Travels from Vienna through Lower Hungary; with some remarks on the state of Vienna during the Congress, in the year 1814

Preface

. Tt has been the object of the author, in the following work, to lay before his readers the in formation he has collected respecting the state of a country but little examined by Englishmen, be cause placed beyond the usual circuit of the tra veller's observation. Amongst the labourers who have hitherto gathered in the same field, Townson has, undoubtedly, been the most industrious ; and his merits have been acknowledged for a period of twenty years. That Hungary has shared less than most other European states, in the rapid events to which the arms and the ambition of modern times have given rise, is true ; she has had her eventful days ; she has experienced her VI

PREFACE.

. years of splendour, and her centuries of oppression ; she has felt the devastations of war, while other countries saw them but afar off; and it has at length been her lot to remain comparatively tranquil, whilst other countries were convulsed. Modern events have, however, wrought changes in her condition, and the patriotism of her nobles is producing an extensive, though gradual, im provement in her internal prosperity. The silent changes of a season of tranquillity, no less than the alterations which rapidly follow each other during periods of public commotion, are objects of research to the Historian and to the Political Economist; and it is the humble duty of the Tra veller to collect, under all the varieties of circum stance, such materials as may supply a ground work for connected history, and for general deduc tion.

Correct observation and faithful statement are the cardinal virtues on which his character must depend ; and if in these simple merits the following work should not be found wanting, the object of its author's ambition will be fulfilled. The reader who seeks for elaborate political dis quisition, or the amusement derived from private anecdote, will be disappointed. The work con tains little more than the plain statement of the ob jects which were seen ; and where it was thought

PREFACE.

. VII necessary to go beyond the sphere of personal observation, German authorities, of established merit, have been relied upon. This is more particularly the case with regard to all statisti cal accounts, where the assistance of the valu able works of Schwartner and of Bisenger, and of some recent periodical publications, cannot be too fully acknowledged. It was, at one time, intended to subjoin a sketch of the literature of the country ; but, upon this in teresting subject, it is not possible to write with a hasty pen ; and the materials, which were still but imperfectly collected, had already shewn themselves too extensive to be compressed with in the short limits of a chapter. It was not with out great reluctance that the author relinquished this object, being sensible that the true spirit and condition of a nation can never be appreciated, without some insight into the progress of its intel lectual culture.

He trusts, however, that the design which is deferred, will not be forgotten, and antici pates with much pleasure, those hours in which he may pursue his labours upon the subject, with a view of presenting them in a more acceptable form to the public. With this intention firmly on his mind, he has not thought it necessary to suppress the promises, which occur more than once in the

PREFACE.

. VIII present volume ; and, although they no longer refer to pages within its own limits, he ventures to hope that they will be accomplished. Of the mode in which his performance has been executed, it is not for the author to speak at large ; and, whatever anxiety he may experience in submitting himself to the public, he feels, that he approaches them in a form which gives him no right to demand more than justice, or to solicit more than candour. If there be any point which appears to him peculiarly open to criticism, it is the minuteness of detail with which he has some times treated matters connected with rural economy. This, however, has been done, with the wish of introducing the reader, as much as pos sible, to a knowledge of the actual state of a truly agricultural people ; and they, to whom the con dition of eight million of their fellow-creatures is a matter of any interest, will not shrink from the perusal of a work, because they perceive it to contain a few minute details.

The arrangement is subject to those imperfections which generally arise where the form of Journal has been adopted ; but an Index is supplied, with the intention of remedying this inconvenience. The first two chapters cannot be considered as immediately connected with the main subject of

PREFACE.

