Authentic Life of His Excellency Louis Kossuth Governor of Hungary; His Progress from His Childhood to His Overthrow by the Combined Armies of Austria (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. Excerpt: ... speech at birmingham. On the following day, Wednesday, Nov. 12th, M. Kossuth, accompanied by Lord Dudley Stuart and other friends, returned to Birmingham, and repaired to the Town Hall, where he received a number of addresses from various towns, before attending the great public banquet. At the banquet, M. Kossuth rose, and in reply to the speech of Mr. Scholefield, M.P., introducing the great toast of the evening, said: --Mr. Chairman, Ladies, And Gentlemen, --Three years ago, yonder house of Austria, which had chiefly me to thank for not having been swept away hy the revolution of Vienna in March, 1848, having in return answered by the most foul, most sacrilegious conspiracy against the chartered rights, freedom, and national existence of my native land--it became my share, being then member of the ministry, with undisguised truth to lay before the Parliament of Hungary the immense danger of our bleeding father-land. (Hear, hear.) Having made the sketch, which, however dreadful, could be but a faint shadow of the horrible reality, I proceeded to explain the alternations which our terrible destiny left to us, after the failure of all our attempts to avert the evil. Reluctant to present the neck of the realm to the deadly snake which aimed at its very life, and anxious to bear up against the horrors of fate, and manfully to fight the battle of legitimate defence, scarcely had I spoken the word--scarcely had I added the words that the defence would require 200,000 men and 80,000,000 of florins, when the spirit of freedom moved through the hall, and nearly 400 representatives rose as one man, and lifting their right arms towards God, solemnly said, " We grant it--freedom or death " Thus they spoke, and there they swore, in a calm and silent...