most prosperous Unitarian society of the country! With the singular individuality of Toroczko, it would seem strange in a land where the different races have to such a remarkable extent kept distinct, that its people should be a complete union of two. To be sure, they are now thoroughly Hungarian, and are as far as any of these from knowing any other language. But the names of many of them point back to Saxon origin,* and the peculiar dress resembles the Saxon more than the Hungarian. Indeed the village, seven or eight centuries ago, appears to have been pretty thoroughly Saxon; but through intermarriage, and in other ways, it became gradually Magyarized. The general appearance of the village itself was very different from that of any other I saw. The houses were larger and better, the streets were cleaner, and everything about it seemed to show a general thrift and absence of poverty. But if Toroczko is unique in its population, it is not less so in its situation. It is in the midst of grand mountains, some wooded, and some of bare stone. The most striking of these is the Székelykö (Szekler Stone), a single rock rising to the east of the village, it seemed almost perpendicularly, for perhaps a thousand feet. At least this was my own conjecture of its height; but as the statement of persons living there would seem to be of greater authority, I would add that one of them told me it was fifteen hundred feet above the sea, and another eighteen hundred feet above the valley. Its outline is so bold that the sun may go behind it after it rises, while ascending, so that they say they have two sunrises. 66 The evening that we reached Toroczko we were called upon by seven or eight gentlemen who were the members of the "presbyterium," a word which I should perhaps best translate by parish committee;" though certainly they, if any, deserved to be called elders. They were all old; and I may safely say they * The settling of Germans in Transylvania is a singular case of eastward emigration. The character of the country had become known through the crusaders who had crossed it, so that the invitation given by King Geisa II., in the twelfth century, for strangers to come to till and defend the land, and uphold the crown, was readily accepted. They came chiefly from Flanders and the Rhine. The colonists of Toroczko came however from Styria. were the strangest and most patriarchal body of men I ever saw. No one of them looked at all like either of the others, except in so far as all had their long hair parted in the middle, and hanging over the shoulders, and as all wore mustaches. Still less indeed did they look like any one else in the world. They were, however, all dressed alike in the regular peasants' dress of the village. This dress is in many ways peculiar to Toroczko, and the smaller adjoining village of Toroczkó Szent György. One of the more striking characteristics of it is that the sheep-skin vest, which is very common throughout all Transylvania, taking the place of a coat, worn with the wool remaining on the inside of the garment, was here ornamented with a bright fox-skin collar, reaching up over the ears. The boots were pointed like Chinese shoes, and the top ornamented with a tassel of blue silk. And in many small matters, especially in giving brighter colors, the dress differed from that of the rest of the country. The next day was Sunday. Just before going to church the same presbyters called again. I had some conversation with them through Prof. Kovács. But with my eyes I could see without an interpreter, and I must let this be my apology if I describe more what I saw than what I heard. These persons to-day wore, in addition to their usual dress of the day before, each of them a garment cut like an overcoat, but worn as a cloak. It is their Sunday dress, which they only wear when they go to the Sunday service. The yard at Mr. Koronka's house was this morning ornamented with fresh beech branches, and to these were fastened dahlias and other fresh flowers. And over the path leading to the church several flags were hung. In all Transylvanian churches the two sexes sit in different parts of the church. It is also often the custom that the unmarried girls do not sit with the married women. In Toroczko this kind of arrangement is carried much farther. The people coming to church do not go directly into the building, but wait outside. No one enters the church till first of all the old men go in. Then the old women enter. And so it goes on, first the married ones according to age, and then the unmarried, — last of all coming the little children. The men enter the church by one door and the women by another, as is usual in all the churches. - They not only enter the church according to seniority, but sit so, and go out so. The women, as in all the churches, are the first to go out. This they do in perfect order, in single file with the hands folded. There is something very impressive in the reverence and complete order shown in these churches. The attention of this congregation was perfect, and it was a real pleasure for me to comply with the request of Mr. Koronka, after his sermon, and address them, though I knew they did not understand a word I spoke, till after I finished, and Mr. Kovács translated what I had said. This church is one of the best and largest Unitarian churches in the country, and I was told would seat between seven and eight hundred; though it was hard for me to believe that the numbers should be quite so large. Still, whatever number the church will hold was there that day; and indeed every Sunday the church is crowded. It is a common custom among