ungary
has its lunatic or idiot, familiar to everybody, from the child to the
old man, who often remembers him from _his_ childhood--for such
unhappy persons generally live a long time.

They are looked upon as public orphans by the people, and are allowed
to wander about as their innocent inclinations may suggest; seeking
wild-flowers in the lonely woods, singing through the streets, lying
abroad in the sun, or roaming by moonlight; and none wish to deprive
them of the blessed free air, to check their strange gibberish, or
their love for the pathless woods and the mysterious moon. They are
sure to find good souls, who feed them when they are hungry, and
clothe them when they are in want, or give them shelter at the close
of day, to continue their ceaseless pilgrimage next morning. And when
the power of darkness comes, and they run through the streets, or
shout up at the windows, they are merely greeted with "jo bolond"
(good fool), or some such familiar expression; but none try to silence
or confine them, for it is known that silence and confinement are
torment to a fatuous person.

Some are born thus--perhaps _they_ are happy; but for those whose
countenances were once as bright and intelligent as any other, what
chords have been rent asunder in the heart, what sudden revolution has
overturned the mind, that the soul should no longer know itself! Some
retain a few words from the memory of the past, and those who hear the
strange sentence only shake their heads, and exclaim, "Poor fool!"
little knowing what a world of grief, what a tale of ruined hope and
withered life, lies concealed in these few unintelligible words!

A few years ago, I spent some time in the county of Csongrad,[28] a
very beautiful and populous district, where I had many opportunities
of mixing with the peasants and farmers of the country. In this
district the farmers, however wealthy, bear the name of peasant, and
still retain their simple costume, the linen _kontos_,[29] and the
_brenda_.[30]

[Footnote 28: In the east of Hungary.]

[Footnote 29: _Kontos_, short Hungarian coat.]

[Footnote 30: _Brenda_, the cloak bordered with fur.]

At the house of one of these worthy peasants in particular, I was a
frequent visitor; his simple but vigorous mind, and the wit and
pertinence of his remarks, often entertained me. I partook of his
hospitality at all their family _fetes_--the vintage, kukoricza
gathering,[31] and birthdays; and indeed the goo