CHAPTER VI.

ANNA TARCZA Y.

PERHAPS one of the most intrepid acts of daring bravery ever accomplished by an Hungarian girl was the heroic defence of Tarkö by Anna Tarczay. She sprang from one of the most ancient families of Hungary. Her mother was Theodora Bánfy. Her father, Nicolaus Tarczay, lost his life in the unfortunate battle of Mohács, where the flower of the Hungarian nobility fell under the scimitar of the Ottoman. After his death, Anna's mother married a Polish nobleman, and followed him to his country, leaving her young daughter on the family estate in the care of her brother-in-law, who undertook to superintend the child's education. We are told that whenever she was free from lessons, Anna devoted herself to studying the history of her country; and she was never so happy as when able to flourish her little sword on the back of one of her uncle's restive chargers. As she grew up, Anna was always ready to join in any political conversation, and her remarks proved that she possessed great capacity, strengthened by a determination of character seldom to be found in her sex. In fact, she seemed as if destined to play a part in the history of her country. One of Anna's great friends was Isabella, the widow of John Szapolyai. This ambitious woman, knowing the influential position which her young friend occupied, seems to have completely gained her over to assist in raising her son Sigismund to the throne of Hungary.

Anna also became acquainted with a great partisan of Isabella, named Franz Bebeck, who excited her youthful imagination by depicting to her the important part she would play if Sigismund could be elected King of Hungary. The result was that the enthusiastic maiden supported them heart and soul in their contest with Ferdinand, who had been elected King of Hungary at the instigation of his sister Maria, the widow of Lewis II. Anna's influence and talents seem to have greatly assisted Isabella, for she not only induced many to join the standard of revolt, but also armed and equipped a body of trained soldiers. The death of her uncle, who fell about this time in the Turkish wars, gave her unlimited command over her estates and vassals. The pre- eminent part which she played in this intestine struggle attracted the attention of the King, who wrote to her, bidding her to desist from her hostile acts, and at the same time warning her of the evil consequences, should she persist in opposing his authority. The proud lady, who was then playing the part of the military feudal noble in the stronghold of Tarkö, would not even allow Ferdinand's envoy to appear in her presence, and sent back his letter unopened. This so excited the King that he ordered a considerable force to advance at once and destroy Anna's burg. The Austrian general, from the size and position of the stronghold, believed that as soon as Anna perceived the number of his forces, and that they were fully prepared to bombard her fort, she would immediately capitulate; but in this he was deceived. The young Hungarian girl returned a most scoffing reply to his summons to surrender. She mounted the battlement, and ordered a black flag to be unfurled from its loftiest point, saying as she pointed to it, that when the Austrian general got it he might use it as a pall for her coffin. Ferdinand's general began the siege of the place, and,

after effecting considerable damage on the walls, he attempted to take it by storm, but was driven back with great loss by Anna, who headed her retainers and fought like a common soldier in the breach. This so infuriated the Austrian leader, that, instead of availing himself of his artillery, he persisted in sending forward assaulting parties, who were successively driven back with great havoc by the heroic lady. The severe loss which the Austrian troops were daily experiencing, at last opened the eyes of Ferdinand's general, who not only found himself without officers (for nearly all had fallen in leading the storming parties), but, on account of the thinning which the ranks of his troops had sustained, he believed himself incapable of withstanding a general sortie from the fortress; he therefore retired, and sent for reinforcements. Anna's stronghold was now the scene of a round of festivities, and, yielding to the importunities of her brave and manly lover, George Homonay, she celebrated the joyful event of the retreat of her enemy by her own wedding.

After their nuptials, Anna and her husband retired to their country estates. The news of her departure was very welcome to the Austrian general, who was somewhat at a loss to explain to his sovereign how his army had been defeated and partly annihilated in attempting to capture a small fort defended only by a few retainers under the command of a young Hungarian damsel, and he now experienced little or no difficulty in gaining his object, as Anna was no longer there to inspire its defenders with her beauty, her words, and her deeds. As long as she was in their centre she inspired her soldiers with the belief of their invincibility, but when the magic of her presence was lost they soon fell victims to their enemies. The victorious general now took another stronghold belonging to Anna, and, believing

that she was sufficiently humbled by the fall of her fortresses and the occupation of her estates, called upon her to appear before a court of law. This Anna wisely declined to do, but many of her retainers who had been captured by the Austrian leader were compelled to bear testimony as to the part she had taken in resisting Ferdinand's authority. Their evidence was of such a nature that the judges were for some time incredulous with reference to the account they gave of the acts in which this young girl had been engaged for the purpose of assisting and forwarding the interests of her friend. It appears that she not only enlisted and disciplined men, but led them to the standards of her friend Isabella, that she was accustomed to ride alone for miles in the most uninhabited parts of the country, which were frequented only by disbanded soldiers and outlaws, and that she was constantly planning the most daring enterprises, in which she was always ready to take a leading part. In the defence of her fortress she never shrank from any task, and yet with all her manly qualities she made a most loving wife; and few who knew her in after life would have recognised in her the young Amazon who had so boldly confronted the foe.

CHAPTER VII.

MARIA THERESA.

AMONGST the many illustrious and noble daughters which the House of Hapsburg has given to its subjects, Maria Theresa stands pre-eminently the greatest. Her genius, her talents, and the purity of her character, have made for her a name which has seldom if ever been equalled. It is true we can boast of an Elizabeth, Russia of a Catherine, Sweden of an Ulrica--but who has ever attempted to compare these sovereigns with Maria Theresa? She was in every sense of the word the mother of her people; and when we consider the many nationalities over which she ruled, we are astounded to find that they all expressed the same feeling of veneration and respect towards their great Empress. Her sublime motto, Justicia et clementia,' is a key to the policy which guided her in all her transactions through her long and glorious reign. In private life, she was equally conspicuous for her virtues, and her married life may serve as a picture of domestic happiness for future generations.

Maria Theresa was born on May 13, 1717, at Vienna. Her mother, the Princess Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick, was famed for her beauty and her womanly virtues. She was christened on the day after her birth, and received the names of Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina. Her titles were-Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary, and Infanta of Spain. Her edu