the churches in Transylvania for the men to wait with their heads uncovered after leaving the church till the minister has come out. Then one of the oldest steps forward, and speaking for all thanks the minister for the sermon, and expresses the wish that God may bless it in its effects upon them. The minister answers briefly, and not till then does the service seem concluded. I mentioned the dress of the Toroczko men. The women here also have their peculiar dress. The most striking part of the weekday dress is perhaps their bright red boots. But they too have their special Sunday dress, and almost every woman in the church. wore a sheep-skin jacket, with the pretty fox-skin collar. There were, however, a few young women whose dress was entirely dif ferent from that of the others. The most characteristic part of it was a gold crown, perhaps three inches high, from which hung over the back of the head bright colored ribbons interwoven with gold and silver. Such a crown is called in Hungarian "párta," from parthenos, virgin. This dress I was told is now worn but rarely. Still it is regularly worn at weddings and on the four communion Sundays. The communion service is celebrated in all the Unitarian churches on the same days, these being Easter, Whitsunday, and the Sundays preceding Michaelmas and Christmas. These celebrations call forth the largest congregations, and the ministers of several villages told me that their churches were not large enough to seat all who then came. In the rich communion service of Toroczko I was shown a silver cup which was said to be a thousand years old. the date 1586. Another bore At dinner we met the members of the "presbyterium," and several other gentlemen, among them Mr. Létai, the minister of the society in the next village of Toroczko Szent György, with whom we now drove about two miles to his house, and then went to the short afternoon service in the church, where I again spoke to a crowded congregation. This village, much smaller than Toroczko, has a grand situation similar to the latter's; and the natural beauty is enhanced by the ruins of a Roman fortress on the hills opposite it. In the afternoon the villagers met together, in the broad street which goes through the centre of every Transylvanian village, for the regular Sunday afternoon recreation of dancing. A large number assembled, either to take part or to look on. The music was from a strangely formed old gypsy, who rested his fiddle on his right shoulder, and so had room for his pipe, which he smoked through it all. Every Hungarian town has its gypsy musicians; and indeed professional music is entirely in the hands of this race. We partook of a bountiful supper at Mr. Lètai's with many others, and in the evening were driven back to Toroczko. Before I close this account, I wish to join one name to those of Mr. Koronka and Mr. Zsako, as of a person to whom I, as well as the Unitarians of Toroczko, are greatly indebted: it is that of Mr. Bosla. Though eighty-six years old he was still the most important man of the village and the parish. He was one of the presbyters of the society, and seemed everywhere to stand as the patriarch of the village. He presided at every public meeting, and whenever he entered a room where others were, every one rose. A part of the rich communion service I mentioned was his gift. It was in his wagon that we were driven on, for nearly fifty miles, the next day, when, leaving these grand representatives of our faith in Toroczko, we continued our way up the beautiful Golden River. ROBERT S. MORISON. THE HIGHER SCIENCE.* GEORGE HENRY LEWES is right in the introduction of his remarkable book entitled "Problems of Life and Mind, First Series, Foundation of a Creed," when he says, that "this is an age clamorous for faith, and only dissatisfied with skepticism when skepticism is a resting place instead of a starting point, a result instead of a preliminary caution." And again, "The great desire of the age is for a doctrine which may serve to condense our knowledge, guide our researches, and shape our lives, so that conduct may really be the consequence of belief." Whether he can help us much towards this end, and lead us to the foundation that we need for our light and motive and peace, it remains to be seen. The first volume rather describes the vehicles and instruments of his thought, and the way in which he means to go to work, than gives us positive results. He promises indeed to present something more than a dry theory of man and nature, and another addition to the systems that have puzzled or pleased the understanding and left the heart unmoved and unedified. He believes in religion, and says, "In a word, this transformed religion must cease to accept for its tests and sanctions such tests as would be foolishness in science and such sanctions as would be selfishness in life. Instead of proclaiming the nothingness of this life, the worthlessness of human love, and the imbecility of the human mind, it will proclaim the supreme importance of this life, the supreme value of human love, and the grandeur of human intellect." There is no doubt that thorough-going materialism has been making headway in the world of late, and winning some converts from a class of men whose instincts and culture have not before been in that direction. Dr. Tyndall's recent discourse does not indeed affirm materialism, but it tends strongly that way, and he claims for matter what he cannot claim for mind or spirit or God. Problems of Life and Mind. By George Henry Lewes. First Series. The Foundations of a Creed. Vol. I. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co. |