. IX the work ; yet, viewing Vienna as the capital of the great monarchy to which Hungary is closely attached, and remembering the interest of the period which here passes under a hasty review, the propriety of introducing these chapters will not, it is hoped, be disputed. The Appendix is composed of several independent articles, serving to illustrate various points occurring in the text, and some of them, in conjunction with observations in other parts of the work, will assist in conveying information on the statistics of the whole Austrian empire. To one valuable communication (in the Appendix) the author particularly claims attention. It was written by a friend during a residence in Spain in 1816-17, and although it speaks of a tribe of people inhabiting that peninsula, is strictly connected with the history of a curious part of the Hungarian population ; a tribe which, under the various appellations of Bohemien, Zigeuner, Cygany, Tschingenes, Gitano, or Gypsey, has sprinkled it self over the whole face of Europe.

The attention of the author had been formerly called to this subject, by perusing the elaborate dissertation of Grellman, which appeared at Gottingen in the year 1783. When he found himself surrounded by these people in Hungary, he was naturally led

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. X to inquire into their habits and condition. After his return, he was proceeding to investigate their fate in this country, when the appearance of the work of Hoyland, by shewing that the inquiry had already fallen into more efficient hands, put a stop to his pursuits, and, since that time, several perio dical publications have furnished more of those scattered notices, from which we may hope, at some time, to collect satisfactorily the history of this extraordinary race. The author, from the observations of his friend in Spain, and from his own observations in Hungary, offers his contribution to the common stock. With respect to the maps which accompany this volume, it may with confidence be asserted, that they are derived from the most authentic sources ; and that, whatever may be the inaccuracies, insepa rable from the want of complete and connected tri gonometrical surveys, they will be found fully ade quate to all the practical purposes, both of the tra veller and of the reader.

It has been deemed right, in both of these maps, to introduce much more than the country actually visited, because observations are constantly occurring, which embrace not only the whole of Hungary, but of Transylvania, and the military frontier. To acknowledge the favours which have been

PREFACE.

. XI received in the progress of this volume, and during the period to which it refers, would be to comment upon every page, and to relate again the proceed ings of each separate day ; the author must, there fore, content himself with a general acknowledg ment, the sincerity of which they who know him best will best appreciate. In one instance, which occurs in page 444, the author has detected a fact so imperfectly stated, as to leave an unfavourable impression respecting a body of his own countrymen, for whom he feels a most unfeigned esteem. In that passage, a remark is casually introduced, in reference to the jail of • Bristol ; and after describing its former condition, he has omitted to add, that the citizens, long sensible of its glaring imperfections, have united their exertions to remove an evil so repug nant to every feeling of humanity ; and that considerable progress has been already made in the erec tion of a spacious jail, for criminals and debtors, on a plan in which perfect security is made con sistent with every attention to the health and refor mation of the prisoners.

Should the good ex ample, now general in this country, be instru mental in leading the great Hungarian proprietors to adopt improvements, suitable to their peculiar situation, England will have fresh reason to rejoice

PREFACE.

. in its humane endeavours ; and the Author of the present volume will feel some satisfaction, if he should have exercised but a remote influence in forwarding this important object. London, March 1818, ERRATA. Page 17, 1. 4,,/b/- insignias read insignia 25, 1. 3, for liquors read liqueurs 33, 1. I, for Dombach read Dornbach 1. 8, for float over to read float over 1. 11, for Briil read Bruhl 64, 1. 22, for Bahrdt read Barth 206, 1. \6,for on read near ____-_-—=-. ■ !--_s_""*ri& 228, 1. 7, for plumbs read pljomSK j 235, L 10, from bottom, for is io^en pftcured read lias i be^n procured 242, 1. 18, for has been obligeo^to draw hisj-ea^ have be«^-obliged to draw their 507,1. 4,/or 1808 reac? 1807T " CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF HUNGARY. It is judged expedient to insert, in this place, a chronological List of the Potentates who have at different periods swayed the sceptre of Hungary, which may serve as a clue to assist the reader in connecting the scattered historical facts oc curring, but scarcely forming an important part in the present volume.

