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Down The Blue Danube

Down The Blue Danube image
Parent Issue
Day
7
Month
October
Year
1896
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Heldelbera, Germany, Sept. '96. Buda-pest is deserving of a eulo' gist, wlo has no other duty to perform, than to describe and praise. I can't convert myself into a guide book, all starred, doublé starrod and swelling with fiatuiant language. I must egotistically teil you whnt we did - supposing your interest to be centered upon the Don and his Sancho. I shall teil how we saw "Odal" printed in large letters on eyery ferry and street car, and concluded thatwas the Hungarian name for any means of transportaron ; but it wasn't. It was a new tooth paste. Then how our friend reverently took off his hat and compelled me to do likewise when we entered the sacred precincts of a drug store, and again at the bank. "They have a university education," he said in a hushed and awed yoice. Again, you must kuow how we repeatedly had collisions on the walks, until our friend informed us that in Hungary everyone turns to the left in passing. Very proudly our host took us to the New York Oafe, which he himself had designed. His pride was quite justifiable for the building is a beautiful Renaissance structure, one of the flnest in the city. There we read the New York Herald, and drank some of the best coffee I ever tasted. Of course we went out to the exposition grounds. The Fair is not so pretentious as our great World's Fair was, but has the charm of novel ty in its buildings and contents. In the city are beautiful broad boulevards, with quadruple lines of large trees. Handsome mansions of wonderfully artistic designs, flank these great thoroughfares. Buda is a modern and elegant city in every respect A last visit to a restaurant , where we ate some most marvels of fancy cakes and ices, and then farewell to the Hungarian's pride and greetings to our little blue boat again. From the river, as we were leaving Buda, we could see the little city of Constantinople, built on the right bank to advertise Paine's fire-works. Domes and minareis and other oriental architecture make the miniature very eifective. This reminds me also of the Turkish Chapel in Pest Gul- Baba (the father of roses) is buried beneath this rnosque. Thousands of Turks carne afoot to visit this Saracen sacrurn. In the peace of Karlowitz, the Emperor promised the Parte to preserve this monument. But to resume our journey. You must know. that for over 200 miles below Buda-pest the Danibe traverses the monotonous Hungarian plain. Yes, it is monotonous as far as scenery is concerned, but the people - well, I shall teil you about them. And the monotony is a beautiful monotony, one that it takes a number of days to appreciate its tiresoine nature. For strange experiences just visit that same plain. Nigbt had not settled upon us before I had an adventure weird enough. We wauted fresh water and stopped at a small town to get it. I left the faithful Sancho at home - viz., the little boat drawn on shore - and went up to the first building which I saw. Having expressed my desire in mutilated Hungarian, I was taken in tow by a wizened oíd man. He entered a courtyard, passed through it, came to a blind door and whistled. The door opened and a half naked man with huge corded muscles and coarse features beckoned me to enter. All was dark behind him, and the gruesome odor which came out of the strange cavity made me hesitate, then plunge in, resolved to see what might happen. The little old man had growled out the Hungarian monosy lable for water and closed the door. My new guide lighted a candle and sturnbled along before in a curving tunnel which went steeply down, down into the earth. This continued for perhaps a hundred feet and then the monster ( halted and pointed to a faucet in the wall. I filled my pail with water, was conducted back by my silent geni, and at the door was met by the old man. He smiled grimly as I thanked him, and I hurried back to the boat. We kept on the river too late that night and were between two steep banks, when we decided to land. I rowed from one shore to the other (the Dannbe is nearly half a mile wide at this point) until nearly exhausted. The moon came up, but our thoughts were considerably below the moon. We wanted a camping place not moonlight scenery. At last we effected a landing and soon slumbered and forgot our woes. On the following day we stopped at a village to buy food. The towline of a small barge passed over our boat and, as I loosed it after raising it above us, it feil amid a large flock of geese swimming near shore. Such an uproar as they made would have saved Rome up to date, if it were not for the anchronism. We got ice water at the postoffice, eggs at a cigar store, and fish fróm one of six old women, who sat in a circle in a corner of a platz. Each looked piously into one of six tubs, filled with the fiuny tribe, and acted more like nuns then market women. Hardly were we well afloat again, when one of those aquatic monsters, a steam barge, appeared coming around a bend of the river. It had 7 consorte, and would have frightened us off the river two weeks before. But familiarit.y breeds eontenipt, and a sudden inspiration carne to me. "I am going to Eastened our bome to tbat life boat behind th at last barge!" I exclaimed. "You don't dare," said tbe imprudent Sancho. That settled it. In stead of setting out of the way I rowed to a position only a few yards out of the course of the river monster, and waited. As they passed, the waves tumbled us about pretty severely, but by the time the last of the 7 consorts was opposite us the water was quite calni. I rowed frantically for the life boat and throwing myself flat in the bow of our boat, grasped the stern of the life boat and awaited results. We swung in line, and rushed through the water at a delightful pace. "Shall I tie?" I questioned Sancho. "Of course," was the reply. Modesty is no good comrade for a needy man. I tied our craft, while the captain of the barge stood and grinned, seeming to enjoy the fun. Such fortune ! We covered over 100 miles that day, and the country on both sides of the river was swampy, low and uniteresting. The curiosity of the barge people grew stronger every hour and at last they sent a deputy, who could speak Germán, to interview us. We told our story and when he had reported it, we had the breathless attention of our audience until dusk, when we sadly severed our connections with our fast company, and vent into night quarters ashore. From earing the lightning, man has coiné to slay with it and harness it. So we had earncd to harness the monster of the ieep. At dawn we aróse and discovered a 3easant's house near us. In faet we lad heard men's voices singing all night iOng and before rising had held a levee. A group of peasants had surrounded our boat and the closed tent and asked juestions. We answered like the Delphic oracle, from our hiding place within our mosquito proof sanctum. After we explained all about it to a market wotnan, who spoke Germán, we were left in peace. We went np to the farm house and asked for milk. Amarylis took my pail, chased a cow into a fence corner, and extracted a litre of the required fluid, for wliich she charged us about 2 cents. Tlien she descended upon the hen roost and return with six eggs for about 4 cents. Once more afloat, how slowly we seemed to go ! It took a week to fee contented again. There was much to keep the attention now. The bank rose 5 feet from the water and then stretch ed away level to the horizon. On thi stage were enacted many strange scènes. Processions of eowe drawing high loads oí hay along this bauk look like an ancient Egyptiau frieze. More in the next letter.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier