CHAPTER XV.

SZÉCHENYI, KOSSUTH, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY IN 1848-1849.

On one of the most picturesque positions in Buda-Pesth, on the left bank of the majestic Danube, stands the bronze statue of Stephen Széchenyi, the greatest Hungarian of this century. The piety of the nation has placed it in the midst of her most conspicuous creations. At its feet rolls the mighty river whose regulation was commenced by Széchenyi, who made it a line of communication in the commercial system of Europe; in front is seen the grand suspension bridge, and beyond it is visible the mouth of the tunnel which, piercing the castled mountain of Buda, connects the dispersed parts of the city. In the rear rise the palatial edifices of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, which owes its existence to Széchenyi’s munificence, and round about stretches noisy, surging Buda-Pesth, to whose embellishment and enlightenment no one ever devoted himself so zealously as Stephen Széchenyi. Every thing surrounding the statue reminds us of the transcendent genius of Széchenyi, who raised for himself by his indefatigable labors, which form a link between old and modern Hungary, a monument more lasting and grander than the one cast in bronze.

Stephen Széchenyi was born on the 21st of September, 1791. He was the scion of a family which had given many distinguished men to their country, and with whom patriotism was traditional. His father, Count Francis, was the founder of the greatest institute of Hungary, having public culture for its aim, the National Museum of Buda-Pesth, which is now reckoned one of the finest and richest of the kind in Europe. Count Francis clung with passionate devotion to the cause of his country. The tender mind of his son Stephen was often puzzled to see his father melancholy and lost in thought, and later only, when grown to manhood, did he learn that his father had been grieving over the backwardness of his country. Count Stephen inherited the patriotic sentiments of his father, and never for a moment lost sight of the one great object of his life, to revive the now decaying nation, which had acted so proud a part in the past, and to secure for her a better future by promoting her material and cultural interests. Stephen Széchenyi became the apostle of this patriotic mission; he devoted his whole life to this one lofty thought, studying for many years, reflecting, travelling, gathering knowledge, and when the hour arrived to enter upon the scene of action, he took the lead of the nation, aptly equipped for the severe task.

He finished his studies under the roof of his father, who was a man of high culture. The turmoils of the Napoleonic wars, shaking all Europe and with it Hungary, allowed but scant opportunity for peaceful avocations when Count Stephen had reached his sixteenth year. He accordingly entered the army and gallantly took part, as a young officer, in the wars of the period, being present at the famous battle of Leipsic. The Congress of Vienna put an end to the wars which had raged in Europe for twenty-five years, and during the protracted period of peace following it, Széchenyi bestowed his attention upon the affairs of his country. Before taking an active part, however, he travelled for a considerable time through Italy, France, and England, and only after having become familiar with the advanced civilization of foreign countries did he return to his own, filled with grand ideas, with lofty, patriotic feelings, his brain seething, and his soul thirsting for action, in order to conquer for himself a sphere of public activity.

The Diet of 1825 afforded him a fitting opportunity in this direction. During the thirteen years preceding the convoking of this Diet the country had been ruled in the most absolute manner. The government ignored, during that period, the constitution, collected by force of arms and arbitrarily illegal taxes, filled, in the same despotic way, the ranks of the army, fettered the liberty of the press, and deprived the nation of her ancient rights. These acts of violence stirred up the indignation of the country, and the natural reaction was still more roused and fostered by the dawning Hungarian literature which proclaimed a brighter future to the nation. Csokonai, Francis Kazinczy, Alexander and Charles Kisfaludy, Michael Vörösmarty, Francis Kölcsey, and other eminent writers were the fathers of a new era in Hungarian literature, and by their works they kindled the national feeling and roused the public spirit. The nation awoke and was eager to march in the footsteps of the civilization of Europe. She only lacked a leader, but in the course of the deliberations of the Diet of 1825, that leader was found.

Stephen Széchenyi, being a member of the Upper House by right of birth, took his seat there among the aristocracy of the land. His first act was destined to be the precursor of a new epoch in the history of the nation. On the 25th of October he made a short speech; his manner was embarrassed and confused; but he spoke in Hungarian, a proceeding which was looked upon at that time as a revolutionary act, full of boldness, and which excited the utmost indignation of the highest circles. The Latin language had until then remained, in keeping with the traditions of the past, the official language of the House of Magnates, Széchenyi was the first magnate who dared to cut loose from the ancient tradition, and, although a great portion of his fellow-magnates, especially the older ones, were shocked at the innovation, yet the number of Hungarian-speaking great lords continually increased after this, and the bold stand he took on that occasion had much to do with the restoration of the national language to its rightful place.