The Dukes of Hungary. From A. D. 884, Arpad. From A. D. 947, Torus. 889, Arzab. 972, Geisa. 907, Zoltau. 997, Stephan. Kings of Hungary. From A. D. 1000, Stephan I. From A.D. 1095, Kolomann. 1038, Peter I. 1114, Stephan II. 1040, Samuel. 1181, Bela II. 1041, Peter II. 1141, Geisa II. 1044, Peter III. 1160, Stephan III. 1046, Andrew I. 1162, Ladislas II. 1060, Bela I. 1162, Stephan IV. 1063, Salomon. 1162, Stephan V. 1074, Geisa I. 1173, Bela III. 1077, Ladislas. 1196, Emmerich. LIST OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF HUNGARY. XIV From A.D. 1204, Ladislas III, From A. D.I 382, Maria I. 1385, Charles II. of 1205, Andrew II. 1235, Bela IV. Naples. 1270, Stephan VI 1385, Maria II. 1387, Sigismond. 1272, Ladislas IV. 1290, Andrew III. 1437, Albert. 1301, Wenzel of 1440, Elizabeth. Bohemia. 1442, Wladislaus I. 1444, Ladislas V. 1304, Otho of Ba 1457, Mathias. vana. 1307, Charles I. of 1490, Wladislaus II.

Naples. 1516, Louis II. 1342, Louis I. 1526, John Zapolga. Kings of Hungary, of the Austrian Line. From A.D. 1527, Ferdinand I. From A.D. 1705, Joseph I. 1563, Maximilian. 1576, Rodolph. J 608, Mathias II. 1619, Ferdinand II. 1637, Ferdinand III. 1657, Leopold I. 1711, Charles II. 1740, Maria Theresia. 1780, Joseph II. 1790, Leopold II. 1792, Francis I. i CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Vienna.— The Redoute.— Congress. — Carrousel. — Court.— Imperial Hunt. — Private Entertainments. — Evening Amusements. — Dinner Parties. — Theatres.— Tableaux. — The Prater, and other places of public resort. — A Party on Sledges. — Festivals of the Church. — Holy Week. — Death of the Marshal Prince de Ligne — Empress Maria Louisa. — Prince of Parma.— Uncertainty in Intelligence of the Negociations.— The Imperial Vault - Page 3

Chapter II

Vignette — Partial View of Vienna. Gallery of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. — Imperial Collection of Paintings.— Private Collections. — Cabinet of Count Lamberg.— Etruscan Vases. — Imperial Collection of Antiques. — Figured Glass. — Treasury. — Professor Barth. — Work in Mosaic. — Monument by Canova.— Academy of the Fine Arts.— University.— Other Institutions for Education. — Libraries. — Collection of Manufactures. — Learned Men. — Medical and Charitable Establishments.— Nuremberg, the birth-place of Albert Durer. 51

Chapter III

Vignette — Hungarian Post- Travelling. Leave Vienna. — Pressburg.— Appearance of Country and Peasants.— Tyrnau.— Freystadt. — Neutra. — Urmeny, the residence of Graf Hunyadi.— Introduction of Horse-racing. — Breeding Stud. — Cyganis. — Lands possessed by Nobles alone. — State of Peasants, and the services required of them. — Interior of a Peasant's Habitation. - - - 94

Chapter IV

Vignette — Cattle and Agricultural Implements. Urmeny. — Hungarian Granary. — Succession of Crops.— Large Flocks of improved Sheep. — Great attention to the breed and folding.— Horned Cattle. — Leave Urmeny. — Appearance of the Country.— —Leva.— A Funeral— Batha.-— Steinbach.— Approach and arrival at Schemnitz.— Minute Regulations for management of Sheep. - - CONTENTS. XVI

Chapter V

Vignette Machine for raising the Water from the Mines. Schemnitz.— General description of the Mining District — Windschacht.— Machinery. Drawings. — Stephani-schacht. — Preparation of the Ores. — Pochwerk— Smelting and Retining.*— Mining College.— Leave Schemnitz.— -Glas- Hutte- Szent Kereszt. — Kremnitz. — Separation of Gold and Silver. — Alloy. Mint. Quantity of precious Metals obtained. — Process of Amalgamation, as practised in Saxony — Return to Schemnitz. - Page 146

