Roman Catholic towns abroad, there is what is
called a Calvary hill, with its fourteen "_stations of our Lord_," and
the crucifixion and chapel crowning the hill, whither the devout make
little pilgrimages, and where they perform their devotions.]

In the midst of the Danube there is a little island--whoever has seen
it in former days, may have an idea of paradise! On crossing the
bridge which united it to the town, an alley of gigantic palm-pines
extended from one end of the island to the other, through which the
rays of the sun gleamed like a golden network. The island was
beautifully laid out in gardens, which furnished the town with fruit.
In summer, the gay population held many a _fete_ here.

Then in winter, when the cold confined the inhabitants to the town,
what merriment and cheerfulness were to be seen everywhere! The young
men of the district assembled for the Christmas tree and the Carnival
festivities. Every mansion was open, and its hospitable landlord ready
to receive alike rich and poor.

On Sundays and holidays, as soon as the early bells began to toll, a
serious and well-conditioned population were seen crowding to the
churches--the women in silken dresses, the men in rich pelisses
fastened with heavy golden clasps; and when an offering was wanting,
none were found remiss. At one oration by a popular preacher, the
magnates deposited their jewelled clasps, buttons, and gold chains, in
heaps at the threshold of the church; and with this gift the vast
school was built which stood opposite the Reformed Church.

All this _was_--and is no more! Two-thirds of the edifices have been
reduced to ashes; three churches--among them the double-towered one
with the fine frescoes, the Town-hall, the County-house, the Hospital,
the High Street, the Danube row, and the entire square, with more than
a thousand houses, have been burnt to the ground! What remained was
battered to pieces by the balls, and destroyed by the inundation and
the ice in the following spring.

The beautiful island was laid waste, the trees cut down, and the
bridge destroyed! Where are the joyous scenes of the past, the
pleasant intercourse, and the gay society? The carnival music and the
holiday bells are mute; the streets are empty, the houses roofless,
and the people wretched!

* * * * *

It was a fearful night--raining, freezing, and blowing hard, while
the shells were bursting over the town, and whistling