Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1852-01-27
THE TRIUMPH OF KOSSUTH.

THE TRIUMPH OF KOSSUTH.
Charles Sumner in his speech before the U
s. Senate, on the resolution welcoming Kos
suth to the Capital, utters one of the most mag
nifcent euogies ever made on man. He said:
"He deserves ir, as the early, constant, anC
incorruptible champion of the liberal cause ir
Hungary, who, while yet young man, with un
conscious power, girded himself for the contest
and, by a series of mastery labors with voice
and pen, in parliamentary debates, and in the
discussions of the press, breathed into his coun
try the breath of life. lie deserves it for the
great principles oftrue democracy which he caus.
ed to be recognised, as representative of the
people, without distinction of rank, or birth, and
equality before the law. He deserves it by the
trials he has undergone in prison and in exile
He deserves it, by the precious truth which he
now so eloquently proclaims of the fraternity OF
nations. AS regard his courage am filled
with reverence and awe. | see in him, more
than in any other living man, the power that
may be exerted by single, earnest, honest soul
in noble cause In himself, he is more than
whole Cabinet, more than whole Army.
watch him in Hungary, while, like Carnot in
France, he organizes victory. follow him in
exile, to distant Asiatic Turkey, and there find
him, though with only few attendants, in weak
ness and confinement, still the dread of despots.
+ sympathise with him in his happy release /;
and now, as he comes more within the sphere
Of our immediate observation, amazement fills
up'all in the contemplation ofhis career. While
he proceeds from land to land, from city to city,
and, with words of matchless eloquence, seems
mt times the fiery sword of Freedom, and then
the trumpet ofResurrectiont to the natons-Ta-
ba mirum spargens sonum.
81 know not how others have been Impress
ed, but can call to mind no incident or story,
no event of peace or war; more strongly calcu-
lated or better adapted to touch and exalt the
Imagination and the hearts, than his recent visit
to England. He landed on the southern coast,
not far from William of Normandy, nearly eight
centuries ago had landed; not far from where,
nineteen centuries ago julius Caesar had landed
also. But William, on the field of Hastings,
and Cesar in his adventurous expedition, made
no conquest comparable in grandeur to that
achieved by the unarmed and unattended Hun
garian. A multitudinous people, outnumbering
the armies of those earlier times, were subdued
by his wisdom and eloquence. And this exile,
proceeding from place to place, travelling the
country at last in the very heart of the kingdom,
threw down the gauntlet Of the Republic, with
out equvocatiOn, amidst the supporters of mon
archy. In the shadow of the lofty throne he
proclaimed himself Republican, and proclaim
ed the Republic as his cherished aspiration for
Hungary. And yet, amidst the excitement of
this unparalleled scene, with that discretion
which pray may ever attend him as a good an
gel-the ancient poet tells us that no divinity is
absent where prudence is present--he forebore
all suggestions Of interference with the existing
institutions of the land whose guest he was, re-
cognizing that vital principle of sefgovernment
by virtue of which, every State chooses for itself
the institutions and rules which it prefers--
Such character, thus grandly historic, living
Wallace, living Tell, had almost said living
Washington, deserves our homage. Nor am
tempted to ask if there be any precedent for the
resolution now under consideration. There is
a time for all things, and the time has come for
us to make precedent in harmony with this un-
precedented career. The occasion is felt, the
hero is near--et us speak our welcome 1t is
true that, unlike Lafayette he has never directly
served our country; but cannot admit that on
this account he is less worthy. Like Lafayette,
he periled life and all; like Lafayette, he has
done penance in an Austrian dungeon; like La
fayette, he has served the cause offreedom: and
whatsoever serves this cause, whatsoever he may
be, in whatever land, is entitled, according to
ulo WoIhos W tIie SIltltuuc vi every True hneT-
can-born of every true lover of mankind"
HIGHER--Higher! it is word of noble mean
ing, the inspiration Of all great deeds-the SYM
pathetic chain that leads, link by link, the impas-
stoned soul to its zenith Of glory, and still holds |
It's mysterious object standing and glittering
among the stars.
Higher! lisps the infant that clasps it's pa
'ent's knees and makes its feeble effort to rise
rom the foor--it is the first aspiration of child
lood-to burst the confines Of the cradle, in
Which its sweetest moments have passed forever
Higher! laughs the proud schoolboy at his
wing; or as be climbs the tallest tree of the
crest. that he may look down upon his less adj
enturous comrades with a flush of exultation
nd abroad over the fields, the meadows and his
ative village. He never saw so extended a
respect before.
Higher! earnestly breathes the student ofphi-
'sophy and nature he has n host of rivals, but
e must eclipse them ALL The midnight oil
urns dim, but he finds light and knowlede in {
lie lamps Of heaven. and his soul is never wea- |,
Y when the last of them is hid behind the cur
inns of morning,
And higher! his voice thunders forth, when G
lie dignity OF manhood has mantled his form.
nd the multitude is listning with delight to his
'acles burning with eloqnence and ringing like q
ne steel in the cause Of freedom and the RIGHT.
nd when time has chanped his locks tn silver Q