TRANSYLVANIA.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 296, 21 August 1860, Page 4

TRANSYLVANIA.

It is an agreeable surprise for the traveller, as he leaves Wallacbia; where cultivation and barrenness meet and form strange contrasts, to cross the Carpathian mountains and find himself suddenly among the neat fields and villages of the Transylvauian Saxons, who have preserved the' German language and customs. Seven hundred years ago some Saxon.emigrants left their native land, and came, and settled in these valleys. They adopted the principles of tho Reformation in, the early part of the 16th century, and have adhered to them ever since. "V '. ■ " '' '' '"'"'' ' '.' ""'■ ■ ''"' The town of Kronstadt,; situated at the extremity of the Carpathians, presents a magnificent spectacle, extending as it does.on the one hand down into the valley, and on the other up into the gorges of the mountain. rlh this country, where there is no aristocracy, no castle or. lordly mansions are to be seen; but instead, the churches, situated in the centre of the parishes, bear -very much the appearance of fortresses. And, why have they been, thus surrounded with walls and ramparts ? , For the simple reason that it was there that, in ages past, an asylum was sought against the bands of Tartar and Turkish robbers who frequently invaded the country. ; Each family had its hut 'within the wall surrounding the church; and there it was that the courageous. Saxons defended their faith and property. ■• , The manners and usages of these people are essentially based on religion. On Sunday, every one is present at the morning and afternoon services; the mothers evea bring their babes with them. In every parish a man takes his turn to mount guard during the, hours of service. Worship is held every day, morning and evening, and it is then that baptisms are performed and that marriages are blessed, &c. Before the communion, those who had mutual differences or quarrels appear before ■ the mayor with' the view of effecting a reconciliation. " "';'■,.•" In every parish the young men form a union with itV president, secretary, and ensign-bearer. These unions hold public meetings which are concluded with prayer, and in -tfhich. the

various dissensions and wrongs of the young men are examined and censured, in order to prevent these affairs from coming up before the ■** very venerable father "—the pastor; or before the wise " seignior "—the judge. Similar unions exist also among the young women. There are scarcely any inns in the country. The few that do exist are intended for strangers; and no father of a family ever thinks of entering them. ::;■■,. The festivals and family meetings are gener* ally opened with prayer; while the healths that are drunk and the songs that are sung all have a religious character. Unhappily,' beneath all these old religious forms there is to be found a large amount of spiritual torpor. The Transylvanian theology has come down to the level of the old rationalism. Morality may be said to flourish in the churches, but of spiritual life there is none. However, the want of this life is now generally feit, and the people are turning their eyes towards the German fatherland, on which the Spirit of God has hben breathing for ten years past, and they see that they also have something to ask of God, and something to receive from Him.— N, Ev. K. Zeitung.