as to the place where it is said to have been held, I venture to offer a few remarks upon the subject, trusting to your discretion in the disposal of them. en Brett says, it was held in the plains of Ajaday (or Ageda) in Hungaria." Mr. Butler observes, that this "plain does not appear in any map or in any geographical work. On the borders of Hungary and Transylvania, a large tract of level country lies between the Danube and the Theys, which in Vischer's map is called Campus Cumanorum, divided, by Busching's account, between the Cumani and the Jazyges, On the Theys is Seged or Segedinum, the principal town of the county of Bodrock, famous for its sieges by the Turks and Imperialists: this level country may be the scene of Mr. Brett's narrative." (Hora Biblica, p. 216-quoted in the CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, Vol. XVI. p.13 p. 35, note.) 1 23 I shall endeavour to shew, that this statement of Brett demands more assent than Mr. Butler's " may be" allows. The extensive tract of country between the Danube and the "Theys," (or Tisza) and for many leagues on the east and west of those rivers, is a plain, partly fertile and partly barren, the southern part very thinly inhabited, much lower than the sea, and bordered by marshes. A portion of this tract forms Vischer's "Campus Cumanorum," now parcelled out into several districts, of which three, inhabited by Cumanian tribes, are known by the names of Jasz-Orszag, Nagy-Kunsag, and Kis-Kunsag; or in plain English, the county of the Jasz, or "Jazyges," Great Cumania and Little Cumania. The Jasz lie to the north-west of Great, and to the north of Little Cumania. Jasz-Bereny, the capital, is in lat. 47 30 N., about the same distance to the west of the Thisza, that Kardszag, the capital of Great Cumania, lies to the east of that river. Felegy-Haza, in about 46° 45' N., is the chief place of Kis-Kunsag, or Little Cumania; and Kardszag, the capital of Nagy-Kunsag, lies in about 47° 5' N. lat. The direction of Kardszag is between Buda (or Pesth†) and Debreczin; and Felegy-Haza lies on the post road from Buda to Szégédin, and four German posts from the latter place. The whole distance from Szégédin to Pesth (or Buda*) is exactly twelve German posts, which are equivalent to ninety-six English miles, or thirty-two English leagues; reckoning, according to travelling calculations on a map so constructed, that the German post is equivalent to four "Stunden," of which there are thirty in a degree. Such a map is Ulrick's Post Karte, published by Willmans, at Frankfort on the Mayne. Now, by advancing six miles into the plain from Szégédin, we come to a spot "about thirty leagues distant from Buda."+ 66 It is stated by Brett, (vide CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, p. 39,) that "this place" (Ajayday, or Ageda) was thought most convenient for this Council, in regard that part of the country is not much inhabited, because of the continual wars between the Turk and the King of Hungary. There they have fought formerly two bloody battles; yet both *Buda is the Hungarian desiguation of the town of Ofen, which is, however, regarded merely as the fortress of Pesth (on the other side of the river), as Deutz of Cologne, and Kastel of Mayence. The distance of Szöged (Seged) from Buda is scarcely twenty leagues. these princes, notwithstanding their own differences, did give leave to the Jews to hold their Council there." Again (p. 39), it appears," that the people who attended the Council, were principally Germans, Almains, (qu, Albanians ?) Dalmatians, with some Greeks, and a few Italians, but not one Englishman more than himself; for," says he, "I was informed that the King of Hungary, not favouring the reformed religion, did give no encouragement to any Protestant Churches to send any divines thither, But he did allow there should be some assistants sent b: vib from Rome," &c. Now it is very true, that at the time mentioned by Brett, the Turks and the Hungarians were frequently in the field, and even seven years after, A.D. 1657, the former had still possession of Buda. 9791 Heeren,* speaking of the relations of the East of Europe, says, "A more permanent peace might have existed here," (in Austria, &c.)" had it not been disturbed by the prince of Transylvania and by the Jesuits. Any lasting quiet was made almost impossible by the relations of Transylvania, whose elective princes were at once vassals of the Porte and of Hungary." "In Hungary, the religious relations produced continual excitement; since the Jesuits were able to make their projects against the Protestants agree admirably well with those of the court." As to the wars between the Turks and Hungarians, it appears, that the battle of Eszeck was fought in the year 1538; and that, in 1566, the Turks reduced Szigeth, where Solyman died in the arms of victory. This Szigeth, then a strong frontier town, is the Seged of Mr. Butler's note (p. 35), and not the Szégédin of which I am writing. Eszeck, though at some distance from Szégédin, is still but a short distance from the country in question, but Szigeth is on the upper Theiss, at the extremity of the Campus Cumanorum," and 120 miles off. $6 The town of Szégédin is a strong fortress, built on the Tisza, vis-à-vis to the confluence of the Mureschul (or Marosch) and that river; and on the edge of the