Louis Kossuth, AS HE WAS KNOWN TO HIS CONTEMPORARIES, STATESMEN, SOLDIERS, AND FELLOW-EXILES, ETC. ¦ PITTBBURG, PA.. 1902. pwww 33 s — •— ^-^xB5^— » — a PITTSBURG, F»JV. Such, then, appears the real "Lib erator of Hungary", whom the "Ma gyar Allam" called aGedeon and the "Nation's Ideal", who'was, according to the "Esti Hirlap", the "Nation's holiest figure", and in the judgment of the "Nemzeti Hirlap" a "Fetich, before whom we should prostrate ourselves." "A model worthy of emulation," to quote the language of Anton Mocsy. Away with this adulation of Kos suth. It is fabricated, premature and unwarranted! Ignaoius Zimandy's "Warning Voices," p. 212' Ime, hat igy nez ki valosagban a "Magyar-orszag megvalt6ja," a "Ma gyar Allam" Gedeonjanak „nemzeti fdealja," az „Esti Hirlap". ;„legszen- tebb nemzeti alakja," a ..Nemzeti Hirlap" ama balvanya. akit ..imadat illet," igy nfez ki az, aki, M6csy Antal szerint: ..peldakepul is folal- Iithat6." Felre tehat a Kossuth Lajos mond- vacsinalt.4 idetlen, indokolatlan kul- tuszaval! 1*^- -¦* t *he American people are a nation of hero-worshippers, and naturally no hero is placed on a higher pedestal than the patriot who sacrifices himself for liberty. Many times in the history of our country have opportunities presented themselves for the demonstration of the power of this pas- sion,-but at no time was this opportunity seized with greater avidity and enthusiasm than when, at the noonday of the past century , Hungary's fallen hero, an exile and an outlaw, sought the shores of this republic in the interest of his hopeless cause. Among our citizens there were those who knew so mething of his real history, — some were captivated by the power of his eloquence and the grace of his bearing, — but to the majority of our people he was simply a patriot, en gaged in an effort to secure the freedom for his country, and this was sufficient to open to him the homes and hearts and hands throughout the land. Coming by invitation of Congress, he landed at New York on the 6th of December, 1851. He was everywhere greeted by enthusiastic throngs of our people. He was feted and feasted, and honored in every possible manner. Congress invited him to the capitol at Washington, and a great demonstration was made in his honor. I -* %, : — * But as we look back now, with the calm judgment of passing vears, upon this remarkable occurrence, and review the entire career of the recipient of these honors, we cannot avoid the conviction that most of this sympathy, so lavishly displayed, was misapplied. In his own country Louis Kossuth had not always been the just patriot pict ured to the American people, but the fact that he himself had been .repeatedly guilty of crimes against the principles of that liberty which he so apotheosised was unknown in this country, or was lost sight of in the glare of the sentiment which almost deified him. Our good people, keeping in mind only the rights for which Kossuth struggled, forgot that there were other rights involved in the controversy, — the rights of the Slavic people of Hungary. A bit of history may throw a little light upon the real Kossuth. Before the various uprisings in Europe which marked the middle of the past century, the House of Haps- burg had ruled Hungary for over three hundred years In vited at first to govern its principal subdivisions, notably the old kingdoms of Bohemia, and Hungary, by the voluntary act of the governed, it gradually robbed these countries of their rights, deprived them of [religious and political freedom, imposed extreme burdens of taxation, attempted to force upon them a language which was hate ful to the great majority of the people, and tried to sup plant the genuine national feeling in each of these countries with the impossible sentiment of purely Austrian patriotism. Thus, when in 1848 Louis Philippe of France fell, and the people of Europe were aroused from their slumber, the nations of Austro-Hungary had abundant cause for revolution. L >j £ * ; * Hungary, in common with her neighbors, had suffered from the curse which has hung over every nation that has ever fallen under the blight of the Hap.sburg dynasty, and had she joined with the aggrieved Slavic people of Austria, success would have been possible. But, unfortunately, the Slovaks, the Serbs of the Banat, the Croats, Slovenes and other Slavic tribes of the south, all had precisely the same grievances against the Magyars, which the latter enter tained against the imperial government, — and each of these peoples originally sustained the same relation to the govern ment of Hungary, which the Magyars themselves bore to the Austrian government. The Magyars, who had been in a state of revolution since the preceding year, had issued a declaration of inde pendence in 1849, and placed Kossuth. at the head of a provisional government. He was practically a dictator, and with a powerful army to support him, and flushed by a< series of brilliant victories, he thought that, unaided, he could at the same time secure the independence and the supremacy of the Magyar people, without dividing the precious loaf with their Slavic neighbors. Although himself a renegade Slovak, he fought for the Magyars alone and gave no thought to the rights of others. His own kin, the unhappy Slovaks, had suffered untold misery at the hands of the Magyars. They had been subjected to every conceivable form of injustice and brutality, and from a condition of intelligence and progressiveness many of them had been reduced to such a level that they became wandering" no mads, — the tramps of Europe! Yet in all the floods of eloquence which Kossuth poured forth to bear the burden of his protests against Hungary's wrongs, not one word *- was