Chapter VI

Vignette — Concert performed by the Cyganis of Sagh. Leave Schemnitz. — Maroth. — Sagh. — Cyganis. — Description of Country. — Jews. — Waitzen — Extensive Plain. — Debretzin. — Pesth. — Buden, or Ofen. — Thea tres. — Fair at Pesth. — Weights and Measures. — Manufactures. — Attempts to cultivate Sugar, Cotton, Coffee, &c. — Produce of the Land. — Canals. — Com merce. — Exports and Imports. — Libraries.— Museum. — Coals, Salt, &c. — Hospital. — Botanic Garden. — New Observatory. — Baths. — Police. — Historical Sketch of Pesth and Buda. — Komorn. — Raab. - - 186

Chapter VII

Vignette — Maria Theresia and Joseph the Second. Historical Sketch. — King of Hungary. — His Privileges. — His Power with respect to the Catholic, Protestant, and Greek Churches. — The Palatine and other Officers of State — Nobles. — Free Citizens. — The Diet. — Revenue. — Army. 300

Chapter VIII

Vignette — A Dance performed by Hungarian Peasant Boys. Vosendorf. — Laxenburg. — The Ritter Schloss. — Baaden. — Schonau. — Gardens of Baron Brown. — Cotton Manufacture. — Œdenburg. — Eisenstadt. — Neusiedler-See Nagy Barom. Croatians. Guns. Stein-am-Anger. Ovid's Tomb. — Szalaber. — Keszthely. — Georgicon. — Agricultural Societies and Institutions. — Cultivation of Fruit Trees. — Keszi. — Hill of Csobantz. — Sheep Farm. — Improvers of Sheep. — Vineyards. — Their Effects on the Peasantry. — Mineralogy of the Hill Badacson. — Rich Wines.— Szigliget. — Geological Remarks. — The Vineyard of Sz. Gyorgy Hegy. - - - - 327

Chapter IX

Vignette — Interior of an Hungarian Prison. Breeding Stud.— Balaton Lake. — National Dance.— Keresztur.— Fishery.— Buffaloes. — Administration of Justice — Prisons Warm Spring of Heviz.— Mineral Waters in Hungary. — Hospital. — Tortoises.— Wild Boars. - CONTENTS. XVII

Chapter X

Vignette — Interior of a Peasant's House on the Murakos. Leave Keszthely.— Sz. Miklos. — The Murakos — Attempts to cultivate Silk. — Csaktornya. — Peculiarity in the Inhabitants of this District.— -Varasdin.— Spring of Naphtha — Prison.— -Dairy — Maize — Gold Washing. - • Page 453

CHAPTER XL

Vignette — A Croatian Cottage. Croatia.— The Military Frontiers. — Ludbregh. — Csurgo.— Agriculture.— Bees and Honey.— Forests.— Prison.— -Cyganis, or Gypsies. - 486

Chapter XII

Vignette — Walachian Settlement near the Drave, Badocsa.— — Csokonya. Graf Szechenyi.— Peasantry. — German Settlements.— Walichians.— Their Language, History, and Manners. — Szigetvar. — Fiinfkirchen. — Bishop Klimo. — Library — Churches — Market. — Manna Domestic Manners. — Processions and Pilgrimages.— -Various Religions Clergy. Revenue of the Church. - - 545

Chapter XIII

Vignette — Prisoners going to their Daily Work. Peasantry.— Mohacs. — Szexard. — Wine. — Tolna. — Tobacco.— Saffron.— Foldvar. — Plaios of Hungary. — Extent.— Inhabitants and Open Lands of Austria. — Disease amongst Cattle. — Duke Albert. — Pesth. — Marton Vasar.— Peculiarities of Husbandry and Condition of Peasantry. — Stuhlweissenburg. — Earthquakes. — Palota. — Bakony Forest. — Fungi. — Sumeg.— Kormond.— Frontiers of Hungary. — Styria.— Gratz. — Public Institutions. — Joannæum. — Manufactures and Commerce. — Iron. — Salt.— -Agriculture. — Schottwien. 593 C CONTENTS

