New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-14


idess of God and Of countr,v-srestrongy i'm
pressed upon their minds. Hel7ce religion FUR
nishes key to many of their nat, onal charac-
teristics. Pilgrimsges are commo1 every
where in the East. The bearded MuscOyite who,
having wandered around the shore Of the Enx'
the consesrsted waters Of Jordan, is honOred by
his fellow-serfs during the remainder of his life.
Thrice and fOurfold happy is the Mussulmsn
Hadji who has marched as pious pilgrim seven
times round the Ka0ba and repeated his FIVE
daily prayers in the precincts Of holy Mecca.
When in the Huns ,rian capital l visited the lit
tie mosque, which is still left standing on the
bank Of the Danube, almost the only vestige Of
the Turkish occupation. Hungarian pilgrims
repair annually to the tomb Of King Wadislas at
DedikiOi, near Warns, and there, in the little
mosque in Central Hungary found few pious
Turks repeating their prisons by the tomb Of a
MOslem saint was not little surprised to
find pigrimages go much in vogue among the
Hungsrians and Austrians The Emperor Fer
oinaDd and his predecessor discouraged them,
bat as everything is now yielded up to the
priests and soldiers, they are becoming more
common every year. The rich and powerful,
however, rarely take part in them, as they the
favored Of men and gods, are supposed to reach
heaven by the golden bridge or the essor Of am
bition.
The pilgrims are peasants, and almost every
day see large bands Of them slowly winding
their way to some consecrated spot. l do not
question the sincerity of the devOtee who travels
perhaps hundreds Of weary miles TO worship at
a miracle-working shrine. But aside from devo-
ton, pilgrimages are to the peassntry what tray-
cling and frequenting the great watering-places
are to the nobility and rich burghers. They
have also a double charm in countries like Aus
tria and Hungary, Astounding in wild and beau
tiful scenery. The shrines are often situated
on mountairetops, as if the feelings attend
ing devotion in such place were foretaste OF
those in the pure heaven above. In the months
of Summer the traveller frequently meets with
bands Of pilgrims among the Austrian Alps.
Dressed in the most primitive and grotesque
costumes, and headed by priests carrying BAN
Ders or the cross, they wind their way slowly
amid the lOneliest solitudes, chanting their
hymns in a solemn and earnest manner, and
uniting in the grand temple of the God of Ma
ture their simple melody with the sweet voices
Of the trees, the running brooks and the eche
from the rocks.
am equally fond Of cities thrObbing with life
and the silent cities Of the dead, and will not soon
forget the hours have spent in catholic burial
grounds. The Germans call them Gottesdeker,
the Harvest Fields Of God, and how beautifully
that name expresses the idea OF resurrection, of
Gods gathering as from field the fruits of re-
demptionl find the cemeteries everywhere in
Germany surrounded with high walls. In
stOrmier times people used to collect within
them their families and goods for protection.
In certain parts Of Hungary and on the border
lands Of christianity and barbarism, these walled
burial places still serve to protect the living and
the dead from hands of violence. Within, ow-
ing to their antiquity, every inch of ground has
been used, and doubtless used many times All
is laid out with the greatest regularity, and the
dead sleep in lines as perfect as the ranks OF
living sduadrOns. Their monuments are neat
and tasteful, but rarely so costly and gorgeous
as many in Greenwood and Mount Auburn. In
writing epitaphs for the departed, the Germans
and Hungarians display far more taste and less
vanity than ourselves. They do not all at ence
discover persons good qualities as soon as he
is Dead and place an epitaph over his head that
would hatter his vanity if he were living.
simple word or sentence as, "AsleeP, mot
forgotten" "He will RISE" tells the sad tale
more effectively and lodges sweeter thought
in the memory of the passer-by than the most
elaborate verse or far-fetched eulogy.
BY way of episode may say that although the
Catholics of Germany and Hungary plant more
flowers over the graves of the dead than we are
accustomed to in America, their horror Of the
final dissolution and estimate Of the human dust are
by no means so great and so lively as our own.
Post-mortem examinations, which are so dreaded
in America, especially by the Catholic popula-
ton, are here rather desired than otherwise.
They wish to make sure that they are not bury
ing living friend, and the thought that
men turn in their graves" is to them far more
awful than the sight of human blood and mus
cles. The law directs that burials shall not
take place until after the lapse of a certain
number of hours. Persons watching with the
dead usually sit in the same room with the corpse;
when that is not the case they place bell-cord
in it's hand so as to be summoned by any move
ment that may occur
Should the traveller tsrrying in Vienna wish
to behold sight that he will never forget, let
him repair to the "Court of Death y attached
70 the great hospital, whose inmates are num-
-. Il. L. hroaAhlnaa alnar,ara