Round about the Carpathians — A Reader’s Guide

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In Category - Geography

Authors: Crosse, Andrew F. (Andrew Frederick), 1852-1925 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2006 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Transylvania (Romania) -- Description and travel; Carpathian Mountains -- Description and travel Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 85,132

Reading time 371 min

Text sections 8

For Round about the Carpathians — A Reader’s Guide, the stored edition analysis reports 85,132 words, 6 hr 11 min estimated reading time, and 8 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 23.5 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Transylvania (Romania) -- Description and travel,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #17972

Andrew F. Crosse's 1878 travelogue blends geological observation, political history, and personal anecdote across the Carpathian region, with a narrative voice that shifts from scientific precision to wry humor and dramatic storm descriptions.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

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File: pg17972

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Down the Danube from Buda-Pest--Amusements on board the steamer--Basiash--Drive to Oravicza by Weisskirchen--Ladies of Oravicza--Gipsy music--Finding an old school-fellow--The _czardas_. 1

Consequences of trying to buy a horse--An expedition into Servia--Fine scenery--The peasants of New Moldova--Szechenyi road--Geology of the defile of Kasan--Crossing the Danube--Milanovacz--Drive to Maidenpek--Fearful storm in the mountains--Miserable quarters for the night--Extent of this storm--The disastrous effects of the same storm at Buda-Pest--Great loss of life. 15

Maidenpek--Well-to-do condition of Servians--Lady Mary Wortley Montague's journey through Servia--Troubles in Bulgaria--Communists at Negotin--Copper mines--Forest ride--Robbers on the road--Kucainia--Belo-breska--Across the Danube--Detention at customhouse--Weisskirchen--Sleeping Wallacks. 33

Variety of races in Hungary--Wallacks or Roumains--Statistics--Savage outbreak of the Wallacks in former years--Panslavic ideas--Roumanians and their origin--Priests of the Greek Church--Destruction of forests--Spirit of Communism--Incendiary fires. 46

Paraffine-works in Oravicza--Gold mine--Coal mines at Auima-Steirdorf--Geology--States Railway Company's mines--Bribery 54

Mineral wealth of the Banat--Wild ride to Dognacska--Equipment for a riding tour--An afternoon nap and its consequences--Copper mines--Self-help--Rare insects--Moravicza--Rare minerals--Deutsch Bogsan--Reschitza 58

Election at Oravicza--Officialism--Reforms--Society--Ride to Szaszka--Fine views--Drenkova--Character of the Serbs--Svenica--Rough night walk through the forest 70

Hospitable welcome at Uibanya--Excursion to the Servian side of the Danube--Ascent of the Stierberg--Bivouac in the woods--Magnificent views towards the Balkans--Fourteen eagles disturbed--Wallack dance 83

A hunting expedition proposed--Drive from Uibanya to Orsova--Oriental aspect of the market-place--Cserna Valley--Hercules-Bad, Mehadia--Post-office mistakes--Drive to Karansebes--Rough customers _en route_--Lawlessness--Fair at Karansebes--Podolian cattle--Ferocious dogs 90

Post-office at Karansebes--Good headquarters for a sportsman--Preparations for a week in the mountains--The party starting for the hunt--Adventures by the way--Fine trees--Game--Hut in the forest--Beauty of the scenery in the Southern Carpathians 104

Chamois and bear hunting--First battue--Luxurious dinner 5000 feet above the sea-level--Storm in the night--Discomforts--The bear's supper--The eagle's breakfast--Second and third day's shooting--Baking a friend as a cure for fever--Striking camp--View into Roumania 118

Back at Mehadia--Troubles about a carriage--An unexpected night on the road--Return to Karansebes--On horseback through the Iron Gate Pass--Varhely, the ancient capital of Dacia--Roman remains--Beauty of the Hatszeg Valley 131

Hungarian hospitality--Wallack laziness--Fishing--"Settled gipsies"--Anecdote--Old _régime_--Fire--Old Roman bath--The avifauna of Transylvania--Fly-fishing 140

On horseback to Petrosèny--A new town--Valuable coal-fields--Killing fish with dynamite and poison--Singular manner of repairing roads--Hungarian patriotism--Story of Hunyadi Janos--Intrusion of the Moslems into Europe 152