Shortly after the Lower House witnessed the triumph achieved by him in the cause of Hungarian culture. During the preliminary sessions preceding the plenary ones, the question had been deliberated upon for several days as to the best means of fostering the national language. Széchenyi, with several of his noble friends, was present at one of these conferences, listening and looking on. Each deputy in turn stated his views on the subject. One of them, Paul Nagy, a distinguished orator of the opposition, declared, with an air of deep conviction, that to cultivate the Hungarian language with a view to make it successfully compete with the Germanizing tendencies of the government, and with the Latin language, it was necessary to establish a Hungarian academy of sciences. To accomplish this, he added, money was needed, and this could not be obtained from the government, which was hostile to the scheme. Let the nation furnish the money, the great lords, the owners of the vast fortunes and landed estates, setting first a good example to the rest. The effect of these kindling words was a thrilling one. Széchenyi immediately stepped forward, and, addressing the presiding officer, asked leave to say a few words. Amidst the general attention of those present he briefly stated that he was ready to contribute one year’s entire income from his estates to a fund wherewith to found an institute whose object would be the fostering of the Hungarian language. These simple words were received with a storm of applause. A remarkable spectacle now ensued. One man after another arose eager to contribute to the fund of the future Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the sum was soon swelled to 154,000 florins, Széchenyi’s contribution alone amounting to 60,000 florins. The institute was soon established, and, thanks to the patriotic support of the nation, the funds of the Academy exceed at present 2,000,000 florins. The activity of this institute has proved, for the last fifty years, most beneficial to the development of the Hungarian language and the advancement of science in the country.

This munificent act placed Széchenyi at once in the front ranks of the nation, and the very enthusiasm roused by his generous patriotism was the means of exciting his best energies, and of spurring him on to further action. Széchenyi, although acting, on the whole, with the exceedingly moderate opposition, which was conservative and not unfrequently quite reactionary, influenced as it was by the famous policy of Prince Metternich, never became a member of either of the political parties. His leading idea was that the first thing to be done was to improve the material and intellectual condition of the people, and to increase the prosperity and culture of the country. He had founded in the interest of civilization the Hungarian Academy, and now he labored enthusiastically to improve the commercial, industrial, and economical condition of the country. In this work he had to contend with all sorts of obstacles and prejudices on the part not only of the higher circles, but of the very class that was to be benefited by his reforms. But Széchenyi did not lose heart, and, undisturbed by many a bitter experience, he undeviatingly pursued his own course, and carried through with an iron will every measure deemed beneficial by him. His busy brain never ceased to devise new patriotic schemes, and to make them acceptable to the people. He won back the estranged aristocracy of the country, and assigned to them a leading position in national politics; he strove to raise the capital to a European level, and advanced the national prosperity by the discovery of new resources, the opening of new roads of communication, and by the creation of many useful public institutions. He had equal regard for the interests of all classes, from the lord to the peasant, and thus strove, while yet surrounded by the antiquated order of things, to awaken the people to a sense of national consciousness, and to promote the recognition of the solidarity of interests between all the classes of the nation. His busy brain embraced every public interest, and he exerted every social and economical agency to ripen in the nation the notions of modern European civilization. He was a powerful agitator, in equal degrees master of the sword and the pen, and although his whole individuality, his character, and his habits bore the stamp of the aristocratic circle in which he was born and educated, yet, by dint of his conspicuous and many-sided labors, he in reality was the most indefatigable champion and pioneer of democratic ideas in his own country.

His first great literary work (a smaller one had preceded it), entitled “Credit,” was published in 1830, and in it he treated of economical questions of the most immediate importance to the country. It was a work of great power, marked by scholarly thoroughness, practical statesmanship, and poetic elevation, and produced an extraordinary sensation throughout the country. It was read everywhere, in the palaces of the magnates, in the mansions of the provincial gentry, and in the homes and offices of merchants and tradesmen. The book was spoken of in the most exalted terms by some, while others declared its author to be a communist and revolutionary agitator. The foes to progress, the defenders of the decaying privileges of the nobility, burned the book, while the friends of the new ideas, and especially the rising generation, saw in it the gospel of a new era. It was in this work that Széchenyi, addressing the generation that vainly clung to the reminiscences of the past, said: “Do not constantly trouble yourselves with the vanished glories of the past, but rather let your determined patriotism bring about the prosperity of the beloved fatherland. Many there are who think that _Hungary has been_, but for my part I like to think that _Hungary shall be_.”