thinly-inhabited plain, which not far to the south is traversed by the Kayser Franzen's Canal (Canal of the Emperor Francis), which by a cut, fourteen German, or nearly sixty English miles in length, unites the Danube and the Theiss. Mr. Butler mentions the county of Bodrog, "of which Seged is the capital," which makes me quite certain of my position: for although about sixty miles to the east of Szégédin are the villages of Bodrog and Uj Bodrog (or New Bodrog)-the river Bodrog, passing by the town of Bodrog near Tokaj, falls into the Theiss two or three miles above Szigeth. There are two degrees of latitude and one of longitude between the Bodrog to the south near Szégédin, and the river Bodrog to the north, at its junction with the Theiss. It is, therefore, very clear that the Seged, or Segedinum of Mr. Butler is Szigeth and not Szégédin. J I shall now attempt to shew, that, though both these places are on the plain and on the Theiss, the latter is the place meant by Brett. Without entering into particulars respecting the three Cuman tribes, of which the Jasz or 66 Jazyges" are one, it may be sufficient to say, "Political System of Europe and its Colonies." Vol. I. pp. 149, 150. + It is frequently written "Szöged," which, perhaps, is the the right way. For in German the diphthong ö has oftentimes the sound of the English i, and the terminal d is sounded ; in Spanish the final d is th, and sometimes in Hungarian also, where Sz has the sound of Si. The Slavonic is a very soft language. that I incline to believe that they are of Finnish origin; though from intermixture with the Hungarians and Turks, their character and language have changed. Those who are curious on the subject, may refer to the treatise "De Jazygum et Cumanorum initis et moribus," published at Pesth, in 1803. The Their language is now extinct. Malte-Brun, (Tom. III. p. 481. 1.) quoting Thunmann and a Quarterly Reviewer of Adelung, (Vol. X. p. 287) says, that the last individual who spake Cuman' died in 1770. latter authority also states, that the language of Wallachia, where the Jazyges settled in the fourth century, has the Italian form. (Quarterly Review, Vol. X. p. 281.) The Hungarian language was that which the Cuman tribes adopted; but this language is not much known even now in Hungary, and it was only last month, (Dec. 1833,) that the Diet determined, that the Hungarian language, being so little known, should not be forced upon it by the States, and that the German language should be used.* It is to be remembered, however, that when Brett visited Hungary, not only did the Cumans speak the language of that country, (which language is rich in words of a northern sound and shape,) but might also retain something of their native Italian-like jargon; and thus in the confusion of the time, a foreigner, who spoke not these languages, but excelled in Italian, (vide the Narrative, p. 44.) "which the Jews frequently discoursed in as their own tongue," might easily mistake the pronunciation of a word, which he evidently knew not how to spell, and so have written down " Ajayday or Ageda," as he has done, for want of a better Gazetteer or Directory than his eye or his ear. -It is to be observed, that the Cumans embraced the Christian faith in the beginning of the fifteenth century; and that, being chiefly Roman Catholics, and members of the Greek church, with some Armenians amongst them, it is not to be wondered at, that the names of the Saints should have been adopted frequently as the designation of their villages and towns. Now it is impossible not to be struck with the numerous places in Hungary, especially in the Cuman district, which are thus dignified. The Hungarian word for Saint is Szent; which, contracted for St., is written either Szt. or more commonly Sz. And thus, not to wander from the banks of the Tisza itself, we find upon the maps, Sz. Marton (St. Martin)-Sz. Miklos (St. Michael) Kis Sz. Gyorgy (Little St. George)-Sz. Jakab (St. Jacob)-Sz. Istvan (St. Stephen)-Sz. Andras (St. Andrew)-Sz. Thamas (St. Thomas) Sz. Peter-Sz. Job, &c. &c.; besides in other parts of the district, Sz. Janos-Sz. Ivany-Sz. Mihalyfa-Sz. Imre-Sz. Peterseg -Sz. Kereszt-Sz. Gotthard-Sz. Benedik-Sz. Kiraly-Sz. Mihaly -Sz. Anna-Sz. Elek, &c. I know, however, that Sz. also commence many words in Hungarian which have the sound of Si; but the common method of marking down the Saints, by the significant initials See Letter from Pesth, dated 24th Dec. 1833, in the St. James's Chronicle of 7th Jan. 1834. + So fond of Scripture designations were the old colonists of this country, that there are two places near Debreczen, called Samson and Abraham. St. George also is much patronised, for there are "Tatar Sz. Gyorgy"-" Alsó Sz. Gyorgy"-Tapio Gyorgy, &c. &c. Sz. may have deceived a more intelligent linguist than Mr. Brett. And so, if he should have seen Szégédin, or Szégédi (for it is now written both ways), or Szégéde, he might have taken the Sz. as the title of St. Egéde, and have used the word, as we now say Petersburgh, without hallowing it as the city of St. Peter, simply Egédi or Egéde. Now if it be objected that I have no right to canonize a Saint whom the almanacs have never honoured, I may say, that in the north of Europe, whence the Cumans originally came, Egede is a very common name, and no one can be so ignorant as not to have