Appendix

. General View of the Kingdom of Hungary. - - iii Statistical Account of the Mines of Hungary. - - xvii Coronation of Joseph I. King of Hungary. - - xxvii An Account of the Vineyards of Menes. ... xiii Statement of the Extent and Produce of the Austrian Vineyards. liii Statement of the Extent and Produce of the Arable Lands in Austria. lvii Account of the Wild Boy discovered near the Neusiedler-see. - Ixii A List of the Works of Baron Jacquin. - - lxiii State of the Gypsies in Spain, 1817. ... Ixv List of Words used by the Gypsey, Gitano, and Cygani. - - Ixxviii Vocabulary. k - - . Ixxx Index. -..«.. xcjjj MAPS. Hungary. Hungary, Transylvania, and the surrounding Countries. - -Appxvi PLATES. The Market at Batha, Frontispiece. Neutra. .--.____ ]Qg Schemnitz and the surrounding Country. ... 14,3 The Town of Kremnitz with the Silver Works. 168 Amalgam Works near Freyberg. - - . _ - 182 Distant View of Waitzen on the Danube. - - - 193 View of Buda and part of Pesth. _ gg0 The Balaton Lake seen from Keszthely. - ... _ 360 Varasdin from the Murakos. - - - ' . 474 Fiinfkirchen. ----._. / • ft *v ;cr T * «; x \y ts c k o t&UM TKL !L&&£B W\? oir lLi:p 3 3&&,r, /•///•i/j/.r,/ /,, ,i/,-i„7\/i,l ,.,ns/.,i/, IfCnMutfV 'tt/;

Chapter I

Vienna. — The Redoute. — Congress. — Carrousel. — Court. — Imperial Hunt. — Private Entertainments. — Evening Amusements. — Dinner Parties. — Theatres. — Tableaux. — The Prater, and other places of public resort. — A Party on Sledges. — Festivals of the Church.— Holy Week. — Death of the Marshal Prince de Ligne. — Empress Maria Louisa. — Prince of Parma. — Uncertainty in Intelligence of the Negociations. — The Imperial Vault. J had already passed several months in Holland, and different parts of Germany, when the expected dissolution of the Con gress, which had assembled at Vienna in the autumn of 1814, induced me to hasten towards that capital, as I was natu- [Ch. i. Viennarally anxious to become a spectator of this most extraordinary assemblage. At Dresden, I was assured that the whole was already brought to a close, and amidst varying rumours, I remained for some weeks in that interesting neighbourhood.

Having advanced as far as Prague, I was hurried on by the re port that a few days still remained ; during my approach to Vienna, the account changed at every town ; and, on entering the capital in the latter end of November, we were told that the Congress would certainly continue for weeks, and probably for months ; in short, that no one could foresee its termination. I soon procured a lodging in a busy and dirty inn in the commercial part of the city, which was much frequented by Greeks, Armenians, and Eastern merchants. It was built in the form of a hollow square ; the communication between the rooms was by open galleries ; and the internal space into which they looked was crowded with tilted waggons, shattered ca lashes, and other swinging and springless machines, which will not submit themselves to the English nomenclature.