uttered . which would indicate that he possessed, even in the slightest degree, that sense of justice which would grant to other people the same rights which he demanded for the Magyars. On the contrary, by numerous utterances and acts he showed that he desired power for the Magyar alone, that it was not freedom that he so much desired as it was the license to rule. We may read in the Hungarian declaration of independecce which was dictated by Kossuth, rather a protest against the independence of Croatia and Slavonia, than a demand for the rights of the Magyars, — unless among these rights be included that of ruling over the Slav without restriction! When the Serbs of the Banat, early in the year 1848, offered him their assistance, but asked the right to use their own language in local affairs under the new contem plated government, he refused, and when they protested he haughtily cried: ,,Then' let the sword decide!" In the Hungarian Diet he always bitterly opposed the granting of any rights to the Slovaks, the Croats, the Serbs and the Rumanians. By sending emissaries to the Diet at Frank furt he showed his willingnes to assist in parcelling out the Slavs of Austria to the Germans and the Magyars, and by negotiating with the Turks, the ancient enemies of the southern Slavic Christians, he showed himself utterly devoid of humane instincts and of a sense of justice. All this marks Louis Kossuth a tyrant, demanding spe cial privileges for himself, but denying manifest rights to others, — a fact which stands out especially prominently when it is remembered that Hungary, as then constituted, contained less than 5,000,000 Magyars, and more than double that many non-Magyars. * ¦ — # Of course, the Slavic people of Austria opposed Kossuth But it must be borne in mind that they, too, loved liberty; that they,too,were controlled by the loftiest sentiment which ever swayed the human heart or guided the human mind; and that the year 1848 opened to them, too, visions of by gone freedom and ancient greatness ! They took up the cause of the imperial government not because they loved despo tism more, but because they could tolerate subjugation and extinction less. It is true that Kossuth, at first so arrogant and despotic, was finally willing to make concessions to the Slavic people, but it was at the last moment when his go vernment was already sinking, — it was too late ! The expe riences of centuries could not be forgotten for the promises of the eleventh hour. When finally Hungary fell, and the dread Haynau com pleted the imperial vengeance by executing at Arad the lea ders of the Hungarian rebellion, Kossuth cried out in ago ny at the brutal act, — yet his own guilty conscience must have brought up visions of similar acts which he and his government had committed against the leaders of the Slavic people. We can but recall the words of the historian who wrote: ,, Whatsoever may be the shock which we receive, when we view the conduct of Haynau, the end of the Hun garian war brings to mind the eternal Nemesis which pur sues with relentless punishment those who sinned against the laws of humanity The executions at Arad had their predecessors on the gallows of Slavonia and Rumania, on which fanatical Magyars hung the Slavic defenders of th e same inalienable rights for the defence of which they had taken up arms.The names of Stanimirovic,Sulek,Holuby,Both,and many others, even though they may not have an aristocra- £, . . . , J& *- tic ring, do not yield in nobility to the names of Bathyany, Leiningenand Poltenberg, — and the memory of those mar tyrs will remain with their compatriots quite so long as with the Magyars the memory of the leaders executed at Arad." For such treatment of the Slavs Kossuth was large ly responsible. And this is the Kossuth whom the American people are called upon to again honor I Is it to be wondered that the Slavonic citizens of this country protest? But not only did Kossuth fail to show a just apprecia tion of liberty, — he failed also in the courage which should have been displayed in the defence of the interests of the peo ple who depended upon him as a leader. Perhaps this is a phase of his. character which should be left to the consider ation of the Magyars who would honor him as their hero, but it is of interest in making up an estimate of the man. The fact is that at the close of the Hungarian war Kossuth displayed rank cowardice. It is true that the army of Gorgey had surrendered at Vilagos, but the armies of Bern and Klapka, the most faithful of the Hungarian leaders, had again been victorious, but Kossuth's courage deserted him and he fled to Turkey. Bartholomew Szemere, who was at the head of the revolutionary Cabinet, denounced his conduct most bitterly and in the pages that follow, we cite his exact language in Magy ar. The reader will notice that the compiler has refrained throughout from making any statements or deductions personally. He lets others do that for him — former school mates, soldiers who took an active part in the rebellion of 1848-49, fellow exiles of Kossuth and politicians, — persons who have known the alleged Hungarian hero and liberator -* «i»Tt — — — *J since his boyhood days. If their estimate of the man does not agree in all respects with the estimate that our fathers and grandfathers had formed of him on account of the speeches he delivered in this country in the fifties; if the verdict of our own generation sounds strange to our ears, it will not be the compiler's fault, nor can he claim credit for it. Truth is remorseless and, although it may hurt our vanity sometimes and hurl to dust our notions about things and persons, it is bound to prevail in the end. Louis Kossuth has posed for