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13    UN DEBAT : DES MENTAUTES COLLECTIVES    603

shall begin then with Buda & Pest which are the first Towns of any Notę aft er leaving Presburg. — At Buda we arrived at the Time of a Fair & were much entertained with. the variety of dresses worn by the Peasanta & the gaudy appearance of the Shopa which were ornamented for the occa-sion.— The River is here very broad & has a Bridge of Boats which isformed by placing these close together in a parałlel Linę at Anchor & then laying fir Beams upon them & ma king railings at each side. — This is removed in Winter & People pass by what is called a flying Bridge, which I believe I have described to you before having seen them on the Rhine. —This Bridge joins the Towns of Buda & Pest in the former of which we went to see some Turkish Baths which still remain. — The Water is sulphureous & very hot continually emitting a copious vapour so that being in one of the Rooms is like being in a Vapour Bath. — There are many apartments each of which has a Bath' in which are pipes furnishing one hot the other cold Water & furnishing a temperaturę of Bath wished for by different People. — There is besides one large round Bath open to all ranks of People & in this we saw Men Women & Children lying where the Water was shallow rolling about in a heat where I could scarcely remain a minutę without feeling some Inconvenience. — On leaving Buda we travelled by the Banks of the Danube in which we saw a large Island containing many thousand acres of white Sand, on which grew not one Blade of Grass but here & there some scattered Shrubs. — I never saw so desolate a Scene. —Pre-sently after we saw a large flock of Bustards which are the finest wild Birds I ever saw. — I was induced to get out of the Chaise & loading the Gun with two Balls shot at one flying but as you may suppose missed it. — These Birds are never met with but upon great Plains & these had not deviated from the Rule as we now journeyed through about 180 miles of continued heath like that at Newmarket without other Variety except here & there a few miserable Huts of Rushes & Clay. — Our nearest Road lay through Bel grad e but we have been obliged to come 200 miles about as the other Road is at present very unsafe. Most of the Habitations are raere hol es in the Ground covered with a Roof of Reeds & in one of these we found our Postmaster who was to furnish us with Horses. These huts are not near each other but at the Dist: of a mile or morę & thus the Flocks & Herds of each Owner do not often interfere as if they were nearer.— No Hedges or even bushes are to be seen A little inclosure is madę with reeds which here are as thick as your finger, & in one of these we saw Pigs & Children all in Bed & very near together. 4- The Men are a fine race of People much reseinbling the Tartars from whom they are probably sprung. They always wear their Boots & Spurs, have all Whiskers & many their whole Beards. -r They are very tawny & the Women ugly to excess.— One day we saw three Yultures not far from th£ Carcase of a dead Horse. — The Plain is sandy & diy the Water very bad & the Heat excessive except where you catch a Breeze. — The Grass is very short & you would think bad but large Oxen do very well upon it, their Horses have little else & still go wonderfully for their strength.— The Inns are very poor so that we freąuently got no Beds & often little to eat. — At S/.egedin we found 200 French officers prisoners in the Fortress, who were pretty closely confined having behaved thern-selves very ill when at Liberty to walk about. At Temeswar we found about.

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