" It was the
'Uncle Tom's Cabin' of that day, and of the cause he had at heart--the
abolition of serfdom. In reading this most thrilling story, one can
understand the evil times that gave birth to the terrible saying of the
peasant, "that a lord is a lord, even in hell."
Yet it was the nobles themselves who abolished at one sweep all the
privileges of their order. It was by their unanimous consent that the
manumission of nearly eight millions of serfs was granted, at the same
time converting the feudal holdings of some 500,000 families into
absolute freeholds.
In Hungary it would appear that public opinion is generously receptive
of new impulses, and in this particular the Hungarians resemble us, as
they claim to do in many things, calling themselves "the English of the
East."
"It is curious," said Baroness B---- to me one day, "that with all our
respect for British institutions, and everything that is English, that
we fail to copy their straight good sense. We have too many talkers, too
few workers. We are not yet a money-making nation; we have no idea of
serious work, and our spirit for business is not yet developed. Almost
all industrial or commercial enterprises are in the hands of Jews,
Armenians, Greeks, who are great scoundrels generally."
"The Armenians are instinctive traders," I remarked.
"Yes, true; just as we are the very reverse. But this change has come
over us. Taking again our cue from England, we see that trade can be
respectable, and those who follow it are respected--with you at least.
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