Under the influence of these exalted ideas Széchenyi persevered in his practical efforts for the common weal. He wrote a great deal up to the time of his death, and some of his works are justly ranked among the gems of Hungarian literature. But more precious than these are his practical creations, which still, for the most part, survive, and which are destined to perpetuate his fame for many centuries to come. His busy mind attended to every variety of matters of public concern. Thus it was he who introduced horse-racing into the country, not for the purpose of affording a mere gentlemanly pastime, but with the object of developing horse-breeding in Hungary, an object which has been very successfully accomplished by the new sport. In furtherance of this object he formed a society which subsequently became the National Breeding Association, which flourishes to this day. In order to afford to the gentry permanently a rallying and central point in the country, he established the Buda-Pesth National Casino, a social club of high distinction, still in existence and enjoying an enviable reputation in the best European circles. He took quite an active part in the management of the new Academy of Sciences; zealously supported the efforts made to found a permanent national theatre, efforts which subsequently proved successful; started and realized the scheme for building a permanent bridge across the Danube, connecting Pesth and Buda, and for the construction of a tunnel under the castled mountain of Buda; conducted for years the work of regulating the Danube, especially in the vicinity of the Vaskapu (Iron Gate); and also aided in the establishment of the Danube Steam Navigation Company, which at this day has hundreds of ships engaged in the local and export trade. His most glorious work, however, was the regulation of the Theiss, resulting, in the course of time, in the reclaiming of a marshy territory containing one hundred and fifty square miles, and turning it into a rich and fertile soil. His mind was teeming, besides, with various schemes looking to the building of railways, and to the promotion of commerce and industry; but all these various undertakings were marked by the same steady spirit of patriotic endeavor.

For fifteen years, up to 1840, the popularity of Széchenyi had gone on increasing throughout the country, and his name was cherished by every good patriot in the land. About this time, however, the great statesman was destined to come into collision with a man who was his peer in genius and abilities. The two patriots were representatives of different methods, and in the contest produced by the shock of antagonistic tendencies Széchenyi was compelled to yield to Louis Kossuth, his younger rival. Although there was no material difference between their aims, for both wished to see their country great, free, constitutionally governed, prosperous, and advanced in civilization, yet in the ways and means employed by them to attain that aim they were diametrically opposed to each other. Széchenyi, who descended from a family of ancient and aristocratic lineage, and presented himself to the nation with connections reaching up into the highest circles of the court, with the lustre of his ancient name, and with his immense fortune, wished to secure the happiness of his country by quite different methods from those adopted by Louis Kossuth, a child of the people, who, although he was a nobleman by birth, yet belonged to that poorer class of gentry who support themselves by their own exertions, and who, in Hungary, are destined to fulfil the mission of the citizen-classes of other countries. It is from these classes of the gentry that are, for the most part, recruited the tradespeople, the smaller landowners, professional men, writers, subordinate officials, lawyers, physicians, clergymen, teachers, and professors. By virtue of their nobility, it is true, they belonged to the privileged class of the country, and were not subjected to the humiliations of the oppressed peasantry, yet they had to earn a living by their own work, and were therefore not only accessible to, but were ready enthusiastically to receive, the lofty message of liberty and equality which the French Revolution of 1830 began to proclaim anew throughout all Europe. These doctrines formed a sharp contrast to the views of Count Stephen Széchenyi, views which, owing to the social position of the man who held them, were not devoid of a certain aristocratic tinge, and according to which the most important part in the regeneration of the Hungarian nation was assigned to the aristocracy. It was a part, however, which the Hungarian aristocracy was itself by no means disposed to assume. Among its younger members, indeed, could be found, here and there, enthusiastic men who were devotedly attached to the person of the lordly reformer, but the great majority of his class were hostilely arrayed against Széchenyi’s aims, and, obstructing the granting of even the most inoffensive demands of the nation, supported the Viennese government, which was rigidly opposed to political reforms and to any changes in the public institutions of the country. This attitude of the aristocracy compelled Széchenyi to avoid as much as possible all questions concerning constitutionality and liberty, and to confine the work of reform chiefly to the sphere of internal improvements. The only way in which he could hope to obtain the support of the court of Vienna and of the majority of the Upper House for his politico-economical measures, was to remain as neutral as possible in politics. The idea which chiefly governed his actions was that the country should be first strengthened internally, and that afterwards it would be easy for the nation to bring about the triumph of her national and political aspirations.

