind Ijrtm is the 



finable, bein^ full of rich meadows 



most bca- 



and fields of corn, every where thick set with noble 

 wak*." Dr CUrke also remarks, that " the road, al- 



eowtrocted in the midst of 



it not 



interior, either in breadth or excellence, to any of the Stotutirs 

 road s about London ; and the traveller, surrounded by '""V" 1 ''' 

 the sublimest natural scenery, sees to his surprise the 

 greatest artificial labours accomplished with neatness, 

 ornament, and economy ; beautiful roads through rc- 

 ceases, and over steeps, that would otherwise lit- im- 

 passible ; churches crowning the most elevated sum- 

 mits; towns and village*; gardens and vineyard*; all de- 

 corating without diminishing the wild grandeur of the 

 Hungarian Alps." Indeed, the whole ot this district, 

 a* far as Preabourg, U exceedingly rich and beautiful. 



The roost prominent feature of the Hungarian land- MounUin*. 

 cape are the mountain*, the principal of which is the 

 Carpathian chain, or mountains of Tatra, which run in 

 a semicircular direction from west to east, about 500 

 English miles ; and it* summit, which consists of hug* 

 naked rock* completely destitute of vegetation, at its 

 greatest height, in the county of Zip*, is about 1350 

 toises above the level of the Black Sea. The moun- 

 tains situated in the east and south- east, are separated 

 Irora the northern chain by a plain, which extend* 

 from Hungary into die grand duchy of Transylvania. 

 They take their rise in the bitter province ; and, follow- 

 ing the direction of the Marosch a* far as And, strike 

 U the south by the Bannat upon the confines of 

 Transylvania, and WaUchia ; the highest of these are 

 Szrmruik and II ositye le mare, or, the high mountain. 

 Those on the western pan of the kingdom, run from 

 the county of F.i*enbourg in a crooked chain towards 

 Stiria and Austria, a* far a* the Leitha ; and some of 

 them equal the Alps nearly in height. Beside* these, 

 there are other considerable mountains in the counties 

 of 1'estli, Gran. Vessprun, and Ssalad, some of which 

 are covered with impenetrable forests of oak. 



The northern part of the Carpathians is composed Mincralogr. 

 chieiy of granite, nnd its umaaits are covered with 

 limestone, or spread with a kind of brown freestone. 

 Granite forms also an essential part of the mountains 

 of konigsberg, and of the rock* of Tatra, which are 

 adjacent, and stretch into the southern part of the 

 counties of Zip*, Coeroor, Sohl. Liptan, and into the 

 western part of the counties of Arw, Thurotz, and 

 Trentachm. It also absanda in the northern part of 

 Zips, where the mountain* of Fleischbank, Porte d- 

 Akendorf, and some others, are entirely composed of it. 

 Near Altendorf it begins to disappear, and u rq>l 

 by a grej-ish free stone, which covers aJmo*t three 

 of country, and forms the great mountain of 

 This *toa*> extend* along the extremity of 

 frontier* of Tatra, (rtxiivilk, and towards 

 the south the county of Arw. From the eastern ex. 

 tremity, it extend* still more along the frontiers of 

 Hungary, and into the counties of /ips, Scharotch, 

 Zemplm and ("iighwar. There another kind of stone 

 presents itself; clay suite covered with brown free, 

 .stone. It is likely that the clay-slate commences in the 

 higher mountain* of the north, as it begins to appear in 

 the county of Goesnor, near Rosenau, from whei. 

 stretches into the southern part of the county of /ins, 

 and into the northern part of the county of Abaujwar. 

 The central snountains of the Carpathian chain and its 

 promontories, produce limestone anil porphyry. The 

 other generation* which are formed in the sin s*ai 

 mountains, are mica, clay-slate, trap, basalt, and breccia. 

 There are also (bond volcanic stones, pumice stone, 

 *n.l different kinds of opals. The body of the Carpa- 

 thians on the north-east, consist principally of clay-slate. 

 The chain which stretches along the valley* of Marma- 

 rosch and the border* of the irren mountains, a* far as 

 5 