My apartment was large and desolate, without a carpet, but provided with an earthen stove in one corner, and a little wooden bedstead in another. Such are the miserable accom modations in most of the inns at Vienna. The windows, however, which were double, looked into a busy street, \y in g in the direct line between the gayer parts of the town, and the great public drive called the Prater, and, as it was at an hour when many carriages were rolling towards that spot, the scene was lively, and put me more in mind of London than any thing I had before seen in Germany. Many of the equi pages were handsome, well attended with servants, and kept with care. After some time, I walked into the streets, — a ser vice of danger; for most of them are narrow, and the sides, which are paved with flat square stones for the convenience of TRAVELS IN LOWER HUNGARY. walking, and are, on that account, greatly praised throughout the whole empire, are so little elevated above the carriage tract, that the foot passenger has no safety but in the judgment of the charioteer, who frequently risks an encounter with your feet, rather than with the wheels of a passing carriage.

The coachmen, however, give some warning of their approach, by a species of unintelligible roar, a little in accent like the language in which a Lancashire carter converses with his team ; but not less peremptory than the rapid " by your leave" of a Bath chairman. When, by courage or good luck, I could snatch an opportunity to cast a look upwards, I observed that many of the houses were large, and handsomely built, and all of them very high ; but, owing to the narrowness of the streets, there is a prevailing gloom, and it is only in a few of the more open parts that the real beauty of the buildings can de velope itself. The shops display a considerable variety of goods, though frequently a square glazed case of patterns hanging at the door is the only mark by which the nature of the shopkeeper's dealings is indicated.

Besides this, a small board, projecting into the street from above each door, bears some painted sign, as the Golden Fleece, the Sceptre, the Schwartzenburg Head, or the Holy Ghost. It may not, perhaps,- be improper, thus early in my narrative, to introduce a slight description of the general situation and character of this city. Stating, at the same time, a few of the principal events which have had an influence over its ex ternal state and appearance, as they have forwarded or retard ed its internal prosperity. The city of Vienna is situated on a plain where the Danube divides itself into several branches, upon the southernmost of which the capital is built. It consists of two parts perfectly distinct. The city, properly so called, is surrounded by walls, bastions, and a dry fosse, forming a complete fortification ; TRAVELS IN LOWER HUNGARY. and the suburbs, which are surrounded by a line of circumvalla tion, with barriers at all the openings, and are separated from the city by the Glacis, and an intervening space entirely free from buildings.

The circuit of the inner fortification is less than three miles, whilst that of the external lines exceeds twelve ; including in this the line of the works, which occupies about two-thirds of the whole, and the natural line, formed by tlie branch of the Danube, which, touching at one part of the walls of the city, may be considered as forming one-third of the surrounding line of defence. A part of the suburbs is cut ofTby this branch of the river, being situated on the opposite side, and occupying part of a large island, formed by the di vided stream. The whole population of this capital amounts to about 270,000, of which 200,000 reside in the extensive suburbs. The history of this city, situated almost upon the eastern confines of Germany, is crowded with eventful periods. It had been for many years a station of the Roman legions, and had afterwards successively fallen into the hands of the Goths and of the Huns, when Charlemagne in 791 attached it to the empire of the Francs.

At this time, however, the walls included but a comparatively small space, and, when the church of St Stephen, which now stands nearly in the centre of the city, was built in 1144, by the margrave Henry IL, it was without the walls. Under a succession of margraves and of dukes, the city was gradually improved by public buildings, and institutions ; and by fortifications, added or strengthened, according to the urgency of domestic and foreign danger. It was during this period, in the year 1365, that the Duke Ru dolph IV. founded the university to which Maria Theresa, four centuries afterwards, gave its present form and importance. In 1484, Vienna sustained with courage, but without success, a siege by the Hungarians, under their king Mathias, who, TRAVELS IN LOWER HUNGARY. from that time, took up his residence in the city.

On his death, however, the Emperor Maximilian was receiv ed as Archduke, since which Vienna has always been the residence of the Austrian Court. In 1529, the inhabitants, to defend themselves against the Turks ; who, taking advantage of the disturbed state of Hungary, had carried their arms in to Austria ; were compelled to destroy the whole suburbs by fire, and to repair the imperfect fortifications with all possible activity, and by these means were enabled, after suffering a siege of three weeks, to force the enemy to retire. In consequence of the warning which they received from this at tack, the city was surrounded by the regular fortifications and walls, which still exist in many parts quite uninjured. In the year 1683, the Turks were again induced by the Hungarians to undertake the siege of Vienna, with a large army under the command of the vizier in person.

