rzenland, a tract which
tradition says was once filled up by the waters of a great lake, till
some Saxon hero hewed a passage through the mountains in the Geisterwald
for the river Aluta, thus draining this fertile region.

The mountainous wall to the rear of Zeiden is clothed by magnificent
hanging woods, which at the time I describe were just tinged with the
first rich touches of autumn. It was a lovely ride through this fertile
vale. On every side I saw myself surrounded by the lofty Carpathians, or
the lesser spurs of that grand range of mountains; the higher peaks to
the south and south-east were already capped with snow. The village in
which I had so agreeably sojourned for a couple of days almost rises to
the dignity of a little town, for it has nearly 4000 inhabitants.
Considering its situation, on the verge of this rich plain, and many
other local circumstances, it is, I suppose, a very favourable example
of a German settlement in Transylvania. I had been struck by the extreme
neatness of the dwellings and the generally well-to-do air of the
people, but there is nothing progressive about these Saxons. I saw
plainly that what their fathers did before them they do themselves, and
expect their sons to follow in the same groove. There is amongst them
generally a dead level of content incomprehensible to a restless
Englishman.

When I asked why they did not try to turn this or that natural advantage
to account, I was met with the reply, "Our fathers have done very well
without it, why should not we?" I could never discover any inclination
amongst the Saxons to initiate any fresh commercial enterprise either at
home or abroad, nor would they respond with any interest to the most
tempting suggestions as to ways and means of increasing their
possessions. It is all very well to draw the moral picture of a
contented people. Contentment under some circumstances is the first
stage of rottenness. The inevitable law of change works the
deterioration of a race which does not progress. This fact admits of
practical proof here. For instance, the cloth manufactures of
Transylvania are falling into decay, and there is nothing else of an
industrial kind substituted. The result is a decrease of the general
prosperity, and a marked diminution in the population of the towns. Nor
is this the case in populous places only. The Saxon villager desires to
transmit the small estate he derived from his father intact to his
_only_ son. He d