After 1840, however, the bulk of the nation, and especially the small gentry whose preponderating influence was making itself continually felt, were unwilling to follow Széchenyi in his one-sided policy. The reformatory work of Széchenyi during the preceding fifteen years had educated public opinion up to new and great ideas, but the leaders of that public opinion were now to be found in the House of Representatives in the persons of Francis Deák and Louis Kossuth. They wished to obtain for their country both political liberty and material prosperity. They knew the effect of political institutions upon the material well-being and civilization of a nation, and they no longer deemed it possible to attain these objects without a modern constitutional government. Louis Kossuth, who was born in 1802, was the very incarnation of the great democratic ideas of his age. He was entirely a man of work and entered the legal profession, after having completed his studies with great distinction, for the purpose of supporting himself by it. Kossuth was present at the Diet of 1832, when the government, which conducted itself most brutally and arbitrarily towards the press, refused to allow the newspapers to print reports of the deliberations of the Diet in spite of the repeated urgings by the deputies for such an authorization, and it was owing to his ingenuity that this prohibition was evaded. The censorship was exercised on printed matter only and did not extend to manuscripts. Kossuth wrote out the reports of the Diet himself, had numerous copies made of them in writing, and circulated them, for a slight fee, in every part of the country, where they were looked for with feverish expectation, and, owing to the spirit of opposition with which they were colored, were read with the greatest eagerness. This manuscript newspaper produced quite a revolutionary movement amongst the people, frightening even the Austrian government. The latter now attempted to silence Kossuth by gentle means, promising him high offices and a pension, but he refused the enticing offers and continued his work for the benefit of the nation. Foiled in the attempt to lure Kossuth from his duty, the government resorted to violence, seized the lithographic apparatus by means of which Kossuth planned to multiply his manuscript newspaper, and gave directions to the postmasters to detain and open all those sealed packages which were supposed to contain the reports. But these arbitrary proceedings of the government could not put an end to the circulation of the newspaper; the country gentlemen, by their own servants, continued to send each other single copies, and the matter was given up only when the Diet ceased to be in session. Then Kossuth, at the urgent request of his friends and, one might say, of the whole country, started a new manuscript newspaper at Buda-Pesth, which reported the deliberations of the county assemblies. The effect produced by this new paper was fraught with even greater consequences than the first had created, for it was instrumental in bringing the counties into contact with each other, thus affording them an opportunity to combine against the government. The latter, however, soon prohibited its publication, but the prohibition gave rise to a storm of indignation throughout the whole country. The counties in solid array addressed protests to the government against the illegal act and on behalf of Kossuth, who continued to publish the paper in spite of the inhibition. The government at last resorted to the most barefaced brutality. Kossuth, the brave champion of liberty, its eloquent pen and herald, was dragged to a damp and dark subterranean prison-cell in the castle of Buda, and detained there, whilst his father and mother and his family, who were looking to him solely for their support, were robbed of the aid of their natural protector.

Although at that period lawlessness was the order of the day, yet this last cruel and illegal act of the government greatly exasperated the public mind, which was already in a ferment of excitement. But while the excited passions raged throughout the country, the government, nothing loth, caused Kossuth to be prosecuted for high treason, and, having obtained his conviction, had him sentenced to an imprisonment of three years. Kossuth applied himself during his detention to serious studies, and acquired also, while in prison, the English language to such an extent that he was enabled to address in that language, during his exile, with great effect and impressiveness, large audiences both in England and in the United States of America. His imprisonment lasted two long years, after the lapse of which he obtained, in 1840, a pardon in consequence of the repeated and urgent representations of the Diet.

Kossuth returned to the scene of his former activity as the martyr of free speech, and the victim to the cause of the nation. He very soon found a new field in which to labor. The government perceived at last that violence was of little avail, and that those questions which were occupying the minds to such a degree could no longer be kept from being publicly discussed by the press. Kossuth now obtained permission to edit a political daily paper. Its publication was commenced under the title of _Pesti Hirlap_ (Pesth Newspaper) in 1841, and may be said to have created the political daily press of Hungary. It disseminated new ideas among the masses, stirred up the indifferent to feel an interest in the affairs of the country and gave a purpose to the national aspirations. It proclaimed democratic reforms in every department; the abolition of the privileges of the nobility and of their exemption from taxation, equal rights and equal burdens for all the citizens of the state, and the extension of public instruction, and it endeavored to restore the Hungarian nationality to the place it was entitled to claim in the organism of the state.

