The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-01-01

the Orient. The Magyars are OF Eastern
stock cast in Europe. We found all the bless
ings of civilization in your ladies'; but we con
served for them the regard and reverence O
our Oriental character Nay, more than that
we carried these views into our institutions anC
into our laws With us the widow remains
the head of the family, as the father was. As
long as she lives she is the mistress OF the
property of her deceased husband. The chiv.
alrous spirit of the nation supposes she VIII
provide, with motherly care Tor the wants OF
her children. and she remains in possession Sc
long as she bears her deceased husbands name
The old Constitution of Hungary, which we re-
formed upon democratic basis-lt having
been aristocratic-under that instrument the
widow of lord had the right to send her rep
resentative to the Parliament; and IN the county
elections of public fmctonarles, widows had a
right to vote alike with the men, Perhaps this
chiyalric character of my nation, SO full OF re-
gard toward the fair sex, may somewhat COM
mend my mission to the ladies OF America.
Our second particular claim is, that the source
of all the misfortune which now weighs so
heavily upon NV bleeding father-land, is in two
lades-Catherine, of Russia and Sophia OF
Hapsburg the ambitious mother OF the young
Nero, Francis Joseph.
You know that one hundred and fifty years
ago, Charles the Twelfth, of Sweden, the bra
vest of the brave foreseeing the growth OF
Russia and fearing that it would Cypress and
Overwhelm civilization, ventured with ahandful
of men to overthrow the rising power of Rus
STA After immortal deeds, and almost fabu-
lous victories, one loss made him refugee upon
Turkish soil, Ike myself But happier than
myself he succeeded in persuading Turkey Of
the necessity of checking Russia in her over
weening ambition, and in curtailng her growth.
On went Mehemet Balzordsi with his Turks
and met Peter the Car, and pent him up in a
corner, where there was no possibility of escape.
There Mehemet held him with iron grasp till
hunger came to his aid But nature claimed
her rights, and in council of war it was de-
cided to surrender to Mehemet Then Catha-
rine, who was present in the camp, appeared
in person before the Grand Vizier, to sue for
mercy. She was fair, and she was rich with
'salyTs,f- 81 guys value Sss went, to the
So 1, ES5 ~ = >o.y~ ,,ylg,. 6n6S SSss>s}-
X VI bit she brought merry, and Russia
wss - ~ eaiebrats& 1,. , g
the DOWNFALL of Turkey, and that of Russias
growth. Out Of this source flowed the stream
Of Russian prepOnderance over the European
continent; and down-trodden liberty, and the
nameless sufferings of Poland and of my poor
native land, are the dreadful fruits of Catha-
rlne's success ON that day, cursed in the rec
Ords of humanity. The second lady who will
be cursed through oil posterity, in her memory
is Sophia the mother Of the present usurper of
who had the ambitious dream
to raise the limited power of child upon the
ruins Of liberty, and on the neck Of down
trodden nations 1t was her ambition-the
evil genius of the house of Hapsburg in the
present day-which brought desOlatlOn upon
Us. | need only mention one fact to charac-
tcrize what kind of heart was in that cursed
woman. On the anniversary of the day of
Arad, where our martyrs bled, she came to the
Court with bracelet of rubies gathered to-
5ethcr IN so many roses as were numbered by
The heads Of the brave Hungarians who fell
here, and declared it a gift which she joyfully
presented to the company, as a memeDto which
she wears on her very arm to cherish its eter-
nal memory, that she might not forget the
pleasure she derived from the killing of those
men who died at Arad. This very fact can
give you true knowledge of the character of
that woman. And this is the second claim to
the ladies' sympathy for oppressed humanity,
and for my poor fathcr-land wish the free
women of free America will help my down
fallen land to get out of that iron grasp or to
get out of those bloody fang, and become in
dependent and free
Our third particular claim is the behaviour of
our ladies during the last war. 1t is no wan
ton praise--it is fact what say-that, in
har too IN A. l.
govern Hungary, l had no more powerful aux.
iliares and no more faithful executors of the
will of the nation, than in the women of Hun
gary. IApplause.l You know that in ancient
Rome, after the battle of Canine, which wa,
won by Hannibal, the victor was afraid to come
down to the very walls of Rome The Senate
called on the people spontaneously to sacrifice
all their wealth on the altar of their father
land, and the ladies were the first to do it.
Every jewel, every ornament was brought forth,
30 much so that the tribune judged it necessary
20 pass law prohibiting the ladies of Rome
20 wear jewelry or any silk dresses in order
hat it might not appear the ladies of Rome
lad not, by their own choice, have done 50.
Now, we wanted in Hungary no such law.
The women of Hungary brought all that they
lad. Great applause. You would have been
lstOnished to see how, in the most wealthy
houses OF Hungary, if you were invited to din
ler, you would be forced to eat soup with iron
spoons; and when the wounded and the sick
md many OF them we had because we fought
hard-when the wounded and sick were not so
we'll provided as it would have been our duty
and our pleasure to do, ordered the Ministry
md the respective public functonares to take
tha loI
and the Ministry went on slowly to
provide TOR them. When saw this one single
word was spoken to the ladies of Hungary, and
n u few hours there was provision made for
hundreds of thousands of sick. Applause
from the gentlemen present And | never
met single mother who would have withheld
her son from sharing in the battle but have.
net many who ordered and commanded tho
children to fight for their father-land lap
plause. saw many and many brides who
irged on the bridegrooms to delay their day of
happiness till they would come back victorious
from the battles of their father-land.
Thus acted the ladies of Hungary. That
country deserves to live; that country deserves
TO have future left yet, which the women, as
much as the men, love and cherish. Zap
plause But have stronger motive than
all these to claim your protecting sympathy for
my countrys cause. 1t is her nameless woe,
nameless sufferings. In the name of that ocean
Of bloody tears, which the sacrilegious hand
Of the tyrant wrung from the eyes of the
childless mothers, of the brides who beheld the
hangman's sword between them and their
day--in the name of all those mothers
wives, brides, daughters and sisters, who, by
of thousands, weep over the graves
of Magyars, so @car 10 their hearts, and weep
the bloody tears Of patriot las they all are
over the face of their beloved native land-in
the name of all those torturing stripes with
which the fogging hand of Austrian tyrants
dared to outrage humanity in the womankind
of my native land-in the name of that daily
curse against Austria with which even the
prayers of our women are mixed-in the name
of the namclcss sufferings of my own dear
wite-lherc the whole audience rose, and
chcered vehemently the faithful companion