over half a century as a patriot and liberator before the American public. Now let the truth be known about him. -ijn- * * LOUIS KOSSUTH. Louis Kossuth was born at Monok, county of Zem plin, Hungary, in 1802. His father, Ladislav Kossuth, was a peasant, living in poor circumstances. His mother was Charlotta Weber of Tyrlihingen. He studied at Trnava, Presov, Presburg, and Pest and having finished his stu dies, opened a law office at Satoralja-Ujhely and shortlv afterwards became a legal adviser of Countess Szapary. Bartholomew Szemere1) wrote of Kossuth at that time, that "Kossuth* was immoral, a gambler and an eccentric, having for his object the seduction of young women. Once he brought a young restaurant girl into disgrace, and left her. As a legal adviser of Countess Szapary, he main tained an open house, squandered money ingambling.and on one occasion, not having enough funds to pay his gambling debts, he misappropriated money, with which the 1) Bartholomew Szemere was the head of the cabinet formed at Debreozen after the Independence of Hungary was declared and Louis Kossuth made . "Dictator". He was one of the leading spirits of the revolution. * Magtab ojuginal: See Martini's "Pictures of the Life of National Guard". Second'Edi- tion, pages 208-211. Szemere B. e korb61 irja: hogy Kossuth erkolcstelen kartyas es kicsapong6 volt, hogy elcsabitotta a fiatal noket es a szep kav^sleanyt, midon gyalazatba hozta, magara hagyta, mint Szapary gr6fnonek jogiigyi tana- c=osa nyilt hazat tartott, tulboven koltekezett, kartya- zott, sot egy alkalommal kartyaad6ssa\gainak fizetesere m€g a red bizott idegen penzhez is hozzanyult, s csakis az i * ' =^—_ . . — i, 10 v * * countess entrusted him and nothing else saved him, but his intimate relations with the countess." In the years of 1823-43 he settled at Budapest and estab lished a newspaper called the "Parliamentary Record". The government prohibited the publication of that paper and sentenced Kossuth to 4 years imprisonment. He was set at liberty in the year 1840 and established another paper under the name of "The Pest News". In 1847 he was elected to the House of Representatives and in 1848 obtained a seat in the first Hungarian Cabinet, to whose formation the Emperor of Austria, gave his sanction. Kossuth became Minister of the Treasury. At that time he wrote the following words to the Austrian Prime Minister Metternich, through Wirkner : "It does not matter whether lam lucky or unlucky, or whether my life is comfortable and easy, it will be al ways my pride and happiness in every respect and under all circumstances to be the subject of His Majesty, my Lord and King. As to my fidelity and loyalty, it equals that of any living soul."*) volt a szerencseje, hogy azzal a grofnovel, kinek penzet elkolte, dllitolag visszonya lett volna. *) Maoyab original: See Ignaoius Zimandy's, Professor of Religion, Philosophy and History and member of the Hungarian Parliament. 'Louis Kossuth before the TryBunal of the World s History". Printed Budapest, 1896 Page 175. ,,Erjen barszerencse vagy szerencsetlenseg; vdrjon bar ram ke"nyelmes vagy. gondokkal terhes i\et; mindenviszony- ba n, minden korulm^nyben mindig az lesz a buszkesegem is boldogsagom, hogy olyan lelkuletu alattvaloja vagyok 6 felsege*nek az en uramnak es kiralyomnak, a ki husegben is loyalitdsban egy elo lenynek sem all utana." & '¦ — >!?¦ How do these protestations of loyalty and friendli ness read in the light of subsequent events? Hardly on year had lapsed since they were made, when Kossuth commenced a campaign of abuse and vituperation against the King of Hungary, whom he sought to deprive of his crown. As to his conduct in the revolutionary days of 1848—9, let one of his contemporaries speak : *• ¦q* ,5* Gwal Mor Perczel's ODinion about Louis Kossuth. General M6r Perczel, who took an active part in the revolution and was regarded as one of the leading generals of the rebellion, directing the forces in every battle, and Who was forced to leave the country with Louis Kossuth, expressed his opinion of the latter in his speech before the Honve'd Society, held at Budapest, March 20th, 1868, as follows: "I beg to state, that it was not the enemy of Austria, that it was not Jelacic with whom I experienced the most difficulties. The greatest trouble I met with, was caused by eminent and brave sons of the fatherland, who, despairing at the situation, abandoned the cause. Among those, who forsook the cause and who did not even remain at Budapest, although it was their duty to do so, but left and turned the other way — among those was Kossuth, who left for Szegedin." *) "If Gorgey was a traitor, then in that case the hi storian cannot call Kossuth otherwise than the weakest * ) Magyar original: See his speech published by Mor Path, Budapest, page 13. *) "fis kerem.nem az osztrakellenseggel.nem Jelasicspsal volt nekem a legnagvnbb bajom, hanem azzal, hogy a hazdnak nem egy legjelesb fia, ke'tsegbeesve, feladta az iigyet. lis azok kozt, kikfeladtdk az iigyet, kik mig Pesten sem maradtak, mint kotelessegiik lett volna, hanem ellenkezo iranyban mentek, — azok kozt Kossuth volt, ki Szegedre ment. '" 13 * and most miserable governor in the world or else, a trai tor himself:' !) "Everything is lost, the country is lost, and Kossuth appointed the person whom everybody, the people and he himself included, call a traitor, a dictator,and Kossuth left the fatherland, left it in a cowardly manner. It was not the Muscovite, who, advancing, damned our fatherland. He came too late. It was the most renowned man of oar fatherland alone, who damned it. ' ' 2) "And what did Louis Kossuth do during his visit to England? He had twice issued bank-notes (green backs) at an outlay of from 300,000 to 400 ,000 florins. The bank notes were adorned with Kossuth's image, with Austria rec lining at his feet, and a motto inscribed : "Sic semper tyran- nis." (Thus always to the tyrants. ) This was the motto of a man who three times had to flee, in order to escape the people's wrath and who finally had to leave his native country. What else did he do? He was buying cannon and arms and sending it to Rumania and Servia, pobi martyr but did he not collect money for that purpose? Supposing now that Prussia and Italy had attacked Hungary and MAGYAR OEIG. : Same Page 13. J) "Ha drulo volt Gorgey, akkor Kossuthnak a tortenesz nem adhat mds nevet, mint hogy a leggyengebb es leg- nyomorultabbkormdnyzo volt a vildgon, vagy hogy maga is drul6 volt." Same Page 14. 