PEASANT GIRL FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF BUDA-PESTH 365 HUNGARIAN PEASANT 371 HUNGARIAN PORTER (DOOR-KEEPER) 377 SLOVAK WOMAN AND CHILDREN 383 GYPSY HUTS 401 OLD GYPSY WOMAN 403 HALT OF GYPSIES 405 GYPSIES AND LADY 419 HOUSE AT KRAPINA 423 HUNGARIAN GYPSY 425 HUNGARIAN LADY 435 WOMAN’S HEAD-DRESS 437 CARTS 439 BARKS ON DANUBE 440 [Illustration: SELF-IMMOLATION OF SZONDI. (See p. 301.)] [Illustration: HUNGARY] [Illustration] THE STORY OF HUNGARY. CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE OF HUNGARY. ALEXANDER PETÖFI, the great Hungarian poet, in one of his beautiful poems, sings thus of his native land: “If the earth be God’s crown Our country is its fairest jewel.” And truly were we able to ascend the airy heights and obtain a bird’s-eye view of Hungary, we would fain admit that it is one of the fairest and most blessed spots on the face of the earth. In the Northwest of Hungary, on the banks of the Danube, begins the mountainous region known under the name of the Carpathian range, which for beauty is not surpassed by the Alps, and in extent fairly rivals them. This mountain range, encircling like a gigantic evergreen wreath one half of the country, extends all along its northern boundary and, after enclosing the eastern portion of it, stretches westward to where it is intersected by the waters of the Danube, not terminating there, however, but branching off into the countries lying along the lower course of that river. The whole range of the Carpathians is characterized throughout its immensely long course by considerable breadth, forming at some places quite a hilly country and high plateaus, as, for instance, in Transylvania which, although properly belonging to Hungary, formerly enjoyed a sort of independence under its own name. This territory is covered almost entirely by the Carpathians, but, of course, designated here by different names. We shall proceed now in due order.