Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1850-12-25

hated the Franks as men OF a hostile race
but they hated them worse as believers IN
different religion. When, however.
holy missionaries, disregarding the perils
that would environ them in the midst oil
savage hca,hens, penetrated in:o Hungary,
and preached in the tumul,uous camps of
the wild conquerors the peaceful doctrines
of the Gospel, mighty change took
place. The whole nation was, as it were,
converted in day. A single generation
saw the Hungarians transformed from
Pasans into Christians. With this great
change came more peaceab!e habits. The
Maeyars no longer warred on western
Europe with religious lanaticsm as before,
but rather sought to be on terms Of ami,y
with them, and to initiate the arts of peace.
Gradually returning, therefore, with the
boundaries of their central kingdom, they
conhned-,hemseives 10 the great plains oi
Hungary and TO the contiguous territories.
Their princes began to in;ermarry with
the princes Of western Europe ; the PEOPLE
assumed more or less oft habits of civil.
liza,ion and Hungary became. by the
sanction oil neighbor:ng potentales, an ac-
knowledged Christian kingdom.
Thus had passed the first period of the
Magyar race, that OF its fiery; impctuous.
and colossal youth. About A. D. 1000 j
entered on the second term Of lis existence:
A robust, yet tempered manhood was its
destiny for five hundred years succeeding.
During this epoch. it was the great bull
wark of Europe agains, Saracen and Tur:
ksh invasion. Occasionally. indeed, the
Hungarians warred on their Christian
brethren and more than once they allied
themselves for period, ,and in sell-delence,
10 the Ottoman hordes but, in the main,
they were true 10 the cause Of Christian
Europe, and the chief instruments IN re:
pe!Iino the assaults OF Moslem fana'icism.
Like mighty breakwater, thrown forward
to meet the first fury Of the tempest, they
wthslood, for centuries, the war Of the ad-
vancing surses and the dash Of the angry
tide. Their gallantry in the field was only
equalied by their sturdy independence al
home. Inheriling from their ancestors a
sort of rude constitutional monarchy, un-
der which the people elected all the minor
officers OF the State. they maintained these
priviIe ges when absolutism reigned every
where else on the continent, and when
England alone shared with Hungary the
benefits Of real liberty.
From the fatal edict. by which the Diet
inyi!sa y st1 the h hSuse Of Hapsburs TO occupy
riod, their territories have been narrowed
almos: constantly. The aim OF the Aus
trian monarchs has been TO destroy the
national feeling, and to strip the people OF
their ancestral rights and this base
scheme has been persisted in. regardless OF
the heroic sacrifices made by the Ilunga.
rans. on frequent occasions, 10 save the
empire. In a measure. the treachcrous
plot has succeeded. The Delilah that the
Magyars took in has shorn them secretly
Of their strength, and has, in our own day,
delivered them over 10 the hatred OF the
autocra', the true Philistine of Europe
Their national independence has sunk into
a mere shadow since the last fatal war.
Kossu,h and few other sanguine patriots
may still hope for the recusci'a,ion of this
galan, people but we fear their doom,
like that of the noble Poles, is sealed, and
that the time of their extinction approaches.
Their old age is at hand. if not already
core. In century or two, at the utmost,
they will probably be lost sight Of, in sur
rounding population. Such is the fate OF
nations.-EUening Bulletin.