Then we come to Mohács, ever memorable as the scene of the disastrous battle when the Turks so completely overwhelmed the Hungarians that the nation was ground beneath the heel of the conqueror for generations. This was in 1526, and out of 30,000 Hungarians only 6000, it is said, were left alive. [Illustration: WASTE LANDS NEAR KALOCSA] Shortly after we come to the Francis Canal, connecting the Danube with the Tisza, Hungary’s second river. It was opened in 1802 but became choked and useless. By the energy of Zürr Stephen, who enlarged it and cut two new canals connected with it, it was once more turned into a useful waterway. When joined by the Drave, the river gains in size and importance, but it is not until we pass into the spurs of the Carpathians that the scenery once again grows grander, and after seven or eight miles we find a steam ferry where a whole train is carried bodily across the Danube. Ruined forts and towering crags now spring up once more, and on a lump or rock 200 feet high is the fortress of Peterwardein, with the little town at the foot; this was called after Peter the Hermit, whose birthplace it is supposed to be. Not far off the little town of Karlovicz nestles among its vineyards; it is renowned for its vermouth. Where the Theiss or Tisza flows into the larger river the larger plains on each side are broad and level. This is a well-loved river and carries with it the hearts of the Hungarians, more even than the Danube, which has such a cosmopolitan character. The Tisza belongs to Hungary, from source to outlet, and traverses the great plain which so embodies the Hungarian’s ideas of his country. It runs across such flat ground that the fall is very small, consequently the windings are absurdly exaggerated, and the river has the appearance of a twisted bit of ribbon falling in heaps. With the junction of the Save on the right bank the Danube forms the southern boundary of Hungary itself, separating it from Servia, whose capital, Belgrade, is just at this corner, which appears a most dangerous situation for a capital. After this the navigation gets more difficult, and many fortified places on the hills which have played a share in the relentless wars against the Turks stand up conspicuously on their isolated promontories. There is endless diversity of scenery, endless variation in the swiftness of the current as the bed of the river widens or contracts. The river Temes flows into the Danube which, once more bifurcating, forms another island nearly 4 miles in length. The Kubin then joins it from Servia, and from Bazias the Lower Danube begins. The island of Moldava, 3 miles long, lies in the midst of an area of shifting sand-banks. At the far end the Danube is over 2000 yards broad, contracting with startling suddenness to a quarter of that width. At the end of this wedge is the pinnacle-like rock of Babakhai, standing out in midstream near two islands. It has an interesting legend connected with it.