The wealth of ideas thus daily communicated to the country appeared in the most attractive garb, for Kossuth possessed a masterly style, and his leaders and shorter articles showed off to advantage so many unexpected beauties of the Hungarian language, that his readers were fairly enchanted and carried away by them. His articles were a happy compound of poetical elevation and oratorical power, gratifying common-sense and the imagination at the same time, appealing by their lucid exposition to the reader’s intelligence, and exciting and warming this fancy by their fervor. Kossuth always rightly guessed what questions most interested the nation, and the daily press became, in his hands, a power in Hungary, electrifying the masses, who were always ready to give their unconditional support to his bold and far-reaching schemes.

The extraordinary influence obtained by Kossuth through his paper frightened Széchenyi, and, to even a greater degree, those whose prejudices were shocked or ancient privileges and interests were endangered by the democratic agitations for reform. Kossuth was attacked in books, pamphlets, and newspapers, but he came out victorious from all contests. In vain did Széchenyi himself, backed by his great authority in the land, assail him, declaring that he did not object to Kossuth’s ideas, but that his manner and his tactics were reprehensible, and that the latter were sure to lead to a revolution. The great mass of the people felt instinctively that revolution had become a necessity and was unavoidable, if Hungary was to pass from the old mediæval order to the establishment of modern institutions, and was to become a state where equality before the law should be the ruling standard. The masses were strengthened in this conviction by the unreasonable, short-sighted, and violent policy pursued by the government of Vienna, which obstructed the slightest reforms in the ancient institutions and opposed every national aspiration, and under whose protecting wing the reactionary elements of the Upper House were constantly paralyzing the noblest and best efforts made by the Lower House for the public weal, while the same government arbitrarily supported claims of the Catholic clergy, in flat contradiction to the rights and liberties of the various denominations inhabiting the country. The government, in its antipathy to the national movement, went even further. It secretly incited the other nationalities, especially the Croats, against the Hungarians, and thus planted the seeds from which sprang the subsequent great civil war. In observing the dangerous symptoms preceding the last-mentioned movement, and the bloody scenes and fights provoked at every election by the hirelings of the government, in order to intimidate the adherents of reform, the friends of progress became more and more convinced that the period of moderation, such as preached by Széchenyi, had passed by, and must give way to that resolute policy, advocated by Kossuth, which recoiled from no consequences. Numerous magnates, all the chief leaders of the gentry, boasting of enlightenment and patriotism, and imbued with European culture, rallied around Kossuth, until finally the public opinion of the country and the enthusiasm of which he was the centre caused him to be returned, in 1847, together with Count Louis Batthyányi, as deputy from the foremost county of the country, the county of Pesth.

During the first months the Diet of 1847—’8, which was to raise Hungary to the rank of those countries that proclaimed equal rights and possessed a responsible parliamentary government, differed very little from the one preceding it. The opposition initiated, as before, great reforms, but there was no one who believed that their realization was near at hand. Kossuth repeatedly addressed the House, and soon convinced his audience that he was as irresistible an orator as he had proved powerful as a writer. But there was nothing to indicate that the country was on the eve of a great transformation.

The revolution of February, 1848, which broke out in Paris, changed, as if by magic, the relative positions of Austria and Hungary. Metternich’s system of government, which was opposed to granting liberty to the people, collapsed at once. The storm of popular indignation swept it away like a house built of cards. At the first news of the occurrences in Paris Kossuth asked in the Lower House for the creation of a responsible ministry. Kossuth’s motion was favorably received by the Lower House, but in the Upper House it was rejected, the government not being yet alive to the real state of affairs, and still hoping by a system of negation to frustrate the wishes of the people. But very soon the revolution reared its head in Vienna itself, and the wishes of the Hungarian people, uttered at Buda-Pesth, received thereby a new and powerful advocate.

At that time the Hungarian Diet still met at Presburg, but the two sister cities of Buda and Pesth formed the real capital of the country, and were the centre of commerce, industry, science, and literature. Michael Vörösmarty, the poet laureate of the nation, lived in Pesth, and there the twin stars of literature, Alexander Petöfi and Maurus Jókai, shone on the national horizon. Jókai, who is still living and enjoys a world-wide fame as a novelist, and Petöfi, the eminent poet, who was destined to become the Tyrtæus of his nation, were then both young men, full of enthusiasm and intrepid energy, and teeming with great ideas. About these two gathered the other writers and youth of the university, and all of them, helping each other, contrived, upon hearing the news of the sudden revolutions in Paris and Vienna, to enact in Buda-Pesth the bloodless revolution of the 15th of March, 1848, which obtained the liberty of the press for the nation, and at the same time, in a solemn manifesto, gave expression to the wishes of the Hungarians in the matter of reform. The only act of violence these revolutionary heroes were guilty of was the entering of a printing establishment, whose proprietor, afraid of the government, had refused to print the admirable poem of Petöfi, entitled _Talpra Magyar_ (Up Magyar), and doing the printing there themselves. The first verse of this poem, which subsequently became the war song of the national movement, runs in a literal translation thus:

Arise, oh Magyar! thy country calls. Here is the time, now or never. Shall we be slaves or free? That is the question—choose! We swear by the God of the Magyars, We swear, to be slaves no longer!

