The Romany Rye: A sequel to "Lavengro"Borrow, George
General
The Romany Rye: A sequel to "Lavengro"
Borrow, George
Adventure stories; England -- Fiction; Romanies -- Fiction
_Hungarian_. Not exactly. The Turk, upon the whole, showed great
moderation; not so the Austrian. Ferdinand the First claimed the crown
of Hungary as being the cousin of Maria, widow of Lajos; he found too
many disposed to support him. His claim, however, was resisted by
Zapolya John, a Hungarian magnate, who caused himself to be elected king.
Hungary was for a long time devastated by wars between the partisans of
Zapolya and Ferdinand. At last Zapolya called in the Turk. Soliman
behaved generously to him, and after his death befriended his young son,
and Isabella his queen; eventually the Turks became masters of
Transylvania and the greater part of Hungary. They were not bad masters,
and had many friends in Hungary, especially amongst those of the reformed
faith, to which I have myself the honour of belonging; those of the
reformed faith found the Mufti more tolerant than the Pope. Many
Hungarians went with the Turks to the siege of Vienna, whilst Tekeli and
his horsemen guarded Hungary for them. A gallant enterprise that siege
of Vienna, the last great effort of the Turk; it failed and he speedily
lost Hungary, but he did not sneak from Hungary like a frightened hound.
His defence of Buda will not be soon forgotten, where Apty Basha, the
governor, died fighting like a lion in the breach. There’s many a
Hungarian would prefer Stamboul to Vienna. Why does your Government
always send fools to represent it at Vienna?
_Myself_. I have already told you that I cannot say. What became of
Tekeli?
_Hungarian_. When Hungary was lost he retired with the Turks into
Turkey. Count Renoncourt, in his _Memoirs_, mentions having seen him at
Adrianople. The Sultan, in consideration of the services which he had
rendered to the Moslem in Hungary, made over the revenues of certain
towns and districts for his subsistence. The count says that he always
went armed to the teeth, and was always attended by a young female
dressed in male attire, who had followed him in his wars, and had more
than once saved his life. His end is wrapped in mystery, I—whose
greatest boast, next to being a Hungarian, is to be of his blood—know
nothing of his end.
_Myself_. Allow me to ask who you are?
_Hungarian_. _Egy szegeny Magyar Nemes ember_, a poor Hungarian
nobleman, son of one yet poorer. I was born in Transylvania, not far to
the west of good Coloscvar. I served some time in the Austrian army as a
noble Hussar, but am now equerry to a great nobleman, to whom I am
distantly related. In his service I have travelled far and wide, buying
horses. I have been in Russia and in Turkey, and am now at Horncastle,
where I have had the satisfaction to meet with you, and to buy your
horse, which is, in truth, a noble brute.
_Myself_. For a soldier and equerry you seem to know a great deal of the
history of your country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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