m II U NGAR Y. 
are called heyducks, and the cavalry hujjars : from thefe 
laft the drefs of the English huffar is exactly taken. 
Few countries poflei's either more forcible or more 
varied claims on curiofity than Hungary, notwithstanding 
it is fo inaccurately known to the generality of Englilh 
readers. Our countryman, Dr. Townfon, however, per¬ 
ceiving it to be untrodden ground, has recently made 
the tour of it, and publifhed the refults thereof, much to 
the entertainment and information of the public. He 
iet out from Vienna to the palace of Schoenbrun, where 
Napoleon Bonaparte, after his two conquests of the Aus¬ 
trian capital, took up his temporary refidence. Here 
Dr. Townfon enlarges on the grand imperial gardens, 
where the rare ft palms, and Shrubs peculiar to the tropics, 
grow in their native pride, in hot-houfes of prodigious 
magnitude, eredted by the prefent emperor Jofeph II. 
What adds greatly to the pleafure of walking in thefe 
houfes is, the light of a variety of rare birds flying about 
as in full liberty, and the hearing them fing, perched on 
the very trees which afforded them food or fhelter in 
their native country. Thefe birds deftroy the ants, and 
other inS'efts, which are fo noxious in hot-houfes. 
At Oedinburgh, Dr. Townfon received a forcfpan, or 
order from the magiftrates to the judges of the peafants, 
to fupply the perfon who obtains it with horfes to tranf- 
port him to the next ftation, which is generally from fif¬ 
teen to twenty Englilh miles, for which fifteen kreutzers, 
that is,, about fixpence, is paid for each horfe. Sometimes 
you are allowed to travel with only two horfes; but in 
general you muft have four : which is ftill very cheap, 
being only two fhillings for fifteen or twenty miles. In 
the more diftant parts of Hungary it is the moil common 
way of travelling, and, except in particular feafons of the 
year, is no very great hardlhip, as it is treble the price of 
a day’s labour of a peaSant and a pair of horfes, as fixed 
in the Ur barium, which is twenty kreutzers, that is about 
eight-pence; and if he brings, as he generally does, four 
horfes, to make the work lighter to them, his day’s work 
is ftill-valued at only twenty kreutzers. Sixty kreutzers 
make about two Shillings. 
At Bude, the capital of Hungary, Dr. Townfon in¬ 
formed himfelf of the principalTcene of political transac¬ 
tions,. and of the constitution of the country. After 
Bude, Prefburg is the next principal city. But Cafchan 
is the capital of Upper Hungary. The two greatest pri¬ 
vileges of the people, thole of legiflation and taxation* 
are ltill in their hands; and the fovereign has only a i jcto 
in the legiflation. The choice of the palatine, a kind of 
viceroy, from four candidates prefented by the fovereign, 
and the reception of Strangers as denizens, are privileges 
likewife belonging to the people. But the emperor has 
the unquestioned right of deciding on war and peace; he 
has a veto in. the legiflation ; the gift of the great offices 
in the church and State, thoSe of the palatine, and keepers 
of the crown, excepted : it is he who creates nobility; 
and coining, and pardoning criminals, are his prerogatives. 
