The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-17

jestlc structure. which resembles more a castle
than school house. Hetau, indeed, might De
an execution, and moreover a community made
up of wealthy farmers scarcely deserves tho namo
OF village; hence, DR.. Schwarz determ' heu 10
take. as term OF comparison with the educa-
tlonal advantages Of rural districts In the father
land, sonio mean and begglrly Saxon hamlet-a
thing. however, hard q hnd.
The single cxamploof the Kind lies on the same
road, rather loss than a league further but al
ready f.r up among the mountlins, ami whereas
in iIcltau an exuberalt vegetation WIS attested
hv The surcrnuilv OF resouicss, here the colo
ni,ts secure only meaerc nourishmenL The
road thithcr climbs a series Of pasture lanes,
with vineyards stretching along tine right, and
on the lcft the hOurshing young forest before
mentioned. At length We reach the tiny ham
let. hichtlsbeIg by name. the only saxon noun
tain village. the ehrcwl cOlonists having every
where seized the vslleys, and left tho relatively
WORTHLESS heights to the walachilns The con-
trast "a sharp enough with the bright, lively
Heltau. Here the streets IRE crooked, I'M
graded. and unpaved, and the unlopped
branches VI fruit trees oyerhanging them com
rel tho wayiarcr to duck his head at every step.
After passing few outlying farm houses, you
come to II large pl1zs around which, In the
primitive Gsrman fashion, arc grouped the small.
dininutiye four-cornered windows, and their
gable enJs turncd toward the street Every.
thing will remind you OF the westphalian coun-
try districts. tha fountain IN the mid lie Of the
suua Q, from which stalwaft wanches bear away
their AFin.nins buckets, the pair OF oxsn drag
eing VIC lriiy tue hus5 harvest vain; the civil
GOOD day" Of the passer- By. all OF whom don
their caps to you, and finally the barking OF
dog, which is d rare sound in thl' part OF Hun
gary. Moreover, the poor hdts are kept scrupl-
lousy clean, aud are freshly whitewasho1 every
spring. You will see further reason to respect
this need folk when you look around you at
he up er end OF the big plaza. There rises
tail. slightly structure, far oyertopDing the
stunpy cottages, aud this again proves TO be
school house. Although the Gustavus-Adophus
society as we learn from tablet on the build
lug contributed In some measure to Its ereo-
ton, still the sacrifices imposed on poor ham
let by such an edince must have been heavy, and
while villages In Germany mizht be named
which are forced to furnish an equal sum for the
same purpose, It NAV be doubted whether they
would do go voluntarily. The saxon colonist
in Transylvana has an appreciation OF ed
uoation rare enough amoug the better
ciesses In the fatheriand, and would rather at
any time stint bis own food than deprive his
child Of sound instruction. The result Of this
! NhoIesOme ieelln0 ~ tnht the natives OF tho
meanest villages, like Mlchelsbers. receivs a
substantial, effective education which you may
ofton look for in vain In certain districts OF Han
mover and Bavaria. or people who can neither
read nor write you never hear, although sIch
instances arc by no means lnfrequent under the
Wanted school system Of Prussia.
The work OF the teacher Is here greatly facili-
tated By the circumstance that IT, children are
singularll trectable and eron eager to learn, the
peculiar position OF this people. It's self-enfofced
! ISOLATION and perpetual contention with sur
rounding races having developed an exceptional
wGkefulness and activity OF mind. No doubt
the remarkable success OF these Saxon schools
is partly due to unusual diligence on the part OF
the teachers, circumstance which Dir.
Schwarz attributes to the vigorous, restless
spirit animating thoroughly Protestant COM
munity. Its to be noted that three, four, or
ave instructors are found In the smallest ham
let's, and the fundamental difference between \
| Saxon and a Wsllaohian village seems to be the
presence Of nve sch oolmssters TO one ecclesias-
tic. the proportion In the latter case being pre-
/ cisely reversed
To complete our impression OF tho Transyi-
vanian Saxon, It may be wen to glance at bis
dwelling, dress. and domestic life. over his
house door you invariably md one Of those In
scriptons. Of an exemplary, sent m rial purp ort,
| tU"ns OF paVaria. Irue usrt1nn. too, u re
massive srched gate wnicn lets you into the
roomy courtyard. From the court a covered
staircase hung with milk pans, dried cheeses and
the Ike lends 10 the living room on the lower
door Of the house. Here the nrst thing you
notice Is the stove formed Of Du,cn tes
| (kachelofen) which in winter occupies the space
| between the baking oven and the wall. The
| wooden cover OF this colossal heating apparatus
| gilstens with incessant polishing, and around II
| from the smoke-grimed wsn depend tin aud
earthern pots and pitchers, a. well a. glass ware
In great Quantity aud Of quaint shapes. The
latter articles. however are never taken down
except on occasions Of great family festivals. A
sofa hard as stone, and an equally lincoln
| Portable armchair for the grandfather OF the
| house, with some curiously iinted chests and
presses compose the furniture ofthe apartment
The men IRE tall, s.rong-boned. and rarely
! corpulent. They arc at nrst somewhat qniet
| and reserved, and inclined to suspicion: but
once thRved, they are frank. conndins compan-
| Ions. Their normal garb differs tut slightly
| from that worn by the westphalian peas mt
while at work, but SUNDAYS are eulvened with
q gala dress. Of which immense Jack boots, and
big silver oIttons sewed all over a short Jacket
| arc the most conspicuous features. Neither has
/ tho weekday costume Of the women anything
| specially noteworthy. Although. out Of doors,
In the pastures, and the village streets they are
| accustomed TO show themselves the boldest Of
| horsewomen, even from tender years, their
manners toward strangers are extremely con-
| strained and shy. Gradually, however, they
grow more communicative, and then turn up to
| sou coquettishly face which not seldom Is
beautiful as picture and exhibit their skill In
| spinning, which Is not slight, ana In plating
straw hats which Is really marvellous. rns lat.
ter employment at Michelsberz. as in all the
poorer Saxon villages, is followed at home, even
boys and young men taking part Ia 1t, up to the
time Of their marriage, after which IL is consd-
cred derogatory to virile dignity. The material
is furnished Boy the sumner cora, from which
the nne blades under the ear are cut OF with
shears IN lengths VI eighteen inches. washed,
and woven while damp. For tho most part.
only the meaner sorts OF hats are manufactured
| 10y the country-folk, although, occlslonlly. the
more expert workwomen send als1 to the cities
| finer wares.
~ the travellers request, Young girl took on
| the head dress, which formed the most striking
| part Of her attire. II consists OF a long black
satin cylinder, open at the top and bottom and