Hunting for a guide--School statistics--Old times--Over the mountains to Herrmannstadt--Night in the open--Nearly setting the forest on fire--Orlat 160

Herrmannstadt--Saxon immigrants--Museum--Places of interest in the neighbourhood--The fortress-churches--Heltau--The Rothen Thurm Pass--Turkish incursions 173

Magyar intolerance of the German--Patriotic revival of the Magyar language--Ride from Herrmannstadt to Kronstadt--The village of Zeiden--Curious scene in church--Reformation in Transylvania--Political bitterness between Saxons and Magyars in 1848 184

Political difficulties--Impatient criticism of foreigners--Hungary has everything to do--Tenant-farmers wanted--Wages 195

Want of progress amongst the Saxons--The Burzenland--Kronstadt--Mixed character of its inhabitants--Szeklers--General Bem's campaign 199

The Tomöscher Pass--Projected railway from Kronstadt to Bucharest--Visit to the cavalry barracks at Rosenau--Terzburg Pass--Dr Daubeny on the extinct volcanoes of Hungary--Professor Judd on mineral deposits 209

A ride through Szeklerland--Warnings about robbers--Büksad--A look at the sulphur deposits on Mount Büdos--A lonely lake--An invitation to Tusnad 219

The baths of Tusnad--The state of affairs before 1848--Inequality of taxation--Reform--The existing land laws--Communal property--Complete registration of titles to estates--Question of entail 232

Fine scenery in Szeklerland--Csik Szent Marton--Absence of inns--The Szekler's love of lawsuits--Csik Szereda--Hospitality along the road--Wallack atrocities in 1848--The Wallacks not Panslavists 243

Ride to Szent Domokos--Difficulty about quarters--Interesting host--Jewish question in Hungary--Taxation--Financial matters 252

Copper mine of Balanbanya--Miners in the wine-shop--Ride to St Miklos--Visit to an Armenian family--Capture of a robber--Cold ride to the baths of Borsék 260

Moldavian frontier--Tölgyes--Excitement about robbers--Attempt at extortion--A ride over the mountains--Return to St Miklos 275

Toplicza--Armenian hospitality--A bear-hunt--A ride over to the frontier of Bukovina--Destruction of timber--Maladministration of State property--An unpleasant night on the mountain--Snowstorm 282

Visits at Transylvanian châteaux--Society--Dogs--Amusements at Klausenburg--Magyar poets--Count Istvan Széchenyi--Baron Eötvos--'The Village Notary'--Hungarian self-criticism--Literary taste 291

A visit at Schloss B------National characteristics--Robber stories--Origin of the "poor lads"--Audacity of the robbers--Anecdote of Deák and the housebreaker--Romantic story of a robber chief 302

Return to Buda-Pest--All-Souls' Day--The cemetery--Secret burial of Count Louis Batthyanyi--High rate of mortality at Buda-Pest 315

Skating--Death and funeral of Deák--Deák's policy--Uneasiness about the rise of the Danube--Great excitement about inundations--The capital in danger--Night scene on the embankment--Firing the danger-signal--The great calamity averted 321

Results of the Danube inundations--State of things at Baja--Terrible condition of New Pest--Injuries sustained by the island garden of St. Marguerite--Charity organisation 335

Expedition to the Marmaros Mountains--Railways in Hungary--The train stopping for a rest--The Alföld--Shepherds of the plain--Wild appearance of the Rusniacks--Slavs of Northern Hungary--Marmaros Szigeth--Difficulty in slinging a hammock--The Jews of Karasconfalu--Soda manufactory at Boeska--Romantic scenery--Salt mines--Subterranean lake 339

The Tokay district--Visit at Schloss G------Wild-boar hunting--Incidents of the chase 355

Tokay vineyards--The vine-grower's difficulties--Geology of the Hegyalia--The Pope's compliment to the wine of Tállya--Towns of the Hegyalia--Farming--System of wages at harvest--The different sorts of Tokay wine 364

_Map of the Banat and Transylvania with Mr Crosse's route._

ROUND ABOUT THE CARPATHIANS.