In this country, as in others where Society is in its child¬ 
hood, the nation, alas! is only the great aristocratic body 
of nobles and clergy; and the productive part of the 
community, the citizens and peafants, have few or no 
rights, and no interference in public affairs; yet muft 
fubmlSTively bear ail the burthens of the State. As the 
peafants were, till 1785, ■ under the glib a adfcriptio, or in 
the State of villanage, they could never be considered as 
forming a part of the nation ; and, the deputies of the 
free towns being considered almoft as intruders, it was, 
and ftill is, the aristocratic body which checks the power 
of'the crown; and ft is this body that, according to the 
Spirit of the Hungarian constitution, the Sovereign fliould 
c< fifult with, upon all important State-affairs, by calling 
them together in a diet- * ' ✓ 
This afiembly is compofed of magnates, archbishops 
and bishops, lord-lieutenants of the counties, abbots, pre¬ 
lates, deputies of the chapters, deputies from the counties, 
and deputies from the royal free towns. The magnates 
were originally only the great officers of the crown, asf 
the palatine, the fupreme judge, the lord marshal, the 
great cup-bearer, the Steward of'the houfehold, the matter 
of the horfe. See. but now the princes, counts, and barons, 
are considered as fuch. Thole who pretend to be ac¬ 
quainted with the true Spirit of the constitution, regard 
the reception of the princes, counts, and barons, amongft 
the magnates, as an innovation. The eldeft Sons of this 
great nobility, ufith the two archbishops, diocefan and 
titular bishops, with the lord-lieutenants of the counties, 
and keepers of the crown, constitute the firft table, or 
upper houfe; and the lower houfe, or fecond table, is 
compofed of the abbots and prelates, the deputies of the 
chapters, from each at leaft two ; two or three deputies 
from each of the two-and-fifty counties in which this 
kingdom is divided, and a deputy from each of the royal 
free towns. If the free towns fend more than one deputy, 
they have only one vote; it is fo likewise with the depu¬ 
ties of the chapters; and, if the members of the upper 
houfe cannot attend in perfon, their deputies lit in the 
lower houfe. 
The nobility, which is compofed of titled and untitled, 
the former of which may be confidered as the real nobi¬ 
lity, and the latter only as gentlemen, have the exclufive 
privilege of enjoying all the polls.©f honour, and of filling 
all the public offices, and are the exclusive owners of the 
foil, except what lies within the precinfts of the free 
towns ; and a burgher or a peafant may as well think of 
poffeffing the throne, as of poffefling one inch of land, 
without being firft ennobled. Their perfons likewife are 
privileged, except in a few cafes, as high treafon, mur¬ 
der, See. They cannot be arrefted, till they have been 
legally tried and convifted. And the fimpleSl kind of 
knight-fervice is the only duty they owe the Hate. When 
Summoned by their fovereign, they muft defend their 
country. Their taking the field is called an injurredtio 
and the high clergy are not exempt. This Service, from 
the frequent wars in which Hungary was long engaged 
againft the Turks, was a fevere obligation ; for they Served 
as a kind of barrier to the reft.of Europe againft this fe¬ 
rocious people. As long as the war continued within. 
the limits of their country, they were obliged to maintain, 
themfelves; but when the war was carried on abroad,, 
they v r ere maintained by the fovereign- The number of 
combatants each brought into the field was proportioned 
to his eftate. The archbishop of Gran arid the bifliop of 
Erlau brought each two Hands of colours, and under each. 
Stand.a thoufand men; the archbishop of Collotza and 
feveral bilhops a thoufand each. In the fatal battle of. 
Mohatch, Seven bishops were left dead on the field. 
Their charter of privileges is called Urbarium, to which.; 
Maria Therefa added an edift, in order to fix bounds to 
the rapacity of the landlord, by determining the dues of 
thd peafant •. by this ordinance the reciprocal rights of 
the peafants and their landlords are determined ; and it 
appears, that the Hungarian peafant pays to his lord, for 
twenty-five acres of arable land (each acre containing 
about twelve hundred Square fathoms), and twelve days 
mowing of meadow land, a ninth of the produce of the 
Soil, of the lambs, kids, and bees, and about one hundred 
and eleven days’ labour, two Shillings for rent, and three 
Shillings for fowls, butter, &c. This is no hard contract 
for the peafant; for it does not amount to more than 
equal to a gulden, or about two Shillings Englilh, for an 
acre. The hardship lies chiefly in the nature of’the con¬ 
trail this is a reciprocal hardship, as inconvenient for 
the landlord as for the peafant. It chiefly, ariles from 
receiving labour for payment; yet this kind of payment 
is always ufed in Similar cales, in the firft Stages of im¬ 
provement. This compels the landlord to keep a great 
part, of his lands in his own hands, to employ the labour 
of his peafants, however he may dislike rural ceconomy.. 
By a rejblution of Therein, in 1749, it was ordered, that 
thole who Should leave the catholic perSuaSion Should be im¬ 
prisoned for two years; and, if within this time’they Should 
1 not 