2) "Elveszett minden. elveszett a haza ; is Kossuth azon egye"nt, kit most mindnydjan, 6 s az 6 emberei drul6nak neveznek, de kit akkor nem neveztek annak, dictdtornak nevezte ki: es Kossuth elhagyta a hazdt. gydvan hagyta el! Nem maga a muszka, ki keson jott, csigaleptekkel gyanusan haladva elore, vesztette el a hazdt: hanem maga hazdnk legiihnepeltebb embere. " the 50,000 Rumanians and Servians had attacked Transylvania, in whose interest would they have done so? In our own interest or theirs? Judge of this your self, my dear fellow- warrior. Now, if I accuse Louis Kos suth of treason on account of the aforesaid acts, I have a good and sound reason for doing so." ') Maqtak original: Same Page 10. ') "Mit tesz Kossuth Lajos Anglidban? Ket izben bank6t nyomatott; belekeriikek tan 3-4szdszezer frtba, mertsokat nvomatott. Azokon a bank6kon ott volt Kossuth Lajos kepe, is Idbainal Ausztria is rdjuk irva vala "Sic semper tyrannis. " 6 merdszle- ezt mondani, o merSszle, ki hdrom- szor menekiilt a vesz elol s vegre az orszagb61 is kiszokott. £s mit tett meg? Ismct dgyukat 6s fegyvereket vasdrolt, — mert szep summ^kat adtak ezen martvrnak kezebe, — es kiilde azokat Oldhorszdgba, Szerbidba. Kepzel.iek most bajtarsaim. ha csakugyan betor 59- is 66-ban a porosz is olasz Magyarorszagunkba, is azonkivlil valami 50 ezer olah e's Szerb Erde*lybe, azok a mi resziinkre gazddlkodtak volna-e? Igen a magukSra! — Hatarozottan kimondom, hogy midon Kossuth ezt tette, a legnagyobb drulast ko- vette el Magyarorszdgon !" *- — * * r— * BARTHOLOMEW SZEMERE, the President of the first Hungarian Cabiret formed in 1849 at Debreczen, in his, "My Diary," published by M6r Rath in 1869, writes: "It is impossible to approach him, who knew all about our unfortunate affairs, as he talks with his as sociates only through ordinary channels of daily com mands, because he does not consider them as friends but merely as servants. He would like to rule even here if he could, entorce the rules and ideas of absolutism. Moric Perczel and Lazar Meszaros think, that he (Kos suth) is crazy." ') "The communication of Louis Kossuth, in which he abdicates (resigns) the governorship and transfers the dic tatorship to General Gorgey, appeared in several news papers. The manuscript was signed but by three ministers out of seven. The rest of them were not even asked to sign it; neither was I asked, but nevertheless I see my name signed, which I hereby proclaim a falsiGcation. " 2 Magtab original: Bzemere's "My Diary". Page 10. x) »Ki iigyeinket oly szerencsetlenul vezette, itt,megkozelit- hetlen, kiseroivel csak napi rendeletek utjdn sz61. Azokban nem bardtokat, hanem csel£deket ldt; kormdnyozni akar itt is, de az absolutizmus elvei es formdi szerint. Percel M6r is Meszdros Ldzdr tebolygonak tartjdk 6't, (Kossuthot)." Same Page 09. 2) „Tobb lapban megjelent Kossuth Lajos ur azon levele, melyben kormdnyz6sdgdr6l lemond, £s a dictaturdt Gorgey -* *- -*¦ Szemere then accuses Louis Kossuth of having falsi fied the document. ' 'It was a misfortune for the f atherland that there arose one traitor who nevertheless was very courageous (mean ing General Gorgey), and one ambitious man who at the same time was a coward (meaning Louis Kossuth)." ') "The fatherland was a victim of Nyari's and Kossuth's ambition." 2^ "That man is always capable of fooling the world and will perhaps take the fate of the fatherland in his hands over again. 1 made an avowal that in that terrible event, I would shoot him dead". *) "God have mercy on Kossuth, that callous glory-seeker will he once more make his fatherland suffer MAGYAR ORIG.: tabornokra ruhazza at . — Ezt a het miniszter kozul csak harom irta aid, a tobbi meg sem volt kerdezve, en sem, azonban nevemet aldjegyezve ldtom, mit ezennel hamisnak nyilvanitok." , Same Page 70. :) Szerencsetlensege volt a hazdnak egy drulo, ki a mel- lett bator volt, ( Itt Gorgey t erti Szemere B.) es egy dicsvd- gyo, ki a mellett gydva volt. (Itt meg Kossuth Lajos erten- do.) — Same Page 72. 2) ,,Nydri es Kossuth dicsvagydnak lett a hazadldozata," Same Page 73. 3) Es ez ember mig mindig kepes bolonditani a vilagot, is talan meg egyszer kezebe veszi a haza sorsat! — En nyil- vdnitam mindenutt, hogy e rettenetes esetben agyonlo- vom i" *- -ifr* iff ¦ — 3$ and plunge it again into ruin, the sneaking come dian." x) "Although "The Times"sharply denounced his farewell to the nation which he brought into danger, accusing him of selfishness, etc., and asserting that such action does not require very deep conscience, nevertheless, this is not suffi cient. We ere the only ones who are able to take off this mask " 2) "He is so timid, that he reminds me of Homer writing of Ajax, saying that he behaves in battle like an ;.ss that becomes frightened at every noise. Some of the newspapers assert, that he deposited two millions of florins in the English bank. To this he answers under the name of Asboth, but those are his own words, as Asb6th is illiterate." "He says, that there is due him 33,000 florins on ac count of his salary. Possibly, but I doubt this. He re ceived 11,000 florins from October, 1848 to April 14th, 1849. From April to August 12, he was entitled to 66,000 florins and computing 10% months together he should receive 77,000 florins, What did he Save out of it, to what kind of domestic economy is he ac customed? Besides, he received 5,000 florins and collected 15,000 florins at Orsova, which, added together, makes MAGYAR ORIG, : Same Page 74 x) ,,Istenneki, ha Kossuth, e lelketlen dicshorpolo magdt teszi nevetsegess6, ez meg egyszer elveszthetiahazdt, de megmenteni nem kepes — ez — u'gyes komedids." Same Page 74. 