Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. Vol. 1. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 24)

George Cushing: Eger - British connections

section entitled 'Hungarian Popular Songs', and this is something of a curiosity. Rumy took it from the journal Hasznos mulatságok, where it was published anonymously in 1823, and appears to be a good Hungarian folksong - a tribute, incidentally, to Vitkovics's genius for this type of verse. The original, however, is Serbian and Bowring had already translated that, also from German, in his Serbian Popular Poetry (London, 1827). Apparently he did not notice the similarity of the two versions. (And here we may note that there is another translation in Hungarian too, by Kölcsey Ferenc, entitled Rác nyelvből (1814); it was Vitkovics who supplied him with a Hungarian translation. Vitkovics was in fact a remarkable writer and literary organiser who deserves more credit than he is usually given by either Serbian or Hungarian critics, for he was the man who continued the poetic tradition of Csokonai at a time when that was frowned on, and pointed the way ahead to Petőfi. The folk of Eger should be proud to own him — that he was proud of his birthplace can be seen in numerous poems and other writings. Perhaps the most detailed description of Eger, and its surroundings to appear in English (outside a guide-book) was published in a volume entitled Rural and Historical Gleanings from Eastern Europe, published in London in 1854. The author's name was given as 'Miss A. M. Birkbeck', and in her introduction she declares that she is 'indebted for the materials of which it is composed partly to the kindness of a friend, who, during a long sojourn in Hungary, acquired an accurate knowledge of that land, as well as of its inhabitants.'

9 Miss Birkbeck was the daughter of a wellknown barrister who in later years was to become Master of Downing College, Cambridge. But her 'friend' was none other than her husband, Mednyánszky Sándor, who was bora in Eger in 1816. He had joined the army at the age of 16, but left it in the early 1840s, only to play a very active role in the 1848 revolution. Among other exploits he organized a guerrilla band, mainly composed of prisoners, in the Bakony, and raised a force of 300 volunteers in Eger. When the war was over, Mednyánszky was sent by Klapka to discuss terms with Haynau, and he signed the agreement. Then he left for London, where he lived for 18 years, marrying Miss Birkbeck there. He afterwards went to live briefly with Kossuth in Turin before returning to Hungary in 1869; there he was deputy for Szigetvár till his death in 1875. 56