Presburg.
The Viscount de Laval having proposed to me lately to make a short tour
with him into Hungary, I very readily consented, and we arrived at this
town yesterday morning.
Presburg, which is the capital of Lower Hungary, like Vienna, has suburbs
more magnificent than itself. In this city the States of Hungary hold
their assemblies, and in the cathedral church the Sovereign is crowned.
The present Empress took refuge here when the Elector of Bavaria was
declared Emperor at Prague, when she was abandoned by her allies, and
when France had planned her destruction. Her own magnanimity, the
generous friendship of Great Britain, and the courage of her Hungarian
subjects, at length restored her fortunes, and secured to her family the
splendid situation they now hold in Europe.
What politician in 1741 could have thought that in the course of a few
years the Empress would be in strict alliance with France, and one of
her daughters seated on the throne of that kingdom?—Should a soothsayer
of Boston prophesy, that John Hancock, or his son, will, sometime hence,
demand in marriage a daughter of England,—pray, do not lay an uncommon
odds, that the thing will not happen.
Mons. de Laval and I walked up this morning to the castle, which is a
noble Gothic building, of a square form, with a tower at each corner. The
regalia of Hungary, consisting of the crown and sceptre of St. Stephen,
the first king, are deposited here. These are carefully secured by
seven locks, the keys of which are kept by the same number of Hungarian
noblemen. No Prince is held by the populace as legally their Sovereign
till he be crowned with the diadem of King Stephen; and they have a
notion that the fate of their nation depends on this crown’s remaining in
their possession. It has therefore been always removed in times of danger
to places of the greatest safety.
The Turks, aware of the influence of such a prejudice in the minds of
the vulgar, have, it is said, made frequent attempts to seize this
Palladium.—The fate of Hungary seems now to be pretty much decided;
so that exclusive of the value they put upon the crown, as a relic of
considerable antiquity, the Hungarians need not be solicitous whether it
remains in this castle or in the Imperial palace at Vienna.
By the constitution of Hungary, the crown is still held to be elective.
This point is not disputed. All that is insisted on is, that the heir of
the House of Austria shall be elected as often as a vacancy happens.
The castle of Presburg is the usual residence of Prince Albert of Saxony,
who married one of the Arch-duchesses, a very beautiful and accomplished
Princess. As M. de Laval and I entered one of the rooms, we observed them
at a window. We immediately started back, and withdrew, being in riding
frocks and boots. Mons. de Laval had seen their Highnesses a few days
before at Schonbrun, and thought they had been there still. The Princess
sent a polite message after us by a servant, who had orders to conduct
us through every apartment of the castle; she herself stept into another
room, that we might see that which she left.
All the Princesses of the Austrian family are distinguished by an
attentive and obliging politeness, which is the more remarkable, as those
who live much at courts often acquire a species of politeness which is by
no means obliging. The splendor and distinctions of a court frequently
inspire an overweening vanity, and have a peculiar tendency to shake
the steadiness of the female understanding. Court ladies in general,
but particularly such as submit to be abject sycophants to Queens and
Princesses, are apt to render themselves ridiculous by the arrogant
airs they assume to the rest of the world, and while they usurp the
importance of royalty, fill the breasts of all who know them with as much
detestation as is consistent with contempt.
The view from this citadel is very extensive, commanding the vast and
fertile plains of Hungary.
Having dined at the inn, and regaled ourselves, at no great expence,
with tokay, we went to visit a villa at the distance of four miles from
Presburg, belonging to a Hungarian nobleman. This house is delightfully
situated,—the gardens laid out a little too methodically; but the
park, and fields around, where less art has been used, display a vast
luxuriancy of natural beauties.—While wandering over these, we entered
a little wood in a very retired place; as we advanced into this, we saw
a venerable looking old man with a long beard, who, stretching out his
hand, seemed to invite us to an hermitage which we observed hard by.
The Viscount, impatient to cultivate the acquaintance of a person of
such an hospitable appearance, ran before me toward him; when he got
up to him, he stopped short, as if surprised, and then, to my utter
astonishment, he raised his foot with every mark of indignation, and
gave the poor old hermit a violent kick.
I do not remember that I was ever more shocked in my life; I was at the
same time quite confounded at an action so unworthy in itself, and so
incompatible with the character of Mons. de Laval.—I was soon reconciled,
however, to the treatment the old fellow had received, when I discovered
that this venerable personage was not the honest man we took him for, but
a downright impostor, made of painted wood, and dressed in the robes of a
hermit to deceive passengers.