2) „A Times ugy an elesenjegyzi meg, hogy nem mutat mely lelkiismeretre, azon nemzetrol, melyet a vegveszelybe dontott, egy elegidval, ydlni meg is onzonek, is egyelmek is nevezi. De ez nem eleg. 6t csak mi dlarcozhatjuk le. *- 18 -* 20,000 florins. This is improbable. Here Kossuth lied." J) "He writes, that the treasury owed Bathyanyi 45,000 florins, but notwithstanding this he sent from Radna 90 tons (5 millions of florins) of gold and silver?" 2) "Kossuth loved his life better than he did his country. Glory dwarfed his patriotism and made him unwilling to sacrifice or expose his life in war. It was owing to this that he came unharmed out of the struggle. Shame to him ! But that man will reappear on the scene, he is aspiring higher and higher — but history has yet to pronounce its verdict." 3) Magyar original: Same Page T4. 1) S mint Ajaxrol irja Homer, hogy szamdrkint dll a harcban, mely minden iitesre megrdzkodik, tigy van 6, oly drzekeny. Par ujsagban all, hogy 6 2 milli6 forintot ton le az angol bankba. Felel red, Asboth neve alatt, de az 6 nyelve. Asb6th irni sem tud. Irja, hogy az 6 penz6bol, fizetesebol 33,000 pfrt ma- radt ben. Meglehet, de nem hiszem. Egyebirdnt 1848. ok- toberto'l aprilis 14-ig 1849. kapott 11,000 pfrtot, dprilistol augusztus 12-ig illette 66.000, osszesen loy2 h6ra 77,000 pfrt. Mi maradt ndla abb6l, mi kezi tdr ndla szokott dllani? Es kiadatott 5000 frt; es Orsovan kivett 15,000 pfrtot. mi osszesen 20,000 pfrt." Ebben tehdt valotlansdg van. Itt tehat hazudott Kos^ suth. Same Page 75. 2) ,,Irja, hogy 45,000 frttal tartozott Batthydnynak a kincstdr, — de 6 azert Radndr6l a 90 mdzsa (5 millio forint) aranyat es ezustot visszakiildte?" Same Page 77. 3) ,, Kossuth jobban szerette 61et£t a hazdndl, torpe've' vdlt, dicsfisege sulya alatt nem csak meghalni nem tudott, de magdt annak kitenni sem merte." — ,,Neki tulelni az *- -* "Is not that man like Don Quixo tc? It seemed, that both luck and reason left him at the same time, but despite all, I never expected him to be as stupid, as that. He resigned in the name of the government and intends to regain his power in his own name, threatening those that remained. He placed a ban on himself, as he igno- miniously fled. He deceived and defrauded the nation. "According to this he was a fakir and a fraud, this ideal", adds Ignatius Zimandy. *) "Kossuth is traveling all around the United States, visiting the principal cities. He is making speeches, mix ing in them both good and bad, intelligent and stupid and is extolling himself as a savior of the world, as a pro phet and as the organizer of the Magyar struggle for lib erty. He is convinced at last, that idle words are insuffi cient and that it is money that talks and tnat one must have money in order to participate at banquets. For that reason he is holding lectures in churches and public insti tutions and issuing several millions of bank-notes on the credit of Hungary.but the question is, whether the issue will be recognized. He may extricate himself very cleverly from various difficult situations, but his recklessness Magyar original: iigyet csak ugy volt szabad, ha meghalni hidban pr6bdlt. " — Csak bujna el szegyen£benl — — de ez ember meg sziripadra lep, tolja magdt. Mig a tortenet iteletet nem mond. Same Page 73. *) „Netn Don Quichotte ez az ember? Szerencsejevel esze is tdvozni latszott; de ennyi botorsdgot r61a meg sem teteiez- tem volnafol." — ,,Akormany neveben mondott le es maga neveben akarja a hatalmat visszavenni, azokat kik maradtak, fenyegeti az, aki gyaldzatosan megszok^tt!" „Megcgalta a nemzetet, — magdra mondja az dt- kot." E szerint tehdt csal6 volt a dicso idedl, a magasztos peldakep! 20 -* will certainly cause him to make many disagreeable mis takes. Every one of Clay's friends is against him already, as well as those who consider Washington's politics con clusive and directing. The more he talks and the farther he goes, the better they learn to know him. Some of the news papers have a very remarkable opinion of him and al though they have no chance to learn everything of his past doings, they will nevertheless reach the same conclu sion as I did. Thus for instance, "The Examiner" which listened to his friends or the "Journal des Debats"which derives its influence through its undisputably good critics as well as many other American papers, have begun to call him, comedian, chameleon, charlatan and hypocrite. They seem to have well divined his proclivity to flatter the crowd and to expound teachings which are popular. "He is proud in his humility, and in his desire to ob tain an effective result, he always retains external polite ness in everything and everywhere. He is modest and boastful, cowardly but daring, popular but autocratic, cool and enthusiastic. and in short, he much MAGYAR ORIG.: ,,Kossuthkorutat tart Eszak-Amerika fobb vdrosai- ban. Beszedeket mond, s azokban vegyest j6t is rosszat, okost es balgasdgot, magasztalva onmagdt, mint a vildg megvdltojdt, mint profetdt, mint teremtojet a magyar