The commandant of the town a second time destroyed the whole of the suburbs, and for two months maintained the city, when, other forces com ing to the assistance of Vienna, the Turks again retired. The fortifications were then repaired, and the suburbs re built ; and, in 1704, the lines of circumvallation were form ed, to protect them from the incursions of the Hungarians, who were again agitated by revolt. From this time, under the successive reigns of Joseph L, of Charles IV., of Maria Theresa, of Joseph II. , and the short reign of Leopold IL, the public edifices and institutions of Vienna were greatly improved. In 1792, the present emperor succeeded, amidst the unpropitious omens of the French Revolution. In 1797, Vienna was again threatened with siege by the victorious armies of France returning from Italy, — a danger which was averted by the treaty signed at Leoben.

In 1805, however, on the breaking out of a new French war, the enemy was suf fered quietly to take possession of Vienna, on the 13th of No- TRAVELS IN LOWER HUNGARY. vember. Aster remaining in the city for a month, the French troops withdrew, and Napoleon, having returned his thanks to the inhabitants for their loyal attachment to his person, entered the city in triumph. In 1809, war again broke out be tween Austria and France. After the battles fought from the 18th to the 22d of April, by Napoleon and the Archduke Charles, in the neighbourhood of Ratisbon, the enemy set themselves in march towards Vienna. The town prepared for siege. The French took possession of the suburbs without experiencing any resistance ; and the Emperor Napoleon, on the 9th of May, fixed his head-quarters at the palace of Shonbrun.

On the 11th, at nine o'clock in the evening, the bombardment of the city commenced furiously in one part, while an attack was at the same time made upon another. Before three in the morning a capitulation was offered, and Marshal Oudinot had taken possession of the town before nine. Subsequently to this, the well-known battles of Wagram and of Asperne took place, and concluded in the armistice of July the 12th, and in the peace signed at Shonbrun on the 14th of October. The French immediately began to destroy the fortifications of Vienna ; and, before they left it, had made such extensive breaches, that their repair would require an immense labour and expence. The Austrians have at length perceived the impossibility of defending a town which is commanded by its suburbs, and justly feeling the calamities to which the inhabitants of a fortified place are often exposed, have resolved not to repair the walls, and are now busily employed in pulling down several parts, in order to facilitate the approaches to the town.

The events which followed the French campaign of 1809 in such rapid succession, and which finally gave rise to the general congress assembled at Vienna, are too fresh in the memory of every one to require any detail. On this short sketch of some of the prominent features in the history of Vienna, it is by no means my intention to ingraft a political discussion ; it is introduced simply with the view of leading the reader to form correct ideas of the present state of the Austrian capital. He will at once form to himself the picture of antiquated buildings piled up in successive stories, and of streets narrowed to the utmost by the trembling people who sought protection within the walls ; and he will anticipate a town irregularly constructed by frequent additions, yet ornamented by many substantial public edifices, arising under the comparatively quiet and peaceful reigns which preceded that of the present monarch.

In the suburbs he will look for a more regular and open plan of building, — for houses less elevated, — for gardens and places of recreation, — for the work-yards of artificers, — and the seat of many manufactures ; — and all this he will find. In fact, the city of Vienna and its suburbs, as it relates to the elevation of the buildings, approaches somewhat to the figure of a cone, of which the apex is formed by the steeple of St Stephen's church, and the circumference of the basis by the external lines of fortification. The largest, highest, and best houses of the suburbs, are generally built in those parts which face towards the city, where are seen seve ral fine streets, palaces of the nobility, and public institutions. The glacis, and the area which is always preserved free from buildings, is nearly a quarter of a mile in width, and is a most valuable means of securing the health of the inhabi tants.