The Portland daily press., 1894-03-27
SHE KNEW LOUIS KossUTH.
An Old Lady s Recollections OF the Hunga-
rion Patriots Speech at Utica.

| In cneerIul, sunny WlnuoW, over
looking the better portion of one of our
pleasant suburban towns, lady with
| silver hair and eyes dlmmed by Time.
was seated a day or two ago gazing in
tently at a portrait in one of the morn
| ing dailies. 1t was that of a man in an
odd nondescript uniform and wearing
peculiar sIouched hat, in which was
| fastened an ostrich plume of great length
and thickness.
sit is not like him." she said, Except
| for the dress. AS I remember Kossuth,
| he was more slender-wiry and 1.-the,
little fuller in the face perhaps"
| "What, you knew Kossuth?"
| Il knew him, yes-tor half an hour.
But to know Kossuth for half an hour.
was better than to know some other
people for half lifetime. Would you
like to hear about it?" You see, we in
| America were still touched by the divine
fire. The love of country had not ex-
pended itself in the mighty throes of
civil war. We were weeping daily over
poor Erin's exlles as they came hooking
to our shores. The sorrows of Poland
were those of sister land; Greece APP
pealed to us in poetic as well as most
patheric guise. We all read Byron and
thought him Greece's most potent advo'
cate Many of the sons of those unhappy
isles were seeking refuge among us.
The children of Greek heroes were many
of them educated in our universities.
Italy, poor Italy, like a weeping mother,
as in chains, and Austria, the hated
Austria, smiled in triumph.
Hated Even by School Children.
"The very school children in America
execrated the name of the naughty
Hapsburgs. And when Hungary came
to lay bare her woes to our sympathetic
ear in the person of Kossuth, feeling ran
like wildfire from home to home. 1t is
difficult. perhaps, to make you under
stand the emotion that his visit aroused.
He was not only patriot appealing to
our sense OF justice-he was an honored
guest of the nation. 1t was in Deem
Der, 1851, that he arrived, and his stay
among us was a succession of triumph
ant ovations from city to city and town
to town.
81 was then living in New York State,
not far from Utica, and Kossuth was
to pass through that city on his way to
Buffalo and Niagara Falls. 1t was ex-
pected that he would speak at Utica,
and great crowd had assem- bled at the
railway station to welcome the famous
patriot, and, if possible, to take him by
the hand. There were beautiful arches
of evergreens and notices and appropri-
ate and even touching devices; at least,
few among us could read them without
tears coming to our eyes. l remembe
one in particular. in letters of white on
huge green arch: "Victorious America
weeps for vanquished Hungary" This
we thought marvel of delicate SYM
pathy. Well, it was very cold day and
we had driven nine miles behind most
refractory horse, and we were in an
agnoy of apprehension less we would be
too late to see the great patriot. We ar
rived just as the train was steaming into
the station. The inevitable brass band
walled forth " My Country, TITS of Thee"
and tremendous cheers rent the air.
How Kossuth Looked.
ga slight. dark man with full beard,
attired in an odd sort of tail blouse, il I
may so call it, with hanging sleeves
edged with fur, and wearing the famous
hat that had become SO familiar to us
in the public prints, stepped out on the
platform. Removing his hat with a
graceful salute, he began TO speak. His
voice was clear and resonant, with
peculiar soft accent and an indescribable
sound of "shn mingled with it like the
sound of our word hush" and which I
have often noticed in the speech of
Hungarians. Kossuth's English was
the joy of every American heart; he was
idolized for that alone. So foreign in
appearance and dress, his full beard
atfording an almost startling contrast to
the universally clean shaver American
of that day, yet speaking our language
with clearness and beauty that might
have put our best orators to shame.
II cannot tell you what he said. My
nerves were thrilling with excitement.
was swept by an emotion that was
shared by all my fellow walters. I re-
member glowing tribute to our coun-
try, pathetic appeal for his own. | re-
called to mind that the language in
which he made this appeal was acquired
during long hours of study in the soli-
tary confinement of an Austrian prison,
and / hated Austria more than ever.
stood up in the carriage the better to see
and hear, while my little daughter stood
on the carriage seat, graspiag the reins
which had let fall. She was but eleven
at the time. but she remem bers dis
tinctly Kossuth's appearance and many
of his words.
GAS the ridiculous is often mingled
with the sublime, so was our experience
OF that hour destined to be. From time
to time ]; was conscious during Kossuth's
address of something pushing at my
feet and an occasional whine or smoth-
cred bark, but not until the speech was
ended and the blatant band again as
sailed the air did l realize that our little
terrier dog had secreted himself beneath
the carriage seat and was clamoring for
recognition. 1 drew him forth, but he
seemed half dazed with terror.
Even the Dogs were Patriotic
"Some one came up to introduce me to
Kossuth, and fearful lest the dog should
escape and become lost in the crowd |
was obliged to tuck him under my arm
as we made our way through the crowd
that environed the approach to the plat
form of the car. Let it be said in ex-
PLANTATION of what followed that ours
was family SO deeply imbued with
patriotism that even the dogs must share
it, We had mastiff Ropesp1erre and
brindle Danton; a feathered Patrick
Henry crowed Justify, and a snowy