Part I, Chapter 4

THE ETERNAL FIGHT: What is the Sabina?

The Sabina is an institution originally founded for the purpose of marital match-making, for assistance with the alleviation of obstacles to marriage (presumably things like received special religious dispensation?) and quick handling of divorces, and for the training of women in both domestic and general education matters to be acceptable/ideal eventual wives to their fiancés.

After initially having been founded in 1947, it first saw considerable success but by the third year was having considerable difficulties on account of lawsuits from and/or the need to buy the silence of dissatisfied former clients (quite possibly simply due to imperfect matches not in excess of what would be reasonable to expect).

Just as the company was suffering from great turmoil (due to go under?) it was acquired by a new consortium called "Mazrur and partners".

Mazrur is described as a very wealthy Tunisian-born polyglot who lived both in Georgia and Istambul, and moved to Hungary from Russia upon his take-over of the Sabina about whom little else is known.

His partners, eventually it turns out, are the Russian revolutionary leader turned President, Madame Shasa, and her state chancellor Mr. Kurasin--which makes the Sabina very dangerous to oppose indeed.

After the take-over by "Mazrur and partners", the Sabina begins to thrive again.

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A minor, but necessary, detour:

On the European continent (England [the United Kingdom?] having refused to sign) there had been born an "epigamic agreement" as per which all European states legally recognize and respect the legally recognized marriage customs of all other European states (for marriages made under said state's jurisdiction and by its laws) with respect to property rights, recognition of children as legitimate, and all other things.

The legal marriage situation (between two nationals of the below listed states, as under the epigamic agreement other arrangements legal elsewhere would also have to be respected) are described as follows:

In France and Italy, only civil marriage ceremonies are legally recognized, religious ones are not. In Spain, only religious ceremonies are recognized, not civil ones. While in Germany civil ceremonies are permitted, but only for those who have formally withdrawn from/renounced all religious organizations to which they formerly belonged.

In Austria and Hungary civil ceremonies are only facultative. In Romania even the "matrimonium conscientiae" (marriage of conscience) is legally recognized, which leaves out even government authorities from the equation.

Furthermore on account of "European Turkey" (not clear whether the suggestion is that Turkey is considered a European country, or the European part of Turkey is now a separate state, or due to Turkey having holdings in Europe was made signatory despite not being considered wholly European, et cetera) bigamy, trigamy, and even quadrigamy also have to be recognized (obviously within the constrains of the epigamic agreement... i.e.: only when the marriage is made in a state that legally recognizes such institutions for its own citizens). This caused some states (it is not clear how or why, but presumably due to recognition by one or more other states) to also have to recognize American Mormonism and European Nazarenism as legitimate religious groups.

And Russia's "Roman marriage" legally recognizes "polygamia successiva", the right to marry as many wives as one can support, but in succession rather than all at the same time. (It is not entirely clear whether this is actually referring to polygamy... which one would think would have already been covered by the Turkish example, or the right to remarry as many times as one wishes [perhaps while being obliged to continue to financially support all formerly divorced wives?].)

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The Sabina's recovery was due in no small part to the company's reorienting itself to marrying young Székely Hungarian girls of poor families (who are given a bride-price[?] payment that the eventual fiancé, in addition to other fees, must pay the Sabina prior to the marriage) away to husbands in every part of Russia through the "Roman marriage" (which permits "successive polygamy", a term that is never fully explained).

The media in Hungary quickly came to perceive this as thinly disguised slave-trade, but since the girls are sent to the Sabina by their parents voluntarily, and enter into their eventual marriage likewise, there can be no legal ground for opposing the company's activity.

The king himself perceives the matter in such terms, but knows he can do little on account of Madame Shasa being one of the partners in the Sabina's owner company "Mazrur and partners".

The Sabina has a large "palace" in Budapest, where the young ladies under their care live and study until they are married. It is suggested that their heads are filled with questionably accurate promises about how grand and lavish their married lives will be... thereby rendering them eager to see their intended role in all of this through to the end.

Tatrangi Dávid seeks and receives an audience with Mazrur himself in order to request the release of his fiancée into his care. Mazrur is described as a human giant, a Samson in both appearance and strength. Mazrur regularly receives similar entreaties, and is used to most frequently denying them.

He proceeds to entertain Dávid's request by bringing out Szentivánfai Rozáli, and trying to demonstrate that she is well cared for and well on her way to an enviable marriage abroad. While saying nothing at first, when Mazrur finally asks Rozáli whether she wants to leave the Sabina to go with Dávid, she enthusiastically exclaims that indeed she does.

Mazrur, still confident, demands that Dávid sign a contract promising to marry the girl. He readily complies. Then Mazrur demands compensation for Rozáli's education, and the payment given to her parents... after a myriad (perhaps questionable) charges the price is in the vicinity of 500 Árpád-gold coins, at which point Dávid interrupts and offers the full 600 in hopes of expediting matters.

Finally, Mazrur seeing that none of his legal means of holding onto the girl seem to be working, he laughs and says that Dávid will have to take her from him by force, and grabs a hold of her.

Dávid instead of trying to force Mazrur's hands open, grabs a hold of his collar and yanks it upwards then twists it, causing Mazrur to fall down onto the ground (presumably being choked?) and offering no more immediate resistance.

Then, leaving the gold coins, he leaves with Rozáli and drops her off at the "Parabolana" the religious order that tends to those suffering from "pellagra". And, after doing so, decides to go visit his father at the insane asylum.