heard of the famous Hans Egede, of whom the Quarterly Review says, that had he been a Catholic he ought to have been made a Saint. (Quarterly Review, Vol. VII. p. 53.) But, I hope the readers of these remarks will not think there is any jugglery in this coincidence. Now, nothing would have been easier for the Italian-speaking Mr. Brett, in a country where the original language was of the Italian cast, to pronounce Egéde, as Ajayday,* or to write it Egeda, from the lips of a foreign Jew, or an ignorant peasant or burgher. And, therefore, I conclude, that, when all my arguments are considered fairly, it is more than probable, that the "Council of the Jews" assembled under the protection of the fortress, and in the plain of Szégédin on the This, or "Theys." The narrative of Brett is so simple in its statement, so agreeable with the state of parties at the time alluded to—a state of warfare between the Turks and the Hungarians, and a state of great excitement, particularly amongst the Jesuits, who were favoured by the King of Hungary (in all of which facts history bears out the narrator)-and the place (supposed) so conveniently situated for such a Council, on the frontiers nearly of Turkey, Greece, and Italy; and by means of the Danube and Theiss, so easy of communication with the East, whence many of the Jews came, that for these reasons I am convinced the statement of Brett is authentic. The only question remaining to be considered is, how came it to pass, that both Turks and Hungarians should agree to allow the assembling of the Council. Whatever may have prompted the Jews to meet, it is at least certain, that they would be favoured by the King of Hungary, under the direction of the Jesuits, in the hope of converting them to the Romish creed; and it appears from Brett's narrative, that the Jesuits were, through their intrusion and officiousness, the cause why many of the Jews did not confess the Christian faith. Now the toleration of the Turks may have arisen from various causes intermixed. Notwithstanding the character which the followers of Mahommed have ever borne, it is certain, that they have from policy, or some temporary motive, shewn great forbearance to the Jew as well as the Christian; and when we recollect, that the Mussulman's religion is propagandist, and that as much zeal has been shewn in it for converting Jews and Christians as with the Catholics themselves; that it considers Jesus as a prophet, and in most respects acknowledges Him * The Italian equivalents of the letters in the word Egéde, are Ajayada. The accents are also on the first and second vowels. t Vide Forster's Mahometanism Unveiled. Vol. II. p. 475, note 50; also p. 481, note 68; and p. 525, note 14. in his true character; * when we take into account the probable influence of the Unitarians, who are numerous in the Cuman country, and who have frequently made overtures to the Turks, we need not be surprised at a toleration of Isaac by Ishmael, especially when it is known, that towards the Jews the Turks have frequently been tolerant beyond what might have been expected. But, after all, He who put it into the hearts of the Jews to meet, could render all parties favourable to the object they had in view. The above may be considered by some, laborious trifling; my object, however, has been sincere and single; and if I have advanced anything to establish the authenticity of Mr. Brett's narrative, I have the assurance that I have not, in vain, taken up his defence, even by arguments to which probability may (whatever my own opinion is) be considered by others alone to attach; for his narrative, if true, is of no small value to the reflecting Christian. W. B. C. THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. SIR,-Many of the Lists which have been published, recommending various works to the Clergy, have not been remarkable either for arrangement or utility; they might produce a learned, but withal a very useless Clergy, as far as the interests of the majority of parishes are concerned. May the following be proposed ? Valpy's Greek Testament, 3d. edition. Bishop Lloyd's ditto, Oxford, 12mo. Townsend's Old and New Testament, arranged with notes, 4 vols. Shuttleworth's Consistency of Revelation. M'Ilvaine's Evidences. Welchman on the Articles; Cam- Burnet on the Articles. Clergyman's Instructor. Pearson on the Creed (Dobson's ed.) Randolph's Enchiridion Theologicum. Leighton's Works. Life of Legh Richmond. Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography. Bradley's, Grifith's, Milner's, and Da vies' Sermons. Horne's Introduction. Faber's Treatise on the Holy Spirit. Faber's Difficulties of Romanism. This, though rather unjust sometimes towards the Church, is far preferable to such trading publications as Evans's Book of All Religions, &c. Tracts on the Origin and Independence of the Ancient British Church, by the Bishop of St. David's (now Salisbury), 2d. edition. Rivingtons. He who shall collect and digest these volumes, will be, in some measure certainly, "furnished" for the ministerial office.‡ * Vide Forster's Mahometanism Unveiled. Vol. II. p. 488, note 93. + Vide Leslie. Vol. I. p. 206. Of the thirty-four books in the above list, twenty-two have been recommended over and over again; nor do we think our unknown correspondent's list by any means perfect for a parochial clergyman. |