sza- badsdgharcnak. Most mdr beldtta, hogy az iires szo nem eleg, tehdt penzt kezd gyiijteni. A lakomdkra csak dij mel- lett juthatni he, egyhdzakban es termekben dijas felolvasa- sokat tart, es Magyarorszdg hitelere kolcsonjegyeket dd ki tobb milliokig, — ha t. i. elkelnek. Bdr nem iigyetlenul von- ja ki magdt tobb nehez helyzetbol, azonban nevezetes bot- ldsokat is titet gogje vele. Clay bardtait maga ellen ingerle, s mindazoka,t, kik Washington politikdt most is szabdly- ad6nak tartjak. " *- 21 *- -* resembles an actor whom the rustics of his native village regard as a: great player, but who fails utterly on the stage of a large city. ' "My impressions, as well as Bathyanyi's, are also traveling around the United States and are doing good work. It is remarkable, that the reformists are ta king him up, but we cannot help that. The truth, which even enemies are using as a weapon, cannot be si lenced." "There is a great discord among the emigrants. Kos suth's antagonists and enemies, seeing his great populari ty, did not hesitate to follow him up and to worship him, which fact aroused still more pride in him. He remune rated them, by paying out their two month's allowance which was accepted even by those who could easily meet their monthly expenses, amounting to from 700 to 1,000 francs, out of their own pockets. Their friendship for him increased as he talked to them about millions which he MAGYAR ORIG. : Same Pages 145-1E3. "Azonban a szerint amint tobbszor felsz6lal, a mint na- gyobb terbenjobbankiterjeszkedik, kezdik jobban megis- merni. Bdmulatos azon itelet helyessege, melyet r61a tobb lap hozott. A nelkiil, hogy 6t es eljdrdsdt reszletesen ugy ismernek mint en, csaknem azon eredmenyre jutottak, ab- stractio utjdn, a melyre en jutottam. Igy az Examiner, mely baratjai koze tartozott, igy a Journal des Debats, melynek foereje a kritika, igy sok amerikai lap is. Kezdik komedidsnak, camaeleonnak, charlatannak, hypokritdnak nevezni, mert Idtjdk, hogy mindeniitt azon elvet vallja, a mi ott nepszerii, mindeniitt a tobbsegnek hizeleg, aldzatos- sagdval gogoskodik, mindenben a szinpadi hatdst keresi, mindenben a kiilszint igyekszk megtartani, szereny es di ttr -*[ told them he would collect. But there soon was discord between Kossuth and the emigrants. The emigrants contended, that the sovereign power lay in their bands and that Kossuth was their subordinate, whereas Kossuth thought exactly the opposite. "In pursuance of that power, which the emigrants imagined themselves to possess, they demanded Kossuth's accounts of all money received. In response to that the latter proudly sent them a haughty note, denying their authority and alleging, that he was the absolute master of all money collected and that he distributed it as he pleased' ' . csekvo, gydva es bdtor, nepies es fejedelmi, hideg is enthuzi- asta, — sz6val 6 hasonl6 azon szineszhez, ki sztilovdrosd- ban imddtatvdn, nagy elbizakoddssal lep fel a fovdros (e vildg) szinpaddn, es egyszerre rd ismernek az egyoldalu mti- veszre. Battydny levele es az enyeim az eszak.amerikai lapok- ban szinte korutat tesznek. es nagy hatdst tettek; sajndla- tos, hogy a reaktiondriusok is rd tamaszkodnak, de mi ar- r6l nem "tehetiink. Az igazsagot, hogy elleneink is fegyveriil haszndljdk, az nem ok azt elnallgatni. Az emigrati6ban ,nagy meghasonlds van. Kossuth nem-bardtai, sot ellenei is h6dolni mentek hozzd, midon- ldttdk roppant nepszeriiseget. 6 anndl gogSsebb Ion. Azon ban k^t h6napra dij t ado tt az emigratio tagjainak. Elfo- gadtdk azok is, kik a magokdbol havonkint 700— 1000 frankot kolthetnek. Mennel tobb milliokat emlegetett be- gyiijthetni Kossuth, anndl inkdbb szaporodtak bardtai.-' „Kossuth is emigratio kozott szakadds tortent, az emigratio azt dllicotta, hogy 6 a souveren hatalom, s nem Kossuth, s ennek Kossuth is aid van vetve sat. s egyszer- smind a begylilt penzrol szdmaddst kertekKossutht6l." Erre Kossuth egy gogteljes ^s nyers levelet irt, melyben kijelente, hogy „ha ily ertelemben vannak,6errolsemmit sem *- -* 23 *- -* ' 'He spent the last few weeks quietly in New York, like a fallen star and nobody took notice of him any more. Finally, he took passage for England incognito (as is the custom of all sovereigns) and landed without being even received by his fellow countrymen. The newspapers announced his arrival with but a few words, and those who paid him a visit were very scarce. He resembled an actor, who, after the performance mingles in the streets among the multitude in his shabby clothes. He managed to borrow $90,000 upon the pretext of buying arms, mounts etc., and entered into an agreement to repav $150,000 for it. It is evident that he either had no money or else did not intend to satisfy his creditors. ,,in spite of all that, he lived royally in a magnificent mansion, and refused to pay the monthly allowances to emigrants, with a very few exceptions. akartudni, ami penzt 6 gytijtott, avval o rendelkezik tet- szese szerint,ad belole a kinek akar." ,,Az ut6bbi heteket New-Yorkban csendesen toltotte, mint egy lehullott csillag, r61a senki nem vett tobbe1 tudo- mdst, es dl-nev alatt (mint szokdsa a souveraineknek) haj6- ra szdllvdn, meg^rkezett Anglidba, a nelkul, hogy egy ma- ddrfia iidvozolte volna. Az ujsdgok alig jelentek par szoval, hogymegerkezett, alig ldtogatja meg valaki, hasonl6 a szineszhez, ki lelepven a szinpadrdl, mindennapi ruhdjaban elvegyiil az utcdk nepevel. Osszesen 90.000 dollart szerzett be, es fegyver, nyereg stb. irdnt 150.000-ig lepett szerzodes- re, kovetkezoleg vagy epen nines p^nze, vagy hitelezoit nem fogja kieldgithetni. Egyebirdnt 6 szep hdzban lakik, urilag el, de a havipenzt tobbe nem fizeti, csak nehdny meghittie- nek. Alig van tekintelyes