American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-16
SLING-STONES.

A Hungarian Story.

IN the ola Gays, Wnen huZuk was SUI
Pacha of Grosswardein, the good city O
Debreczin, the headquarters of the rea
Magyar race, suffered many trials. Tha
mad Turk became enraged at the meres
trifie, and then he at once threatened +
destroy the city with fire and sword, t,
slaughter its men, to drag its women int
slavery, to give up its treasures to pill
lage, and to SOW with salt the place wher
j. had stood.
The mild and wise magistrates of De
breczin used to try with prayers and pres
Turk. But one day Mein Herr StefaI
Dobosy, the great grandson of Michae
Dobosy, the immortal hero of 1926, be
came a magistrate.
He was an obstinate and fiery man; anC
when -Pacha Kuzuk, for some foolish rea
son, again threatened to attack the city
Mein Herr Stefan Dobosy sent word tc
him: Z" Come oni''
Thereupon Pacha KuZuk fell into ter
rible rage; and, commanding his troops
TO mount, he set out that same night, and
brecZin.
"Well, then, am herev'
Now, the city had by no means any
thing like strong walls, neither meats mol
draw-bridges. 1t stood, indeed, on wide
and very fertile plain of black soil. Its
defenses consisted of twelve erumbling
towers, from which the citizens used to
defend themselves against the rowing
bands of thieves. These were of brick,
upholstered, and were rooted with reeds.
They would have fallen to pieces at the
first shot. Each one of them had been
provided on the back with a stairway of
rotten planks, which led up from without
TO a surrounding wooden landing, which
gave access TO the tower; and so, if this
stairway had been removed, no one who
was in the tower could leave it.
Each of these ninepin-shaped towers
guarded one of the gates OF Debreczln,
but at respectful distance, so that il
should not be destroyed by an enemy at
lacking the city-thereby keeping the
city from the necessi y of building a new
one. When you saw the towers, all that
you thought of was that the roof of each
was good for nothing but for the storks to
build their nests on; for these harmless
birds stood till evening upon one leg and
chartered for hours long, as if they pro-
tected the city in the securest manner.
Pacha kuZuk had so arranged his ar
rival as to bring his troops before all the
twelve gates at once; and directed against
each of the red brick towers one of the
great round cannon, loaded to the muzzle,
desiring to speak to the DebrecZiners in
this fashion.
Instantly there came out of the city
Greek named Panajoti, who, although a
native of Stamboul, was established in
DcbrecziH; he was an old acquaintance
of Pacha KuZuk. So, when the city had
any nice affair to settle, they regularly
sent this Greek with the same to the
Pacha, believing he would not be imme-
diately impaled.
well, what do the magistrates in De-
brecZin say?"
"Your Excellency, the truth is that
this Stefan Dobosy is drunken dog.
When your threat came to us, he immedi-
ately put all the young girls, women and
children into wagons and sent them away
to Tokaj. Then he had the order cried
through the town that whatsoever had any
valuable property should tear it to pieces,
hew it down, or throw it into the wells;
and as soon as the enemy should seize
the city that they should at once set it
on fire in forty places, throw fire into
every church, into every tower; and then
that every one should seize his spear, or
mount his horse Git he had one); and
then would he, DObosy, tell them from
which gate they should rush out; and
truly should they so retreat from here
that nevermore should any one of them
so much as even turn his face toward
Debreczin. Mein Herr KuZuk, how
would your highness be justified, should
the Sultan inquire what has become
of the great city of Debreczin, which has
SO Loyalty paid to the Porte so many taxes,
which has furnished such distinguished
and has so richly furnished the
army with flour and forage? Will he,
then, be pleased that your Highness has
burned the city to ashes and sowed the
place with salt where it stood, in right
Ulta nj no
longer drew well and burned unevenly?"
All this Mein Herr Stefan Dobosy had
instructed PanajOti to say, and he repeated
it word for word
You COMPOUNDED, thick-skulled Cal
vinisti" cried the Pacha, angrily; she is
just obstinate enough to do what he says"
kuZuk wished, in fact, not to be answera-
Bile for destroying so fine city as Debrec-
Yin merely in order to appease his own
ill-humor; for at that time there was in
the Hungarian lowlands no other city SO
thickly settled and well prOvisioned in
days journey The city was so necessary
in that place that had it not been stand
ing the Turks would have thought it
necessary to build one there.
The vagaDond dog" growled the
Pacha again, knows very well that do
not wish to destroy his city; and there
fore he dares to address me in this lofty
e.
upon the open, | know / should make
him, in that case, travel such n road that
his footprints would be marked with
blood"
Panajoti declared earnestly that the
residents of DebrecZin were resolute in
the highest degree, and just rs soon as the
Pacha should have u trumpet sounded or
"A cannon fired the whole city would at
once burst into flames, and everything
would be lost; for all the treasures had
been buried. and the women and children
were already far on the other side of the
the men would be enraged one
would seize scythe, another saber;
and even then they woull hardly do suf-
ficient execution to satisfy themselves, so
highly exaspcrsted would they he.
The Pacha saw that Panajoti was right.
The DebrecZincrs had for once triumphed
over him lie called back the troops he
had deployed before the gates; he had the
cannon turned about and said he would
show mercy to the Debreczners; that they
might be tranquil, he would do them no
harm; that in the future he would treat
them graciously. He specially praised
Mein Herr Stefan Dobosy for his resolutc
and courageous conduct, and said he
world bear him no ill-will on account of
his skiIIful triumph. Nay, more, should
he ever be in trouble let him come to me;
he can rely upon my protection; and
should Mein Herr Stefan Dobosy ever
come to Grosswardein, he must certainly
find thc Pacha's house; the Pacha would
certainly receive him more cordially than
he had been received by Dobosy."
so the Pacha turned back with all his