86 AUSTEIA-HUNGAEY. 



lowlands against these Danubiau floods. On the contrary, the greater the volume 

 of water which these embankments cause to flow towards the Danube, the greater 

 the danger to which the dwellers along the lower river courses find themselves 

 exposed. Of late years even " hilly districts " have been invaded by the floods, 

 the inhabitants being obliged to fly for their lives, and see their cattle perish 

 before their very eyes. Whatever local advantages may have been conferred 

 by the embankment of the Tisza, the country at large has been a loser. The 

 only efficacious means of preventing these disastrous floods would be to widen 

 the Iron Gate, and thus provide an outlet for the pent-up waters of the 

 Danube. 



The succession of gorges through which the noble Danube rushes, on leaving 

 the plain of Hungary, not only abounds in picturesque scenery, but is geologically 



Fig. 55. — Fort Elizabeth. 

 (Three miles from the Iron GateO 



interesting, for nowhere else in Europe have such formidable obstacles been over- 

 come by the irresistible agency of water. The castle of Grolubatz and the rocky 

 islet of Babako stand sentry at the entrance to this wonderful defile, over 60 

 miles in length. Immediately below these landmarks the Danube rushes over a 

 bed of rocks, forming a series of rapids, and then engages in the dangerous passes 

 of Greben, obstructed by blocks of porphyry, where the navigable channels are 

 hardly 15 feet in width when the river is at its lowest. Beyond the river 

 broadens, forming the basin of Milanovitz (4,500 feet wide). A precipitous wall 

 of rock appears to shut it in completely, but an abrupt turn brings us to the 

 entrance of the famous gorge of Kasan, less than 500 feet in width, and bounded 

 by steep cliffs of limestone. Roads accompany each bank of the river, that on 



