. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. HUNGARY. 99 P'ormerly, in the country around Temesvar, hardly anything but Servian and German was heard, whilst now the Humanians are very numerous. The Slavs, in order to escape this absorption by Wallachs, actually flee the country. The Catholic Bulgarians of the Banat have for the most part become Rumanians, whilst the Servians of several districts make use of Rumanian in addition to their native tongue. They are mild and inoffensive, these Rumanians, but once they secure a footing in a village, their language gains ground rapidly. The inabilit
. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. HUNGARY. 99 P'ormerly, in the country around Temesvar, hardly anything but Servian and German was heard, whilst now the Humanians are very numerous. The Slavs, in order to escape this absorption by Wallachs, actually flee the country. The Catholic Bulgarians of the Banat have for the most part become Rumanians, whilst the Servians of several districts make use of Rumanian in addition to their native tongue. They are mild and inoffensive, these Rumanians, but once they secure a footing in a village, their language gains ground rapidly. The inability or unwillingness of the Rumanians to acquire foreio-n tongues partly accounts for this curious state of affairs. If the Slavs, Magyars, and Germans amongst whom they settle desire to converse with them, they must learn Rumanian. But this is not all. The Rumanian exhibits greater patience in adversity than the Servian, and maintains his ground under circumstances Fig. 62.—The Servians of Hungary. According to Ticker. Pan. B-^ 0 S/ N Y Uccr iO » Over 20 lixja 50 MUes. Oti- W p.':./a which would induce the latter to emigrate. Nor is the beauty of the Wallachian women quite without influence in this Rumanisation. " Once a Wallachian wife enters a house," so says a proverb, " the whole house becomes ; Matrimonial fairs are still held in some parts of Hungary with all the ndueté of olden times. The " maidens' fair," which takes place at Topanfalva on the day of St. Peter and St. Paul, attracts the young men for miles around. Hundreds of girls, accompanied by their relatives, attend this fair, seated upon their trunks, and surrounded by the cattle which they are to receive as a dowry. A lawyer sits under a tree, prepared to draw up matrimonial contracts. As many as 140 girls have " gone off " at one of these popular meetings. Amongst the Székely the parents sometimes even sell their children, and Székely girls
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectgeography, bookyear1883
