imation, "A goodly country that which they had
entered on, consisting of a plain surrounded by mountains, some of which
intersect it here and there, with noble rapid rivers, the grandest of
which is the mighty Donau; a country with tiny volcanoes, casting up
puffs of smoke and steam, and from which hot springs arise, good for the
sick; with many fountains, some of which are so pleasant to the taste as
to be preferred to wine; with a generous soil which, warmed by a
beautiful sun, is able to produce corn, grapes, and even the Indian weed;
in fact, one of the finest countries in the world, which even a Spaniard
would pronounce to be nearly equal to Spain. Here they
rested--meditating, however, fresh conquests. Oh, the Magyars soon
showed themselves a mighty people. Besides Hungary and Transylvania,
they subdued Bulgaria and Bosnia, and the land of Tot, now called
Sclavonia. The generals of Zoltan, the son of Arpad, led troops of
horsemen to the banks of the Rhine. One of them, at the head of a host,
besieged Constantinople. It was then that Botond engaged in combat with
a Greek of gigantic stature, who came out of the city and challenged the
two best men in the Magyar army. 'I am the feeblest of the Magyars,'
said Botond, 'but I will kill thee;' and he performed his word, having
previously given a proof of the feebleness of his arm by striking his
battle-axe through the brazen gate, making a hole so big that a child of
five years old could walk through it."

_Myself_. Of what religion were the old Hungarians?

_Hungarian_. They had some idea of a Supreme Being, whom they called
Isten, which word is still used by the Magyars for God; but their chief
devotion was directed to sorcerers and soothsayers, something like the
Schamans of the Siberian steppes. They were converted to Christianity
chiefly through the instrumentality of Istvan or Stephen, called after
his death St. Istvan, who ascended the throne in the year one thousand.
He was born in heathenesse, and his original name was Vojk: he was the
first kiraly, or king of the Magyars. Their former leaders had been
called fejedelmek, or dukes. The Magyar language has properly no term
either for king or house. Kiraly is a word derived from the Sclaves;
haz, or house, from the Germans, who first taught them to build houses,
their original dwellings having been tilted waggons.

_Myself_. Many thanks for your account of the great men of your country.

_Hungaria