This soul-stirring poem was improvised by Petöfi under the inspiration of the moment, and at the same establishment where it was first printed was also printed a proclamation which contained twelve articles setting forth the wishes of the people.

While the capital was resounding with the rejoicings and triumphant shouts of her exulting inhabitants, the proper department of the government for the carrying through of these movements, the Diet, assembled at Presburg, lost no time, and set to work with great energy to reform the institutions of Hungary, constitutionally, and to put into the form of law the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The salutary legislation met now with no opposition, either from the Upper House or from the court at Vienna, and in a short time the Diet passed the celebrated acts of 1848, which, having received the royal sanction, were proclaimed as laws on the 11th of April, at Presburg, amidst the wildest enthusiasm, in the presence of King Ferdinand V.

By these laws Hungary became a modern state, possessing a constitutional government. The government was vested in a ministry responsible to parliament, all the inhabitants of the country were declared equal before the law, the privileges of the nobility were abolished, the soil was declared free, and the right of free worship accorded to all. The institution of national guards was introduced, the utmost liberty of the press was secured, Transylvania became a part of the mother country—in a word, the national and political condition of the country was reorganized, in every particular, in harmony with the spirit, the demands, and aspirations of our age. At the same time the men placed at the head of the government were such as possessed the fullest confidence of the people. The first ministry was composed of the most distinguished patriots. Count Louis Batthyányi was the president, and acting in conjunction with him were Francis Deák, as minister of justice, Count Stephen Széchenyi, as minister of home affairs, and Louis Kossuth, as minister of finance.

The great mass of the people hailed with boundless enthusiasm the new government and the magnificent reforms. The transformation, however, had been so sudden and unexpected, and the old aristocratic world, with all its institutions and its ancient organization, had been swept away with such vehement, precipitation, that even under ordinary circumstances in the absence of all opposition, the new ideas and tendencies could have hardly entered into the political life of the nation without causing no little confusion and disorder. But, in addition to these natural drawbacks, the new order of things had to contend with certain national elements in the population, which, feeling themselves injured in their real or imaginary interests, were bent on mischief, hoping to be able to rob the nation, in the midst of the ensuing troubles, of the great political prize she had won. Certain circles of the court and classes of the people strove equally hard to surround with difficulties the practical introduction of the constitution of 1848. The court and the standing army, the party of the soldier class, feared that their commanding position would be impaired by the predominating influence of the people. The non-Hungarian portion of the inhabitants, choosing to ignore the fact that the new laws secured, without distinction of nationality, equal rights to every citizen of the state, were apprehensive lest the liberal constitution would chiefly benefit the Hungarian element of the nation. They, therefore, encouraged by the secret machinations of the government of Vienna, took up arms, in order to drag the country, which was preparing to take possession of her new liberties, into a civil war. The Croatians, under the lead of Ban Jellachich, and the Wallachs and Serbs, led by other imperial officers, and yielding to their persuasions, rose in rebellion against Hungary, and began to persecute, plunder, and murder the Hungarians living among them. Dreadful atrocities were committed in the southern and eastern portions of Hungary, hundreds and hundreds of families were massacred in cold blood, and entire villages and cities were deserted by their inhabitants, just as had previously happened at the approach of the Turks, and thousands were compelled to abandon their all to the rebels, in order to escape with their bare lives. In the course of a few weeks, the flames of rebellion had spread over a large part of the country, and the Hungarian element, instead of enjoying the liberties won for the whole nation after a bitter struggle of many decades, was under the sad necessity of resorting to armed force in order to re-establish the internal peace. The Hungarians now had to prove on the battle-field and in bloody engagements that they were worthy of liberty and capable of defending it.

