For their men of letters it is an undeniable misfortune to have so
restricted a public; a translated work is never quite the same. The
question of language must also limit the choice of professors in the
higher schools and at the university. But political grievances are mixed
up with the language question, and of those I will not speak now, while
I am still in Saxonland, where they do not love the Magyar or anything
belonging to him.
Returning to the itinerary of my route, I left Herrmannstadt very early
one morning, getting to Fogaras by four o'clock; it was about
forty-seven miles of good road. This little town is celebrated for the
cultivation of tobacco. There is a large inn here, which looked
promising from the outside, but that was all; it had no _inside_ to
speak of--no food, no stable-boy, nothing. After foraging about I got
something to eat with great difficulty, and feeling much disgusted with
my quarters, I sallied forth to find the clergyman of the place, to whom
I introduced myself.
I spent the evening at his house, and found him a very jolly old fellow;
he entertained me with a variety of good stories, some of them relating
to the tobacco-smuggling. The peasants are allowed to grow the precious
weed on condition that they sell it all to the State at a fixed rate.
Naturally, if they otherwise disposed of it, they would be able to make
a much larger profit, as it is a monopoly of the State.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173