CHAPTER XXXIII. RUIN.-HUNYAD AND DEVA. ONE of the most beautiful as well as most interesting parts of Transylvania was still to come,-all that district where the precious metals abound, where the peasant still digs his lumps of gold out of the mountain, washes the sands of Aranyos "the golden" to find the precious dust. The country passed through abounds in scenes of grandeur, and the traveller, who should follow my steps and see what I saw between Hermannstadt and Klausenburg, would consider his tour memorable from the enjoyment it had occasioned him. It was dark when we arrived at Hunyad, and I felt ashamed to disturb the forester so late by tapping at his window to mention the name of an acquaintance, who had told me to go to him. But Hungarians are never "disturbed" when hospitality is to be exercised; and as gaily and as pleased as though I were an old friend just returned after a long absence, he had the doors opened, and quickly dressing, came out to welcome me. His wife, too, prepared my room- how neat and pretty it was !refreshment was served, and all was done without ado or difficulty. I opened my window in the morning to look about. There stood, on a steep limestone rock, the most picturesque of castles, that of the great Hunyadi, ruinous and blasted by fire, but still grand in its proportions, and imposing from its commanding and massy forms. I was impatient to be among its walls, and directly after breakfast my host and I set off. Two rivers meet at the foot of the rock on which the castle stands, and high up in the air a bridge led across from the steep bank to the portal of this royal palace. But it is all gone save the beams of the drawbridge, immediately before the entrance. You wander through large court-yards, and pass long corridors, leading to bow-windowed chambers overlooking the roaring current beneath; and you stroll into the chapel defaced and desecrated, and examine the mighty cellars once well stored with luscious Transylvanian wine ; and from the broad regal terrace you look out upon the plain ; and the more you gaze, the sadder are the feelings which will not be shaken off. There are so many remains of what is beautiful, that it is painful they should be thus left, uncared for, to the wild powers of Nature, which per form their work on everything alike,-unrelenting, un sparing, and without any sympathy. A fire broke out here in the night of April 12, 1854, in one of the towers, and spreading with fearful quickness, soon made the noble castle what it now is-a place of desolation. Here and there some roofing had been raised to prevent the rains from deluging the rooms; but be yond this, nothing has been done. There is one magnifi cent vaulted knightly hall, built 1452, with stone columns down its whole length : the damp and snow enter by the windows, and from above the wet penetrates and disin tegrates the stone. Bit by bit, fragments loosen and fall down. It is a shame and pity that it should be so. Before long, it will crumble and be gone. When the Houses of Parliament were burnt in London, the ruins of St. Stephen's Chapel disclosed many an or- nament unseen before. The heat had calcined the mass which had covered them and caused it to peel off. So here, owing to the fire, I discovered that in many of the rooms-those of state, no doubt-the walls had originally been elaborately painted with figures and landscapes. There is nothing extraordinary in this ; but I found not one stucco layer merely on which was colour, but three of different dates, and different in style. When the lowerthe oldest-layer was considered to want replacement, instead of effacing the painting, and using the original ground, a fresh thick stratum of mortar was laid over it, and a new painting made. The mortar of the different layers might easily be peeled off each one, and the subject underneath be distinctly seen. Such a monument as this ought not to be allowed to go to decay. It is the duty of the Government to prevent it. And even politically it would be wise to do so; for the Hungarians would esteem most highly an act which would tend to do honour to their illustrious countryman. Iron here is abundant. Indeed, the whole mountain is iron. Towards the south it alternates with coal, which is greyish in colour, and makes excellent coke, containing hardly any sulphur. This, in the Schyl Valley, is found in immense beds, and in such quantity that it is impossible to say when they may be exhausted. There is primary chalk in a crystalline state; like alabaster, near Riska, a short distance from Hunyad; and here a pale-red marble and grauwacke, with particles of gold. There are evident traces that in this neighbourhood also the Romans sought for the greedily-desired metal. On a hill above the castle may be seen the foundation walls of a stronghold that once stood here. But as usual, the stones have been carried away, and are now dispersed all over the village. There is a lovely view here, and of great extent. Below, cottages are nestling among fruit-trees in full bloom ; and in the distance mountains shut in the fertile vale. Young corn, green uplands, the red earth,-for here it is everywhere more or less thus coloured,- and the snowy peaks beyond, make up a bright and pleasing picture. In the village I saw many Roman remains ; one, a pedestal, had at each corner a resting lion, and in the middle a female head, perfectly Egyptian in character. I drove on to Déva. My first walk was to the castle, which, situated on a high hill,-a trachyte rock,-domineers the land. The old walls reach low down the steep, and give evidence of the extent and strength of the fortress. As I passed one gateway, I met two men with a waggon laden with stones ; and at the summit were others loosening with crowbars the strong masonry, and toppling it down the slope, to be fetched away later. Chapel, bastions, vaults, chambers, towers, all was being pulled down. The whole extent of the plateau looked like the rubbish- heaps when a street is being removed. All was fresh; and, except here and there, an outer wall that defied the spoiler's strength, no part had the timeworn look of a ruin. It was evident that this robbery had long been going on, and that a vast extent of building had already been carried off. Here, then, was another proof of lawlessness. Under the very eyes of the authorities-for the castle is before the windows of the commanding officer's house-a Government building is demolished piecemeal, and carried openly away, day by day, for months. A few high walls only are now left standing; but these, and the numerous outworks on the hill's steep sides, rising up as they do at that height against the sky, make Deva a most imposing and attractive sight. How much more so must it have been a year or two ago, when the buildings, not yet destroyed, showed how extensive the fortress was. The view from the castle which is very much higher than Heidelberg, is magnificent. You stand on a pro- montory, and gaze over a vast expanse of plain, dotted with villages, and the river shining on and on among them in the far distance, like a sunbeam that had fallen there; the mountains, with their curious outline, forming the barrier on the north. The rock descends abruptly on the town side, and in places is perpendicular. I could see from afar the village whither I was going, perched up on the summit of a mountain. It was difficult to leave my high look-out, so fine was the prospect which it gave. All, too, was calm and light : sunshine was over the plain, and as you contemplated the peaceful scene, peace and tranquillity stole into your heart. Text Archive Home | Book Details | Table of Contents