The government, which, by virtue of the new laws, had meanwhile transferred its seat to Buda-Pesth, displayed extraordinary energy in the face of the sad difficulties besetting it. As it was impossible to rely upon the Austrian soldiers who were still in the country, it exerted itself to create and to organize a national army. A portion of the national guard entered the national army under the name of _honvéds_ (defenders of the country), a name which became before long famous throughout the civilized world for the glorious military achievements coupled with it. The Hungarian soldiers, garrisoning the Austrian principalities, hastened home, braving the greatest dangers, partly accompanied by their officers and partly without them. The famous Hungarian hussars, especially, returned in great number to offer their services to their imperilled country. But all this proved insufficient, and as soon as the National Assembly, elected under the new constitution, met, Kossuth, who had been the life and soul of the government during this trying and critical period, called upon the nation to raise large armies for the defence of the country. The session of the 11th of July, during which Kossuth introduced in the House of Representatives his motions relating to the subject, presented a scene which beggars all description. Kossuth ascended the tribune pale and haggard with illness, but the never-ceasing applause which greeted him after the first few sentences soon gave him back his strength and his marvellous oratorical power. When he had concluded his speech and submitted to the House his request for 200,000 soldiers and the necessary money, a momentary pause of deep silence ensued. Suddenly Paul Nyáry, the leader of the opposition, arose, and lifting his right arm towards heaven, exclaimed: “We grant it!” The House was in a fever of patriotic excitement; all the deputies rose from their seats, shouting: “We grant it; we grant it!” Kossuth, with tears in his eyes, bowed to the representatives of the people and said: “You have risen like one man, and I bow down before the greatness of the nation.”

These sacrifices on the part of the country had become a matter of urgent necessity. The Serb and Wallach insurrection assumed every day larger proportions, while the Croats, under the leadership of Jellachich, entered Hungarian territory with the fixed determination of depriving the nation of her constitutional liberties. But the Hungarian government was already able to send an army against the Croatians, who were marching on Buda-Pesth, plundering and laying waste every thing before them. They were surrounded by the Hungarian forces, and a portion of their army, nine thousand men strong, were compelled to lay down their arms, while Jellachich, with his remaining forces, precipitately fled from the country. The young Hungarian army had thus proved itself equal to the task of repulsing the attack of the Croats, but the recent events were nevertheless fraught with the gravest consequences. The news of the Croatian invasion filled the Hungarians with deep anxiety, and the extraordinary excitement caused by it cast a permanent cloud over the soul of that noble and great man, Count Széchenyi. The mind of the great patriot who had initiated the national movement gave way under the strain of the frightful rumors coming from the Croatian frontier. He had been ailing for some time back, and his nervousness constantly increased under the pressure of the great events following each other in rapid succession, so that when the news came that the enemy had invaded the country he thought that Hungary was lost. His despair darkened his mind and he sought death in the waves of the Danube. His family removed him to a private asylum near Vienna, where he recovered his mental faculties, and even wrote several books. But he was never entirely cured of his hallucination, and, exasperated by the vexations he was subjected to by the Viennese government, even in the asylum, the great patriot put an end to his own life on the 8th of April, 1860, by a shot from a pistol. Jellachich’s incursion had other important political consequences. The attack on Hungary had been made by Jellachich in the name of the Viennese government, and the intimate connection between the domestic disorders and the court of Vienna became more and more apparent. This state of things rendered inevitable a struggle between Hungary and the unconstitutional action of the court. The Austrian forces were arming against Hungary on every side. Vienna, too, rose in rebellion against the court, and now the Hungarians hastened to assist the revolutionists in the Austrian capital. Unfortunately the young national army was not ripe yet for so great a military enterprise, and Prince Windischgrätz, having crushed the revolution in Vienna, invaded Hungary.

A last attempt was now made by the Hungarians to negotiate peace with the court, but it failed, Windischgrätz being so elated with his success that nothing short of unconditional submission on the part of the country would satisfy him. To accept such terms would have been both cowardly and suicidal, and the nation, therefore, driven to the sad alternative of war, determined rather to perish gloriously than to pusillanimously submit to be enslaved by the court. They followed the lead of Kossuth, who was now at the head of the government, whilst Görgei was the commander-in-chief of the Hungarian army. The two names of Kossuth and Görgei soon constituted the glory of the nation. Whilst these two acted in harmony they achieved brilliant triumphs, but their personal antagonism greatly contributed, at a subsequent period, to the calamities of the country.

