The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-04-01

L tnot Ia
been inspiriting to her at times during
the past forty years. Hungary ha.
since then won peacefully many of the
rights for which Kossuth fought, even
though she be not a republic. but one
| of the two main divisions of the Aus.
tro-Hungary monarchy. possessed OF
her own constitution and parliament
end administration.
For thirty-two years Kossuth dwelt
at Turin in Italy, a voluntary exile
from his native land. earning his bread
by his pen, even after he passed the
ninetieth year of his age. He remained
steadfast to the liberal principles
which he espoused in early life, refus-
ing to accept amnesty, or recognize the
imperial authority, or abate one jot of
his faith. Whether this is the wisest
course that he could have pursued may
be subject Of dispute. Yet it is pleas
ant to see man of his type among the
unprineipled horde of time servers, a
poor old gentleman OF heroic mold who
would die rather than bend the knee
to Baal. Ofttimes in late years he told
how weary he was of life.
Not many days ago 1 attended a
Hungarian festival held in a hall on
the east side of New York in honor of
Kossuth. There l met a few of his
compatriots of other years, now ven-
erable in their age. men who had
fought with him in Hungary, had lived
with him as exiles in Asia Minor, had
accompanied him to this country when
he came as the nations guest, and have
stood without yielding until now. as
he stood. There also / met their
Americanized posterity, two or three
generations of them who have inherited
and retain the features. the traits,
the manners and the spirit of their Mag
var ancestors. that erstwhile master
race which is again winning back
its honor. In side room there,
saw an array of mementoes and rel
les of Kossuth, many of his letters,
old and new, written in perfect script
in sundry languages, scores of pictures
of kim taken at divers periods within
the past three-quarters of a century,
and collection of books about him
that have been printed in various coun-
tries during his long career. These |
are treasures, the existence Of which |
is known to but few besides their col. |
lectors, yet full of interest to those |
who revere the name of the heroic |
revolutionist whose deeds are the glory |
of modern Hungary, who, though de.
feated On the battlefield, lived to see
the cause of which he was the leader
in the ascendant, and who consistently
a course which was of far more
advantage to his country than t1at
Of the noble-hearted Rakoczy, or any
other man who has lived for CEN
,uries. As / mingled with his old
and gazed at the relics
which they have gathered, thought
lgain of Kossuth as the resolute agita-
or, the prisoner of despotism, the
prophet of liberty. the warlike leader
# his people, the high-souled states I
nan, the governor of Hungary, the vic.
i'm of treason, the refugee protected
" the sultan and helped to freedom by
ur own government. thought again
f his arrival in our own country, of his
Welcome in New York and elsewhere,
f his appearance here on the platform,
f his radiant and commanding elo-
uence, of the long and melancholy
ears of his exile in Turin during the
eriod that has intervened since then,
nd of his waning powers as his life
pproached it's end. To-day after
orty-three years hear once more the
Ound of his voice and am stirred to
he soul by his adjurations and appeals
4 the name of liberty. !
JOHN SwNToN.