o a good size.

The chief river of Hungary is the Danube, and the whole of Hungary is
included in its basin. It runs through the heart of the country, forming
many islands; the greatest is called the Csallokoez, and has over a
hundred villages on it. One of the prettiest and most cultivated of the
islands is St. Margaret's Isle, near Budapest, which has latterly been
joined to the mainland by a bridge. Some years ago only steamers
conveyed the visitors to it; these still exist, but now carriages can
drive on to the island too. It is a beautiful park, where the people of
Budapest seek the shade of the splendid old trees. Hot sulfur springs
are to be found on the island, and there is a bath for the use of
visitors.

The Danube leaves Hungary at Orsova, and passes through the so-called
Iron Gates. The scenery is very beautiful and wild in that part, and
there are many points where it is exceedingly picturesque, especially
between Vienna and Budapest. It is navigable for steamships, and so is
the next largest river, the Theiss. This river begins its course in the
Southeastern Carpathians, right up among the snow-peaks, amid wild and
beautiful scenery, and it eventually empties its waters into the Danube
at Titel. The three largest rivers of Hungary feed the Danube, and by
that means reach the Black Sea.

Hungary lies under the so-called temperate zone, but there does not seem
much temperance in the climate when we think of the terrible, almost
Siberian winters that come often enough and the heat waves occasioning
frequent droughts in the lowlands. The summer is short in the
Carpathians; usually in the months of August and September the weather
is the most settled. June and July are often rainy--sometimes snowstorms
cause the barometer to fall tremendously. In the mountain districts
there is a great difference between the temperature of the daytime and
that of the night. All those who go to the Carpathians do well to take
winter and Alpine clothing with them.

The winter in the mountains is perhaps the most exhilarating, as plenty
of winter sport goes on. The air is very cold, but the sun has great
strength in sheltered corners, enabling even delicate people to spend
the winter there. In the lowlands the summer is exceedingly hot, but
frequent storms, which cool the air for some days, make the heat
bearable. Now and then there have been summers when in some parts of
Hungary rain has not fallen for many weeks--even months