The present
year, therefore, shows a steady reduction of those ugly figures at the
wrong side of the national account.
[Footnote 20: 'Hungarian Finances,' the Times, October 31, 1877.]
CHAPTER XXV.
Copper mine of Balanbanya--Miners in the wine-shop--Ride to St
Miklos--Visit to an Armenian family--Capture of a robber--Cold ride
to the baths of Borsek.
Having expressed a wish to see the copper mine at Balanbanya, which is
some five miles from Szent Domokos, my host proposed to drive me over
the next morning. When the morning came the weather looked most
unpromising; there was a steady downpour, without any perceptible break
in the clouds in any quarter. I had made up my mind to go, and as after
the noonday meal it cleared slightly, we started. The mud was nearly up
to the axletree of our cart. After driving some time we reached a wild
and rather picturesque valley, in which rises the Alt, or, as it is
called when it reaches Roumania, the Aluta. The course of this stream is
singularly tortuous, winding about through rocks and defiles, often
changing its direction, and finally making a way for itself through the
Carpathian range.
As we approached the copper mine it had all the appearance of a volcano,
for a heavy cloud of smoke hung over the spot like a canopy. This mine
has been worked for many years; formerly it paid well, but now it is in
the hands of a company, who are working at a loss, if I could believe
what I was told.
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