New-York tribune., 1894-04-15
oppression is never satisted. All depended upon

!
1t was perhaps characteristic of Lord Palmerston
/ that his note &c ST. Petersburg protesting against
the Russian pressure on the Sultan. was not de-
livered till II was known that the pressure had
failed. Lord Bloomfield found Count Nesselrode
in q tenoner There was scene. The Russian
/ Minister AT first refused even to receive a copy
( or the English note but did in the end accept
! the document which Lord Bloomfield insisted on
/ leaving and avenged himself by remarking that
IL was very long and duh and that he had al
ready heard the same thing from France sooner
and better said. Kossuth remained a IurKish
prisoner but in safety. till August, lSol. Inc
United States had joined with England IN ue-
/ manding his release, and sent snip o' war 10
bring him away. He sailed on the MISSISSIPPI
/ taking Genoa. Gibraltar and Lisbon IN MS way
for England. where reception worthy OF MIN
/ and worthy of England awaited him. In NO
vember he sailed for the United states on Il
mission destined to fail for more reasons IMAM
one. but certainly not from lack OF American
! admiration for his character or American SYM
/ pathy with his struggle for Hungarian freedom.
saw Kossuth twice once in Worcester. Mass.
in 1852 and once In border town OF Northern
/ Italy. Domo dOssola, in 1871. He made TWO
speeches In Worcester. from platform
erected on the Common. and one in the evening
in the Town Hall. He comes back TO me as
/ man Of medium height. well made erect win
flashing dark eyes and dark hair in glossy curls'
A multitude had gathered TO hear him, coming
| from all parts Of the county. he fame OF "hal
he had done was then fresh. Nobody drew nice
distinctions at that time between the Magyars
and the subject races OF Hungary. We knew
Kossuth only as the man who had tried to free
his country and had. for the time, failed We
I as Kingdom
which the Car had set his foot: of the Hun
garians as brave men struggling for independ-
ence.
Kossuth though he came 10 raise funds for his
country. had A warm welcome in America. or In
parts Of America and nowhere warmer than In
Massachusetts, \ European was in those days
an unwonted visitor. Probably none Of us had
ever seen a Hungarian. and here was Hun
Carian who had sent surge OF enthusiasm
through his own people an enthusiasm Whlch
took no account OF life and death. and this
wonderful being could speak to us In English
and did. We hated him as a worthy companion
to the sons Of revolutionary sires The old bay
State was peopled in those days by Americans
by Puritans, by the true descendants OF the
Pilgrim Fathers Worcester was the Heart OF
the Common wealth. a name she bore proudly
, The town was charming: typical New-England
town. save that it better than most To-
dav Massachusetts has 40 per cent Of her popu-
/ laton of a foreign race and Worcester-but
pass from that. 1t is hard to say what sort OF
a reception Kossuth might get to-day.
His English was fluent. picturesque. imagl-
native and for his purposes. none the worse per-
hans for the marked accent with which he spoke:
not much more marked than the English accent
seems to us or ours to the English. Accent or
no accent. he was master OF his audience. lie
had an eloouence which rose far above any little
peculiarities Of diction or utterance. He was on
fire with his subject. He speaking for the
first time In his life. or the second. In n free
land He was an exile for liberty's sake appeal
ing 10 those whose ancestors had been eXiles Tor
ubertv's sake. He wound himself into the
hearts Of the men who listened - him. The true
genius Of persuasiveness was his. and he had the
fascination Of manner and that brilliant coloring
Of speech which belong to half Oriental people
and was the more fascinating to US because OK
its violent vet beautiful contrast with all we had
ever heard We had been brought up on Web
ster: all solid sense and logic and clear reason.
This mans language the breath or
vernal woods with all their freshness and IN
toxicating perfume.
describe IT, not probably as felt It then. but
as Il comes back to me through the mist Of
\
wears Many are the eloquent speeches have
heard since doubt whether any Of them sur
passed this speech Of KOssuth in the higher
Qualities Of true Oratory. For the evening meet
ing in the Town Hall We paid an admission fee of
a dollar a much greater sum in those days than
now yet the hall well filled In return for
our dollar we given some sort OF Hun
/ garan bank note or bond. issued by Kossuth
and payable when Hungary should have re-
covered her independence. She never recovered
/ IT, in Kossuth's sense. and the bonds Of course
were never paid The money went In vain ex-
perimcnts and / have lost my bond. which
| would give another dollar 10 see again 90 that
on the whole. neither Hungary nor I prohted
much in a pecunia-y sense by this Investment
But think myself rich even in faint recol-
lection Of the gallant gentleman whose name and
| think efigy Il bore.
The vision at DomO q Ossola was more evanes-
cent still had crossed the Nmplon that day
and was dining at the hotel table dh0tc. My
neighbor asked me If knew gentleman dining
by himself at small table by a window near
IN the middle Of the room. I said did not. He
/ told me It was Kossuth. Between him and the
Kossuth remembered there little resem-
| blance He was quite gray: both hair and beard
nearer white than gray. The eyes had grown
! tame. the whole manner OF the man was sub
dued and depressed, not as If he were an In
valid but az OF one ou, Of whom the hopes Of his
| life had been crushed He lived on. but the
| dream Of his life was ever | lOnged to speak
! TO him. but my neighbor knew HIN by sight
| only and could frame no excuse sufficient for
! introducing myself. He was alone I no
| one speak to him. The opportunity passed and
never came again 1t is seldom the way Of op-
portunities to come twice. But have often
| thought since how much | missed; how much
he might have said II he had been in the mood
for talk what a picture OF the revolution he
might have drawn. and how much fuller my
memories Of the noble old man might have been
had they but been nr!ched by an hour Of his
conversation.