ember, ki vele tartana, Eszterhdzy P,, Vukovics es velok vagy 25-6n ellene nyilatkoztak, — * n ^ ^ * -* „There is hardly a prominent man living who would take his side. P. Eszterhazy, Yukovicz and with them 25 others expressed their lack of confidence in Kossuth, — Klapka, L. Teleki, Almassi, Michael Horvath, Josika Meszaros, as well as Perczel and Wetter, severed all friendly relations with h:m and Pulszky is the only one of European reputation who still sides with him. The fact that all the newspapers, even those, that condemned Ge neral Gorgey as a traitor, retracted it and declared that General Gorgey was not such a traitor, as depicted by Kossuth, had a crushing effect on him." (So much for Szemere, whose remarks, it will be seen throw a great deal of new light on Kossuth's tour of the United States. ) Klapka, Teleki L , Almdssy, Horvdth Mihdly, J6sika, Me- szdros oldalt dlltak, s vele nincsenek semmi osszekottetes- ben, tetteit helytelenitve, szinte Percel, Vetter is, s azon nevek koziil, melyeket Europa ismer, csak Pulszky maga van mig vele. Nem kis csapds neki az is, hogy Gorgey munkdja utdn minden lap kijelenti: .mikepen Gorgey nem drulo, a mily 6rtelemben annak 6t Kossuth hirdette; meg azok. a lapok is, a melyek Gorgeyt kiilonbeh kdrhoztatjdk teljesen. *- *- . MATHEW SZEDLAK, who was a Major in the National Guard Artillery during 1848, in his "Secrets unveiled of the years of 1848—49," published in Budapest writes: "Bern, being of a morose and irritable disposition, was not very particular in the selection of words he used in his answer and expressed himself to the effect, that the prime cause of the failure of the Magyar struggle for liberty was Kossuth's lack of foresight and military in capacity, but especially his cowardice." "The Vidin military camp was visited also by another misfortune. Epidemic dysentery spread among the volun teers, and they died like flies. Their graves should cer tainly be marked by a monument in honor of their gal lantry. "The disease was caused by bad food and by lack of clothing and blankets. There was nobody to take care of the Honve'ds. "Bern lobbano termeszetenel fogva felelet^ben nem igen valogatta szavait. Kimelet nelkul kimondta, hogy a ma gyar szabadsagharc bukasdnak egyedtili okai Kossuth konnyenhivosege, parancsolni nem tuddsa, de fok6pen az, hogy nagy papucshos volt." "A viddini tdbort meg mds csapds is erte. A jdrvdnyos verhas kiiitven, rakdsra hulltak a szegeny honv€dek. 6k is megerdemelnenek temetkezesi helyiikon egy dlland6 sirko- vet emlektik megorokitesere. A betegseg kiuteset okozta a rossz elelem, de foleg az ejjeli takar6k hidnya. Hiszen nem * ¦ * *- "* "One day Kossuth appeared in the camp, with his face closely shaven, resembling an English gentleman and so lemnly said: "My heart is bleeding, when I see Magyars thus perishing, but T cannot help it, as they have stolen all money from me," etc., naming at the same time as embezzlers Bartholomew Szemere and Paul Hajnik. "When Sigmund Ivanka took refuge in Paris as a fugi tive and Kossuth's name was mentioned, Szemere, in his rage used the following strong language: "Where is that dog, that I could shoot him?" "The welcome to Kossuth in America far excelled all previous princely receptions which I had ever seen. The Ame rican people imagined Kossuth to be a second Washing ton, because every time, when General Gorgey won a, decis- sive battle, the news was sent to America to the effect, that Kossuth had defeated the enemy. gondolt senki a honvedekkel. Egy nap megis megjelent a taborban Kossuth leberetvalt arccal, — ugy nezett ki, mint egy angol — is kenetteljesen szolt: ,, Verzik szivem, latni, mikent pusztulnak a magyarok, de nem segfthetek, mert minden penzemetelraboltdk"stb. Egyuttal megnevezett ket egyent, Szemere Bertalant es Hajnik Pdlt, mint tetteseket. Szemere Bertalannak tudomdsdra jutott Kossuthnak Viddinben tett s 6t verig s£rto nyilatkozata, minek folytdn, midon Ivdnka Zsigmond, mint menekult, Parisba erkezett es Kossuth neve sz6ba keriilt, Szemere duheben . ily kemeny szavakat hasznalt: ,,Hol van az a kutya, hadd 16'jjem agyonl" Kossuth amerikai fogadtatdsa minden altalam eddig ldtott fejedelmi fogadtatdst nagyban felulmult. Az amerikai nep ugyanis Kossuthban egy mdsodik Washingtont velt latni, mert valahdnyszor a magyarok fSvezere, Gorgey ta- bornok, csatdt nyert, mindannyiszor Amerikdba az a hir erkezett, hogy Kossuth itt meg ott megverte az ellenseget. ( *_ 27 Baron SIGISMUND REMEDY, Minister of Interior during the rebellion, an author and a journalist, says in his work : "After the Revolution", published in Budapest in 1850, and: "One More Word after the Revolution," published in 1853: "I always opposed and fought Kossuth's pernicious ideas, because I knew that he could not build but only destroy. Besides I knew well, that the conservative element in the Hungarian ministry would never accept the yoke of servitude." "He cites the following words of Kossuth, pronounced to the delegates of the first independent Parliament : "You delegates, either will not listen to the words of peace and reconciliation and will remain the tools of my designs, till the very last drop of blood is shed, or else, should you think of deserting me, I shall dissolve the house and put you in prison." Magyar Original: "Mert sokkal hosszab ido 6ta harcoltam Kossuth de- structiv nezetei ellen, sokkal bizonyosabban tudtam, mi- kent 6 semmi korfilmenyek kozt nem szunend meg iz.gatni es rombolni, mintsem ne sejditettem volna, hogy iszbnyuan csalatkozik az, ki remel; mikent a mag\ ar miniszteriumban a ttiersekelt elem elobb-ut6bb subjugdltatni nem fog." "Ti kepviselok, vagy nem fogtok a belce is a kiengesz- teloies szavaira hallgatni is eszkozeim lesztek az utols6 csepp kiuriteseig, vagy ha izpldlni meritek csak egy gondolat dltal is magatokat t6'lem, in a hdzat eloszlatom is titeket azutdn befogatlak." 