1936 On the Continent

villages.”
    “But why did you leave Asia if you had enjoyed staying under ‘your parents’ roof’ for twenty thousand years?”
A Little History
    “You had better ask those historians who try to find the possible reasons for those great and almost universal migrations of the century after Christ. I should say that grazing land had become desiccated through some atmospheric change in those great steppes of Asia, and those primitive people were forced to come towards the west in search of pasture land. They came like herds of hungry wolves. Have you heard of Attila? He was the king of the Huns and he died on his wedding night because he drank too much. You never heard of him. That does not matter as I am sure they will make a film of him in a few years’ time. Well, Attila took Europe by storm, followed by a huge nomadic tribe. You can well imagine that Europeans did not very much like him, or his tribe for that matter. They called him ‘Whip of God.’”
    “If you don’t mind my telling you, I can’t see much resemblance between you and Attila. …”
    “Most unfortunately Attila was not among my ancestors. We Hungarians only arrived in Europe some five hundred years after him. We were a nation of fishermen and hunters, and in the great turmoil of Asia we became mingled with an ancient Turkish tribe. Through them we made our acquaintance with agriculture and the horse. It was a superior race: tall and erect, with a fine aquiline nose. Rather Eastern in looks. Looking at some of the Hungarian aristocrats you can still find the ancestral traits in their features. After a thousand years.”
    “Are Hungarian men good-looking generally?”
    “Well, just look at me!”
    “And how can you distinguish the Hungarian type?”
    “That would now be almost impossible. The original Eastern race has gone through many admixtures of blood.During the last thousand years a good deal of Slavonic and German blood came into us. In the tombs of the time of the Conquest they have found skeletons of Norman origin. It would be too easy to prove that I am related to you too. This mixture of blood makes the Hungarian race so interesting and talented. St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary, converted them to Christianity, and when …”
    “For God’s sake! You want to go through the whole Hungarian history?”
    “Aren’t you interested?”
    “I am. But I am afraid I am very ignorant of history. I could not even tell you when James II reigned over this very country.”
Watchdogs of Europe
    “But you must know something about us. For a thousand years on the threshold of the West we were defending Western civilisation with our own body. While you were busy building towns and churches we had been fighting the Tartars and the Turks.”
    “You mean to say that England, too, owes her presentday power to Hungarians.”
    “I wouldn’t go so far. But it is a fact that for centuries we were the watchdogs of the whole of Europe. I am afraid I can’t be more modest than that. It was only a few years back that we were bitten again by the Asiatic Wolf. You obviously read about it sitting by your fire!”
    “What do you mean?”
    “After the War we were the only European country where Asiatic Bolshevism could succeed in forming a serious government. Though their regime only lasted a few months, I would not wish you such a chaos.”
    “Oh, let’s not talk about politics. I dislike it.”
    “It was you who began.”
    “I?”
    “Yes, you. I began to talk about fishing and you asked what my nationality was. The politics of the whole world seems to be turning round similar questions. When will you come to Budapest, by the way?”
    “I haven’t the faintest idea. To tell you the truth I don’t very much want to, either.”
    “You are the first British subject I’ve met who does not share His Majesty’s opinion.”
    “Why?”
    “Because Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, came to visit Hungary twice in the same year, and liked his
séjour
. Well, let’s talk about something else. What d’you think of the great strides the film-industry is making in England?”
    “Oh, you fiery patriot. I do happen to know that Hungarian talent has a great share in it. …”
My First Letter to Miss Glinton
    A few weeks later I received a letter from Miss Glinton. She asked me how to get to Budapest easiest, as she was going to Venice, and would have liked to come to Budapest
en route
. I answered at once:
    Dear Miss Glinton,—I strongly