his armies, he said, came and disappeared in a very mysterious
manner, and that nothing could be said with positiveness about them; that
the people now known as Magyars first made their appearance in Muscovy in
the year 884, under the leadership of Almus, called so from Alom, which,
in the Hungarian language, signifies a dream; his mother, before his
birth, having dreamt that the child with which she was enceinte would be
the father of a long succession of kings, which, in fact, was the case;
that after beating the Russians he entered Hungary, and coming to a place
called Ungvar, from which many people believed that modern Hungary
derived its name, he captured it, and held in it a grand festival, which
lasted four days, at the end of which time he resigned the leadership of
the Magyars to his son Arpad. This Arpad and his Magyars utterly subdued
Pannonia--that is, Hungary and Transylvania, wresting the government of
it from the Sclavonian tribes who inhabited it, and settling down amongst
them as conquerors! After giving me this information, the Hungarian
exclaimed with much animation: 'A goodly country that which they had
entered on, consisting of a plain surrounded by mountains, some of which
intersect it here and there, with noble rapid rivers, the grandest of
which is the mighty Dunau; a country with tiny volcanoes, casting up
puffs of smoke and steam, and from which hot springs arise, good for the
sick; with many fountains, some of which are so pleasant to the taste as
to be preferred to wine; with a generous soil which, warmed by a
beautiful sun, is able to produce corn, grapes, and even the Indian weed;
in fact, one of the finest countries in the world, which even a Spaniard
would pronounce to be nearly equal to Spain. Here they
rested--meditating, however, fresh conquests. Oh, the Magyars soon
showed themselves a mighty people. Besides Hungary and Transylvania,
they subdued Bulgaria and Bosnia, and the land of Tot, now called
Sclavonia. The generals of Zoltan, the son of Arpad, led troops of
horsemen to the banks of the Rhine. One of them, at the head of a host,
besieged Constantinople. It was then that Botond engaged in combat with
a Greek of gigantic stature, who came out of the city and challenged the
two best men in the Magyar army. "I am the feeblest of the Magyars,"
said Botond, "but I will kill thee;" and he performed his word, having
previously given a proof of the feebleness of his arm by striking