HUNGARY. 



99 



P'ormerly, in the country around Temesvar, hardly anything but Servian and 

 German was heard, whilst now the Humanians are very numerous. The Slavs, 

 in order to escape this absorption by Wallachs, actually flee the country. The 

 Catholic Bulgarians of the Banat have for the most part become Rumanians, 

 whilst the Servians of several districts make use of Rumanian in addition to 

 their native tongue. They are mild and inoffensive, these Rumanians, but once 

 they secure a footing in a village, their language gains ground rapidly. 



The inability or unwillingness of the Rumanians to acquire foreio-n tongues 

 partly accounts for this curious state of affairs. If the Slavs, Magyars, and 

 Germans amongst whom they settle desire to converse with them, they must 

 learn Rumanian. But this is not all. The Rumanian exhibits greater patience 

 in adversity than the Servian, and maintains his ground under circumstances 



Fig. 62. — The Servians of Hungary. 

 According to Ticker. 



E.of Pan 



B-^ S/ N Y 



E.otG. 



Uccr iO p.c.y» 



Over 20 lixja 



50 MUes. 



Oti- W p.':./a 



which would induce the latter to emigrate. Nor is the beauty of the Wallachian 

 women quite without influence in this Rumanisation. " Once a Wallachian wife 

 enters a house," so says a proverb, " the whole house becomes Wallachian." 

 Matrimonial fairs are still held in some parts of Hungary with all the ndueté of 

 olden times. The " maidens' fair," which takes place at Topanfalva on the day 

 of St. Peter and St. Paul, attracts the young men for miles around. Hundreds of 

 girls, accompanied by their relatives, attend this fair, seated upon their trunks, 

 and surrounded by the cattle which they are to receive as a dowry. A lawyer 

 sits under a tree, prepared to draw up matrimonial contracts. As many as 

 140 girls have " gone off " at one of these popular meetings. Amongst the 

 Székely the parents sometimes even sell their children, and Székely girls are 

 found in the harems of Asia Minor. 



Up to 1848 the Rumanians of many parts of Hungary were devoid of all 



