The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-30
LOUIS KOSSUTH.
The Cause h. LabOred for Substan-
italy Achieved.

Harper'S Weekly.
The news of Kossuth's death has brought
a hazy past Those among us whose hair
is gray still remember the appearance on
these shores of the man who. to our i'm
agination, was the hero Of "A grand romance.
And a romantic hero he was indeed, the
most romantic by far of all those made
which shook the European continent in the
years of 1S48 and 1S49. Nothing seemed to
withstand his marvellous eloquence, adorned
with the luxuriance of almost Oriental
imagery and inspired by high aims But
these aims were also essentially romantic
He sought TO raise the HunSarians, a REM
nant comparatively small in numbers, OF
Asiatic migration that had flooded Europe
in the dark ages to the position Of an en-
tirely independent power-a conc option the
realization of which could appear probable
only at a time when the imagination or
men was heated by the revolutionary Up
heavals of 1s4S, which brought forth events
so unexpected, and seemed 10 expuage the
word impossible" from the dictionary.
1t was not the conception OF calmly
an ardent patriot who was at the same
time a poet. And Kossuth's nature was
essentially poetic.
Paradoxical as it may sound his cause
would have been lost even If it had won in
the heroic struggle of 1919. Talleyrand is
credited with the oracular saying that II
the Austrian empire did not exist, 1t would
have to be invented. Old cynic he was,
he had shrewd- political IDEAS and frequent
ly told the truth. The Austrian empire as
which are not only not friendly, but In a
great measure hostile to one another, APP
pears like a monstrous continuance: 1t
seems almost always on the point OF flying
to pieces and dissolving itself into its con-
stituent elements, but a look at the map
nationalities living under the Austrian
crown In the great valley of the Danube
and It's tributaries have enough interests in
common to make their union under one
general government desirable. If not neces-
sary.
After bloody vengeance taken for the in
surrection, and an attempt at severely CEN
tralized rule, the Austrian government
found it wise to restore to Hungary such
measure of independent administration as
would befit member of a confederacy,
and a companion of KosSuth in the revolu-
tionary war, Count Andrassy, was for
many years the leading minister of the
Had Kossuth succeeded in making Hun
gary an Independent nation as he conceived
it, it would in spite of the brightness, gen.
crosby and heroism of the Magyar race
have been a weak little state, torn by in
ternal race conflicts, insignificant in the
ened by it's neighbors. The Independent
Hungary he rejected is a substantially self
governing and most lnhuentlal part OF one nie
stubborn consistency fitted the romance of
his life.
1t has not unfrequently happened in the
history of the world that the champions of
great objects died as disappointed men, be
cause those objects a aacHgn IN fa
manner the original champions had de-
signed. Mazzini had lived for the unifica-
ton of Italy. and he died in gloom and Ge-
spondency because Italy was united under
a king of the house of Savoy. The German
revolutionists of 1S48 fought for a united
Germany, and they lived to see Germany
united under the same men against whom
they had fought in 1S4S. And now Kossuth
has died in voluntary exile refusing to rec
ognze his Independent Hungary because its
independent government recognized Haps-
burg as it's Eng. Still, he is, and deserves
to be- revered above all others as the hero
of his nation.