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Andrew F. Crosse, a Fellow of the Chemical Society, opens Round about the Carpathians with a journey down the Danube from Buda-Pest, immediately establishing a voice that oscillates between the analytical and the anecdotal. His eye for geological detail—noting the “defile of Kasan” and mineral deposits—sits alongside wry observations of fellow passengers and local customs. The narrative pace is restless: a chapter may begin with a leisurely steamer description, then pivot to a harrowing mountain storm or a tense encounter with customs officials. Crosse’s prose is at once that of a Victorian gentleman-scientist and a traveler unafraid of discomfort, sleeping in “miserable quarters” or walking through forests at night. This editorial note examines how Crosse’s language, narrative voice, and changes in pace shape the reader’s experience of a region in transition.

A Scientist’s Eye, a Traveler’s Voice

Crosse’s training as a chemist surfaces in precise descriptions of “paraffine-works,” “copper mines,” and “rare minerals,” yet he never lets technical detail overwhelm the narrative. He notes the “geology of the defile of Kasan” in one paragraph and, in the next, recounts a “fearful storm in the mountains” with visceral immediacy. His voice is that of an informed observer who can pivot from the chemical composition of coal to the character of the “Wallacks or Roumains” without strain. This dual register—scientific and personal—gives the text a distinctive texture: the reader learns about mining operations and also about the author’s “afternoon nap and its consequences.” Crosse’s tone is rarely dry; even when discussing statistics of racial groups, he injects a note of irony or a telling anecdote, such as the priest dismissed without his “fat ducks and geese.” The voice remains consistently curious, skeptical of officialdom, and alert to the absurdities of travel.

Pacing: From Leisurely Observation to Sudden Crisis

The book’s rhythm is marked by abrupt shifts in tempo. Early chapters amble through steamer amusements and drives to Oravicza, with Crosse pausing to describe “gipsy music” or the “ladies of Oravicza.” But this calm is repeatedly broken by episodes of danger or discomfort: a “fearful storm in the mountains” that leaves him in “miserable quarters,” a “rough night walk through the forest,” or a “detention at customhouse.” These crises are narrated with a matter-of-factness that heightens their impact—Crosse does not dwell on fear but on practical consequences, such as the storm’s “disastrous effects” at Buda-Pest. Later chapters, particularly those on hunting expeditions, adopt a more sustained, adventurous pace, describing “chamois and bear hunting” and a “luxurious dinner 5000 feet above the sea-level.” The variation keeps the reader engaged, moving from ethnographic reflection to action without warning, much like travel itself.

Political Digressions and Historical Asides

Crosse frequently interrupts his travelogue with extended historical and political commentary, altering the narrative pace dramatically. In Chapter XVII, he devotes several pages to the Reformation in Transylvania, quoting King Ferdinand’s words and detailing the “Diploma Leopoldium.” These passages are dense with proper names and dates, a stark contrast to the preceding hunting scenes. Similarly, he discusses “Panslavic ideas,” “Communism,” and “incendiary fires” in the Banat region, weaving contemporary politics into the landscape. His voice becomes more editorial, less personal, as he analyzes the “variety of races in Hungary” and the “savage outbreak of the Wallacks.” These digressions can feel abrupt, but they reflect Crosse’s conviction that the region’s geography and history are inseparable. The reader must adjust to a narrator who is as interested in the “spirit of Communism” as in the “fine views” from a mountain pass.

Crosse’s narrative rewards readers who appreciate digression and variety. The book is not a systematic guide but a collection of impressions, held together by a consistently curious and occasionally wry voice. Pay attention to the shifts in register—from scientific to anecdotal, from leisurely to urgent—as they reveal the author’s priorities and the region’s complexities. The historical passages, though lengthy, provide essential context for the contemporary scenes. Approach Round about the Carpathians as a travelogue that refuses to stay in one lane, and you will find a rich, if uneven, portrait of a land in flux.

There are moments in Round about the Carpathians—especially during the sudden storms—when Crosse simply pauses, letting the rain and rock speak for themselves. I kept that unhurried feeling near me, and later found something like it again in The Cruise of the Elena; Or, Yachting in the Hebrides — Edition Insights, where another solitary traveler watches the sea do the same. Just a quiet kinship between two old journeys.