Page:A history of Hungarian literature.djvu/153

 MICHAE L VÖRÖSMARTY 139 the aged father and his young daughter Enikö. Tihamér challenged the grey-haired old man and lew bim. Then arraying bimself in his va nquished foe' s helmet .and coat of maii, he appeared before the last member of the family, Enikö. The maiden had passed the hours in dreadful agony of mind. Her family was slain. Her only hope was that her father might be victorious. All at once her h ope appeared to be realised, and her anxiety ceased wh en she saw her fath er e nter the hall. It was he, his helmet, his armour. She rushed joyfully to meet bim, when Tihamér suddenly raised his h elmet, and in a moment the maiden knew that her father was dead and that she was in the power of the victorious enemy. It was more than her overcharged heart could endure, and she fell like a flower before the sickle. The dreadful picture haunted Tihamér, who, unable to find rest in the castle, rushed away and was never heard of more. Equally path etic is the end of another poetical character, the heroine of a short, idyllic narrative poem entitled Beautiftd Ilonka. Th e two poems differ greatty in character ; the one narrates stern, martial actions and the other shows us gentie resignation. It is easy to recognise the pre-em inently lyrical character of Vörösmarty's talent even in his dramas and epics, and ofte n the parts in wh ich this feature is the most evident, constitute the finest portions of both drama and epic, even though they are not in keeping with the genre itself. But where this lyrical element is in its proper plaee, as in an idyllic narrative poem like Beautíjul Ilonka, thre Vörösmarty excels. A hunter sits slill in the darA forest glade ; His bow and his a"ow he ready bath made The fleetfootetl prey to surprise.