CHAPTER I
JONATHAN HARKER 0
'S JOURNAL ( _ Kept in shorthand .
_ ) _ 3 May .
Bistritz 1
.
_ -- Left
Munich 2
at 8:35 P. M. , on 1st May , arriving at
Vienna 3
early next morning ; should have arrived at 6:46 , but
train 4
was an hour late .
Buda-Pesth 5
seems
a wonderful place 92
, from the glimpse which
I 0
got of
it 5
from
the train 4
and the little
I 0
could walk through
the streets 6
.
I 0
feared to go very far from
the station 7
, as
we 8
had arrived late and would start as near the correct time as possible .
The impression
I 0
had was that
we 8
were leaving
the West 9
and entering
the East 10
;
the most western of splendid bridges over
the Danube 12
11 , which is here of noble width and depth , took
us 8
among the traditions of Turkish rule .
We 8
left in pretty good time , and came after nightfall to
Klausenburgh 13
.
Here 13
I 0
stopped for the night at
the Hotel Royale 14
.
I 0
had for dinner , or rather supper , a chicken done up some way with red pepper , which was very good but thirsty .
( _ Mem .
_ , get recipe for
Mina 15
. )
I 0
asked
the waiter 16
, and
he 16
said it was called " paprika hendl , " and that , as it was a national dish ,
I 0
should be able to get it anywhere along
the Carpathians 17
.
I 0
found
my 0
smattering of German very useful here ; indeed ,
I 0
do n't know how
I 0
should be able to get on without it .
Having had some time at
my 0
disposal when in
London 18
,
I 0
had visited
the British Museum 19
, and made search among the books and maps in
the library 20
regarding
Transylvania 21
; it had struck
me 0
that some foreknowledge of
the country 21
could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with
a nobleman of
that country 21
22 .
I 0
find that
the district
he 22
named
23 is in
the extreme east of
the country 21
24 , just on the borders of
three states 25
,
Transylvania 21
,
Moldavia 26
and
Bukovina 27
, in
the midst of
the Carpathian mountains 17
28 ;
one of the wildest and least known portions of
Europe 29
93 .
I 0
was not able to light on any map or work giving
the exact locality of
the Castle Dracula 31
30 , as there are no maps of
this country 21
as yet to compare with
our 32
own Ordnance Survey maps ; but
I 0
found that
Bistritz 1
,
the post town named by
Count Dracula 22
90 , is
a fairly well-known place 94
.
I 0
shall enter here some of
my 0
notes , as they may refresh
my 0
memory when
I 0
talk over
my 0
travels with
Mina 15
.
In
the population of
Transylvania 21
33 there are four distinct nationalities :
Saxons in
the South 35
34 , and mixed with
them 34
the Wallachs 36
, who are
the descendants of
the Dacians 37
36 ;
Magyars 38
in
the West 39
, and
Szekelys 40
in
the East 41
and
North 42
.
I 0
am going among
the latter 40
, who claim to be descended from
Attila 43
and the
Huns 44
.
This may be so , for when
the Magyars 38
conquered
the country 21
in the eleventh century
they 38
found
the Huns 44
settled in
it 21
.
I 0
read that every known superstition in
the world 45
is gathered into the horseshoe of
the Carpathians 17
, as if
it 17
were
the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool 46
; if so
my 0
stay may be very interesting .
( _ Mem .
_ ,
I 0
must ask
the Count 22
all about them . )
I 0
did not sleep well , though
my 0
bed was comfortable enough , for
I 0
had all sorts of queer dreams .
There was a dog howling all night under
my 0
window , which may have had something to do with it ; or it may have been the paprika , for
I 0
had to drink up all the water in
my 0
carafe , and was still thirsty .
Towards morning
I 0
slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at
my 0
door , so
I 0
guess
I 0
must have been sleeping soundly then .
I 0
had for breakfast more paprika , and a sort of porridge of maize flour which
they 47
said was " mamaliga , " and egg-plant stuffed with forcemeat , a very excellent dish , which
they 48
call " impletata . "
( _ Mem .
_ , get recipe for this also . )
I 0
had to hurry breakfast , for
the train 49
started a little before eight , or rather it ought to have done so , for after rushing to
the station 7
at 7:30
I 0
had to sit in
the carriage 50
for more than an hour before
we 51
began to move .
It seems to
me 0
that the further east
you 52
go the more unpunctual are
the trains 53
.
What ought
they 54
to be in
China 55
?
All day long
we 51
seemed to dawdle through
a country which was full of beauty of every kind 56
.
Sometimes
we 51
saw
little towns 57
or
castles on
the top of steep hills 59
such as
we 60
see in old missals
58 ; sometimes
we 51
ran by
rivers and streams 61
which seemed from the wide stony margin on each side of
them 61
to be subject to great floods .
It takes a lot of water , and running strong , to sweep the outside edge of a river clear .
At
every station 62
there were
, sometimes
crowds 64
, and in all sorts of attire .
were just like
the peasants at
home 67
66 or
those
I 0
saw coming through
France 69
and
Germany 70
68 , with short jackets and round hats and home-made trousers ; but others were very picturesque .
The women 71
looked pretty , except when
you 72
got near
them 71
, but
they 71
were very clumsy about the waist .
They 71
had all full white sleeves of some kind or other , and most of
them 71
had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet , but of course there were petticoats under them .
The strangest figures
we 51
saw were
the Slovaks 73
, who were more barbarian than the rest , with
their 73
big cow-boy hats , great baggy dirty-white trousers , white linen shirts , and enormous heavy leather belts , nearly a foot wide , all studded over with brass nails .
