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.
HUNGARIAN.The great men of my country! I have only told you of the - Well, I acknowledge that Almus and Arpad were great men, but Hungary has produced many greater; I will not trouble you by recapitulating all, but there is one name Icannot forbear mentioning - but you have heard of it - even at Horncastle, the name of Hunyadi must be familiar.
MYSELF.It may be so, though I rather doubt it; but, however that may be, I confess my ignorance.I have never, until this moment, heard the name of Hunyadi.
HUNGARIAN.Not of Hunyadi Janos, not of Hunyadi John - for the genius of our language compels us to put a man's Christian name after his other; perhaps you have heard of the name of Corvinus?
MYSELF.Yes, I have heard the name of Corvinus.
HUNGARIAN.By my God, I am glad of it; I thought our hammer of destruction, our thunderbolt, whom the Greeks called Achilles, must be known to the people of Horncastle.Well, Hunyadi and Corvinus are the same.
MYSELF.Corvinus means the man of the crow, or raven.Isuppose that your John, when a boy, climbed up to a crow or a raven's nest, and stole the young; a bold feat, well befitting a young hero.
HUNGARIAN.By Isten, you are an acute guesser; a robbery there was, but it was not Hunyadi who robbed the raven, but the raven who robbed Hunyadi.
MYSELF.How was that?
HUNGARIAN.In this manner: Hunyadi, according to tradition, was the son of King Sigmond, by a peasant's daughter.The king saw and fell in love with her, whilst marching against the vaivode of Wallachia.He had some difficulty in persuading her to consent to his wishes, and she only yielded at last, on the king ****** her a solemn promise that, in the event of her becoming with child by him, he would handsomely provide for her and the infant.The king proceeded on his expedition; and on his returning in triumph from Wallachia, again saw the girl, who informed him that she was enceinte by him; the king was delighted with the intelligence, gave the girl money, and at the same time a ring, requesting her, if she brought forth a son, to bring the ring to Buda with the child, and present it to him.When her time was up, the peasant's daughter brought forth a fair son, who was baptized by the name of John.After some time the young woman communicated the whole affair to her elder brother, whose name was Gaspar, and begged him to convey her and the child to the king at Buda.The brother consented, and both set out, taking the child with them.On their way, the woman, wanting to wash her clothes, laid the child down, giving it the king's ring to play with.A raven, who saw the glittering ring, came flying, and plucking it out of the child's hand, carried it up into a tree; the child suddenly began to cry, and the mother, hearing it, left her washing, and running to the child, forthwith missed the ring, but hearing the raven croak in the tree, she lifted up her eyes, and saw it with the ring in its beak.The woman, in great terror, called her brother, and told him what had happened, adding that she durst not approach the king if the raven took away the ring.Gaspar, seizing his cross-bow and quiver, ran to the tree, where the raven was yet with the ring, and discharged an arrow at it, but, being in a great hurry, he missed it; with his second shot he was more lucky, for he hit the raven in the breast, which, together with the ring, fell to the ground.Taking up the ring, they went on their way, and shortly arrived at Buda.One day, as the king was walking after dinner in his outer hall, the woman appeared before him with the child, and, showing him the ring, said, "Mighty lord! behold this token! and take pity upon me and your own son." King Sigmond took the child and kissed it, and, after a pause, said to the mother, "You have done right in bringing me the boy; I will take care of you, and make him a nobleman." The king was as good as his word, he provided for the mother; caused the boy to be instructed in knightly exercises, and made him a present of the town of Hunyad, in Transylvania, on which account he was afterwards called Hunyadi, and gave him, as an armorial sign, a raven bearing a ring in his beak.
Such, oh young man of Horncastle! is the popular account of the birth of the great captain of Hungary, as related by Florentius of Buda.There are other accounts of his birth, which is, indeed, involved in much mystery, and of the reason of his being called Corvinus, but as this is the most pleasing, and is, upon the whole, founded on quite as good evidence as the others, I have selected it for recitation.
MYSELF.I heartily thank you; but you must tell me something more of Hunyadi.You call him your great captain; what did he do?
HUNGARIAN.Do! what no other man of his day could have done.
He broke the power of the Turk when he was coming to overwhelm Europe.From the blows inflicted by Hunyadi, the Turk never thoroughly recovered; he has been frequently worsted in latter times, but none but Hunyadi could have routed the armies of Amurath and Mahomed the Second.
MYSELF.How was it that he had an opportunity of displaying his military genius?