28 ^* And he continues: "'Of course, as a rule, we knew very well, that veracity was not one of the virtues of the Minister President of the government (meaning Kossuth), but still we did not think, that, there was so much of audacity in him, as to come out with such a positive falsehood on such an im portant question. "vildgos! Yes, it became the nation's cemetery, whereas Kossuth who was always ready to die for the country, fled to foreign lands. He knew how to live for the father land, but did not know, how to die for it. " Magyar Original: "Mi ugyan altaldban tudtuk, hogy a kormdnyelnok urnak az igazmondds nem tartozik foerenyei koze, de annyi vakmeroseget lehetetlen volt feltennunk, hogy ily fontos kerdesben merjen egy positiv.. gel (hazugsdggal) eloal- lani." "Yildgos a nemzet temetoje lett, mig Kossuth, ki a ha- zaert halni keszult folyton, kuIfoTdre menekuilt. Elni tudott a hazaert, de meghalni nem." *- » .* — — — * JOSEPH SZABO, "One of the Victims of the Revolution" , as he signs himself in a paper which he had written about Kossuth, and a soldier of note in those days, has this to say : ,, Louis Kossuth's Lack of Character." "His proclamation to the people on the 10th of August, 1848, contained the following: "My beloved nation! Should the uprising fail, I will be the first one to suffer and it will matter very little, whether I expiate my acts on the gallows, under the guil lotine or by a bullet." "But despite this proclamation, Louis Kossuth pre ferred flight and the cowardly abandonment of martyrs. He encouraged and incited the nation and fled afterward. ,, Louis Kossuth's Trickery." "His favorite practice was to remind the nation of love of fatherland and to exhort it to offer everything at the al tar of the fatherland. He himself never sacrificed anything. Magtar Original: Kossuth Lajos jellemtelensege. Augusztus 10-ken 1848 kozhirrg tetetett proclamatioja ezeket hangoztatta: „Kedves nemzetem! Ha rosszul utne ki a tnozgalom, en leszek az elso, akdr biton, akdr nyaktilo alatt, akdr goly6 dltal, elverezni a verpadon." De hat jobbnak Idtta Kossuth Lajos a menekiilest. Ott hagyta a vertanukat. Biztatta, buzditotta a nepet, azutdn megszokott. __ ._* He sold even his own library to a museum. He incited the people to be ready to die for the fatherland, but failed to .give his sons a military education and, instead, directed all his efforts to provide for them fat political jobs. He never sacrificed anything for the sake of his father land. On the contrary, he preferred to live in comfort at the expense of his countrymen and prospered, while the Magyar, incited by his sweet words, soon found himself face to face with ruin. "Haynau called him on account of his idle talk "a common poltroon". He little cared for his nation. He loved iimself best. He used the nation's misfortune for his own benefit. "Louis Kossuth Jealous." "Louis Kossuth was of Slovak origin and his grand father's name was not "Kossuth", but "Kohut". Kos suth's family did not belong to the landed gentry Matgar Original: Kossuth Lajos ravaszsaga. Mindig emlegette a haza szeretetet; a hazdert feldldozni mindent; 6 pedig nem dldozott semmit sem, meg a konyv- tdrdt is penzert adta a Muzeumnak. A nepet buzditotta, haljon a hazdert; 6 pedig fiait nem a katonai pdlydra nevel- te, de a kenyelmes, biztonsdgos, j 61 jovedelmezore. 6 maga sem dldozta fel magdt a hazdert semmibe sem, de jobb sze- retett kenyelemben elni es szep szavakkal, a vdg6ra hajtani a magyart; az alatt pedig hizott; a szep sz6 pedig nem ke- rtilt semmibe. El nevezte otet Haynau ,,poltron szajhosnek." Nem kimelte nemzetet, csak maga magdt. Elveszittette -a nemzet eszet, sajdt haszndra. Kossuth Lajos irigysege. Kossuth Lajos t6t szdrmazdsu volt es nagyapjat nem is Kossuth, de Kohutnak hivtak. Nemessegtol nem isdlmod- hatott a Kohut csaldd. Minthogy Kossuth Lajos azttudta, hogy 6 benne egy mdkszemnyi nemes ver sincsen, irigyke • -* *- and no one knew that better than he himself, that there was not a drop of blue blood in his veins ; and jealous of the nobility, he caused such laws to be enacted, as to cause their ruin. It was on account of this jealousy, that he deprived the nobility of its rights. He revoked the ancient grants held by the nobility, simply because he did not possess any himself, and took away from it all privileges' acquired by heroic deeds. His jealousy of the nobility continued to the very last. "Louis Kossuth a coward." "When Kossuth was summoned one night to Buda-Pest by the Palatine in the year 1848, it required a great deal of eloquence on the part of the officials to make him mount a horse and when he was in the saddle, he showed plainly his fears. "Lavishness of Kossuth." "Kossuth lead a princely life in a lavishly furnished Italian palace. How he came into its possession, he alone knew. Magtar Original: dett; a nemesseg ellen tort olyan torvenyekkel, melyek azt megsemmisitettek. Megfosztotta minden jogait61' irigyseg- b61. Qs kirdlyok adomdnyait a nemessegnek, Kossuth Lajos nem tiirte. Hanekinem voltak nemes jogai, masnak se le- gyenek. Es az erdemei dltal szerzett kivdltsagait a nemesek- nek o eltoriilte; addig nem tudott nyugodni irigysege, mig a nemeseket le nem alacsonyitotta. Ha csak ket szdl job- bdgy jutott volna Kossuth Lajosnak, apai vagy anyai jus' utdn, nem torodott volna a jobbdgysdg felszabaditdsdval. Kossuth Lajos gyavasaga. Mikor 4:8-ban Buddn ejjel a Nddorhoz kellett Kossuth Lajosnak menni, alig tudtdk red venni, hogy I6ra iiljon. Vegre I6ra iiltett£k nagy nehezen, hat ott ugy kezdett resz- ketni, mint a kocsonya.