They 73
wore high boots , with
their 73
trousers tucked into them , and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches .
They 73
are very picturesque , but do not look prepossessing .
On the stage
they 73
would be set down at once as
some old Oriental band of
brigands 74
89 .
They 73
are , however ,
I 0
am told , very harmless and rather wanting in natural self-assertion .
It was on the dark side of twilight when
we 51
got to
Bistritz 1
, which is
a very interesting old place 95
.
Being practically on
the frontier 75
-- for
the Borgo Pass 76
leads from
it 1
into
Bukovina 77
--
it 1
has had a very stormy existence , and
it 1
certainly shows marks of it .
Fifty years ago a series of great fires took place , which made terrible havoc on five separate occasions .
At the very beginning of the seventeenth century
it 1
underwent a siege of three weeks and lost
13,000 people 78
, the casualties of war proper being assisted by famine and disease .
Count Dracula 22
had directed
me 0
to go to
the Golden Krone Hotel 79
, which
I 0
found , to
my 0
great delight , to be thoroughly old-fashioned , for of course
I 0
wanted to see all
I 0
could of the ways of
the country 21
.
I 0
was evidently expected , for when
I 0
got near the door
I 0
faced
a cheery-looking elderly woman 80
in the usual peasant dress -- white undergarment with long double apron , front , and back , of coloured stuff fitting almost too tight for modesty .
When
I 0
came close
she 80
bowed and said , "
The Herr Englishman 0
? "
" Yes , "
I 0
said , "
Jonathan Harker 0
. "
She 80
smiled , and gave some message to
an elderly man in white shirt-sleeves , who had followed
her 80
to the door
81 .
He 81
went , but immediately returned with a letter : -- "
.
-- Welcome to
the Carpathians 17
.
I 22
am anxiously expecting
you 0
.
Sleep well to-night .
At three to-morrow the diligence will start for
Bukovina 27
; a place on it is kept for
you 0
.
At
the Borgo Pass 76
will await
you 0
and will bring
you 0
to
me 22
.
I 22
trust that
your 0
journey from
London 18
has been a happy one , and that
you 0
will enjoy
your 0
stay in
.
"
, "
DRACULA 22
. "
_ 4 May .
_ --
I 0
found that
had got a letter from
the Count 22
, directing
him 81
to secure the best place on
the coach 82
for
me 0
; but on making inquiries as to details
he 81
seemed somewhat reticent , and pretended that
he 81
could not understand
my 0
German .
This could not be true , because up to then
he 81
had understood it perfectly ; at least ,
he 81
answered
my 0
questions exactly as if
he 81
did .
He 81
and
,
the old lady who had received
me 0
91 , looked at each other in a frightened sort of way .
He 81
mumbled out that the money had been sent in a letter , and that was all
he 81
knew .
When
I 0
asked
him 81
if
he 81
knew
Count Dracula 22
, and could tell
me 0
anything of
, both
he 81
and
crossed
themselves 83
, and , saying that
they 83
knew nothing at all , simply refused to speak further .
It was so near the time of starting that
I 0
had no time to ask
any one else 84
, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means comforting .
Just before
I 0
was leaving ,
the old lady 80
came up to
and said in a very hysterical way : " Must
you 0
go ?
Oh !
young Herr 0
, must
you 0
go ? "
She 80
was in such an excited state that
she 80
seemed to have lost
her 80
grip of what German
she 80
knew , and mixed it all up with some other language which
I 0
did not know at all .
I 0
was just able to follow
her 80
by asking many questions .
When
I 0
told
her 80
that
I 0
must go at once , and that
I 0
was engaged on important business ,
she 80
asked again : " Do
you 0
know what day it is ? "
I 0
answered that it was the fourth of May .
She 80
shook
her 80
head as
she 80
said again : " Oh , yes !
I 80
know that !
I 80
know that , but do
you 0
know what day it is ? "
On
my 0
saying that
I 0
did not understand ,
she 80
went on : " It is the eve of
St. George 86
's Day .
Do
you 0
not know that to-night , when the clock strikes midnight , all the evil things in
the world 45
will have full sway ?
Do
you 0
know where
you 0
are going , and what
you 0
are going to ? "
She 80
was in such evident distress that
I 0
tried to comfort
her 80
, but without effect .
Finally
she 80
went down on
her 80
knees and implored
me 0
not to go ; at least to wait a day or two before starting .
It was all very ridiculous but
I 0
did not feel comfortable .
However , there was business to be done , and
I 0
could allow nothing to interfere with it .
I 0
therefore tried to raise
her 80
up , and said , as gravely as
I 0
could , that
I 0
thanked
her 80
, but
my 0
duty was imperative , and that
I 0
must go .
She 80
then rose and dried
her 80
eyes , and taking a crucifix from
her 80
neck offered it to
me 0
.
I 0
did not know what to do , for , as
an English Churchman 0
,
I 0
have been taught to regard such things as in some measure idolatrous , and yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse
an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind 80
.
She 80
saw ,
I 0
suppose , the doubt in
my 0
face , for
she 80
put the rosary round
my 0
neck , and said , " For
's sake , " and went out of
the room 85
.
I 0
am writing up this part of the diary whilst
I 0
am waiting for
the coach 82
, which is , of course , late ; and the crucifix is still round
my 0
neck .
Whether it is
the old lady 80
's fear , or the many ghostly traditions of
this place 21
, or the crucifix itself ,
I 0
do not know , but
I 0
am not feeling nearly as easy in
my 0
mind as usual .
If this book should ever reach
Mina 15
before
I 0
do , let it bring
my 0
good-bye .
Here comes
the coach 82
!