Page:A history of Hungarian literature.djvu/197

 THE NOVEL Fate appeared to him to be terrihle indeed. It was not their c rimes alone which hurl ed men into disaster, but sometimes even their virtues whe n not wi sely directed. In his first novel, Gyttlai Pál, Kemény also dealt · with a tragica l event. Sigismund Báthory, the Rege nt of Transylvania, had a powerful foe in his relative Balthazar, whose grow ing popularity more and more threatened the Regent's throne. But Báthory had a faithfui subj ect named Paul Gyulai, who desired to save the Regent lest his heloved master sh ould die either in prison or on the scaffold. To save his master from Balthazar, Gyulai invented a curious scheme. He caused an Italian comedian named Senno, whom he believed to be closely associated with Balthazar, to be assassinated, in the hope that the spirit of revenge might prompt Balthazar to re­ taliate by some act of violence which would lead to his own destruction. Balthazar, however, took no such step, and Senno's wife, whom Gyulai l oved passionately, became the mis­ tress of the Rege nt and persuaded him to execute Gyulai. The woman he loved begged for his death from the very man for w hom Gyulai had sacrificed his honour and committed a crime. Kemény airned at depth in his writing. Perh aps that is why he is often heavy. He does not narrate lightly and agreeably. He penetrates too far into th e depths from which spring our happiness and unhappiness and ali that gives life val ue-the depths of the human heart. MAURUS JÓKAI (I825-IC)04) was the most popular of H unga rian novelists. At his fu neral some one said : " If all the persons whom he has called to life in his novels