Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-01-10
kOSsUTH.
"Reminiscences ofan Almost Forgotten
Enl


writer in the Frankfort Gazette Germany
saws:
The following advertisement appears every
now and then in the CoIrierede Torino;
Lessons in German, English, and Hung
16I Stadts Nuovs."
celebrated dictator of Hungary. He is now al
most utterly forgotten, even in Hungary. He
mas grown very old, and Is now so poor that be
will gladly give you lesson for single franc.
This woald seem very humiliating for him, yet
he is proud OF his poverty.
He SAYS.
"Three years ago my friends At home. in
Hungary, offered me a present of 20 900 forms.
rejected the offer, and never re gretted it, even
when | was hungry, and had no money 20 pay
1 had occasion, the other day. TO call upon
him. was no stranger to Kossuth. Twenty
years ago, he had given me, in London, a great
Hungary in 1si9." L found him in a very
small room, in the fourth story of a dingv, old
building. He sat alone in an easy chair nor
ing over an Old volume. When entered be did
not recognize me. L recognized him, and was
shocked. What change theee twenty years
has produced in his once handsome and inter-
estlng face' His hair was entirely white, his
cheeks were wan and hollow and his eyes utter
ly dimmed. His form, once erect and proud
was now painfully bent. He almost groaned a.
he raised himselfto bid me welcome.
he was deeply moved when 1 informed him
who | was His face frightened as he warmly
clasped my hand.
"6h, yes; oh, yes" he said in German. 81
know you now. Everybody forgets me; no one
calls upon me; no one cares any more Tor me
my friends?'
be forgotten when his friends in Hungary want
ed him to return to bis native country, and take
again an active part in its affairs.
Kossuth smiled very bitterly.
"Oh, yes" he said, return to Hungary dis
honored, with an oath of allegiance to the Haps-
burgs who murdered my friends aud kinsmen.
and who set price upon my head. am
neither Deak nor an Andrassy."
asked him how he got along.
"Well," he said, sadly, .'were my good chill
dren and my poor wife alive yet, 1 would be
they are all dead, and l am very lonesome.
That Is what renders my exile here, where peo-
pie are so kind to me, SO distressing. 1t would
be no better in Hungary. 1 have no kinsfolk
anywhere but in the new world.''
"Why, then, not go to America again; where
your name is reyered"" ! ventured to say.
tempted to go back to the United States, but
there are tive obstacles in the way. In the first
place, It would cost more money than have to
spare, and next, Am almost sure, that in my
present enfeebled condition, 1 would be unable
to bear the sea voyage"
All this was very melancholy and fastened
TO change the subject of our conversation.
l showed him the proof sheets of the chapter
on Andrassy in my new work on Austria. He
put on his spectaclcs, and holding the paper in
his trembling hand, read carefully what had
written.
Meanwhile, had time TO look around In the
room. Against the rear wall stood a narrow,
PLAN bed. On the walls hung portraits of MAJ
zini, Bixio, kisz, and strangely enough, Louis
Napoleon. ON the bookshelf bv my side I
noticed Victor Hugo's "Annee Terrible" King
lakes 'Crimea, ~ and ten or twelve well-yorn
grammais. On a table, close to the bed, Law a
loaf of bread and plate of dried meat.
To my dismay / found that nv glsncing
around the r1om had attracted KosSuth's atten-
ton.
Yes he said, with a smile. ''you see for
yourself now that / am very poor; and vet
when left Hungary in 1913, was charged by
all the mean organs of the Hapsburgs with hav-
ing enriched myself at my country's expense
DO you know what my whole income was last
year: Within a fraction of 500 lvre." LESS
than 5000.
shook my head sorrowfully He told me
what he thought about the chapter on Andras-
sy, gave me plenty of valuable and interesting
information on the subject, ana then dismissed
me, saying that it was time for one OF his pupils
to make his appearance.