I never knew a Hungarian who was not in
his heart pleased with the idea, that the King of Hungary was also an
emperor, whose lands, broad and wide, occupied so large a space in the
map of Europe; and I never knew an Austrian proper, who was not proud
of Hungary and the Hungarians, in spite of all their defects. The
Hungarian of the above description herds with his fellow-countrymen,
and preserves, to the end of his stay, his character of foreigner;
visits assiduously places of public resort, preferring the theatre and
ball-room to the museum or picture-gallery.
Of all men living in Vienna, the Bohemians carry off the palm for
acuteness and ingenuity. The relation of Bohemia to the Austrian
empire has some resemblance to that of Scotland to the colonies of
Britain, in the supply of mariners to the vessel of state. The
population of Bohemia is a ninth part of that of the whole empire; but
I dare say that a fourth of the bureaucracy of Austria is Bohemian.
To account for this, we must take into consideration the great number
of men of sharp intellect, good education, and scanty fortune, that
annually leave that country.
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