Windischgrätz took possession of Buda in January, 1849, thus compelling Kossuth to transfer the seat of government to Debreczen, whilst Görgei withdrew with his army to the northern part of Hungary, but the national army fought victoriously against the Serbs and Wallachs, and the situation of the Hungarians had, in the course of the winter, become more favorable all over the country. The genius of Kossuth brought again and again, as if by magic, fresh armies into the field, and he was indefatigable in organizing the defence of the country. Distinguished generals like Görgei, Klapka, Damjanics, Bem, and others transformed the raw recruits, in a wonderfully short time, into properly disciplined troops, who were able to hold their own and bravely contend against the old and tried imperial forces whom they put to flight at every point.

The fortunes of war changed in favor of the Hungarians in the latter part of January, 1849. Klapka achieved the first triumph, which was followed by the brilliant victory won by one of Görgei’s divisions commanded by Guyon in the battle of Branyiszkó, and very soon the Hungarian armies acted on the offensive at all points. In the course of a few weeks they achieved, chiefly under Görgei’s leadership, great and complete victories over the enemy near Szolnok, Hatvan, Bicske, Vácz, Isaszegh, Nagy Sarló, and Komárom. Windischgrätz lost both the campaign and his position as commander-in-chief. Towards the close of the spring of 1849, after besieged Komárom had been relieved by the Hungarians, and Bem had driven from Transylvania not only the Austrians, but the Russians who had come to their assistance, the country was almost freed from her enemies, and only two cities, Buda and Temesvár, remained in the hands of the Austrians. The glorious efforts made by the nation were attended at last by splendid successes, and the civilized world spoke with sympathy and respect of the Hungarian people which had signally shown its ability to defend its liberties, constitution, and national existence.

It should have been the mission of diplomacy, at this conjuncture, to turn to advantage the recent military successes by negotiating an honorable peace with the humbled dynasty, as had been done before in the history of the country, after similar military achievements by the ancient national leaders, Bocskáy and Bethlen. Görgei, the head of the army was disposed to conclude peace. But the Hungarian Parliament sitting in Debreczen, led by Kossuth and under the influence of the recent victories, were determined to pursue a different course. The royal house of Hapsburg, whose dynasty had ruled over Hungary for three centuries, was declared to have forfeited its right to the throne by instigating and bringing upon the country the calamities of a great war. This act had a bad effect, especially on the army, tending also to heighten the personal antagonism between Kossuth and Görgei. But its worst consequence was that it gave Russia a pretext for armed intervention. The emperor Francis Joseph entered into an alliance with the Czar of Russia, the purpose of which was to reconquer seceded Hungary and ultimately to crush her liberty.

One more brilliant victory was achieved by the Hungarian arms before the fatal blow was aimed at the country. The fortress of Buda was taken after a gallant assault, in the course of which the Austrian commandant bombarded the defenceless city of Pesth on the opposite bank of the Danube, and thus the capital, too, was restored to the country. Yet after this last glorious feat of war, good fortune deserted the national banners. The grand heroic epoch was hastening to its tragic end. Two hundred thousand Russians crossed the borders of Hungary, and were there reinforced by sixty thousand to seventy thousand Austrians, whom the Viennese government had succeeded in collecting for a last great effort. It was easy to foresee that the exhausted Hungarian army could not long resist the superior numbers opposed to them. For months they continued the gallant fight, and it was in one of these engagements that Petöfi, the great poet of the nation, lost his life, but in the month of August, the Russians had already succeeded in surrounding Görgei’s army. Görgei, who was now invested with the supreme power, perceiving that all further effusion of blood was useless, surrendered, in the sight of the Russian army, the sword he had so gloriously worn in many a battle, near Világos, on the 13th of August, 1849. The remaining Hungarian armies followed his example, and either capitulated or disbanded. The brave army of the _honvéds_ was no more, and the gallant struggle for liberty was put an end to by the superior numbers of the Russian forces. Kossuth and many other Hungarians sought refuge in Turkey.

Above Komárom, the largest fortress in the county, alone the Hungarian colors were still floating. General Klapka, its commandant, bravely defended it, and continued to hold it for six weeks after the sad catastrophe of Világos. The brave defenders, seeing at last that further resistance served no purpose, as the Hungarian army had ceased to exist, and the whole country had passed into the hands of the Austrians, capitulated upon most honorable terms. This was the concluding act of the heroic struggle of the Hungarian people, the brave attitude of the garrison and their commander adding another bright page to the already honorable record of the military achievements of 1848 and 1849.

As soon as the imperialists had obtained possession of Komárom, their commander-in-chief, Baron Haynau, began to persecute the patriots, and to commit the most cruel atrocities against them. Those who had taken part in the national war were brought before a court-martial and summarily executed. The bloody work of the executioner commenced on the 6th of October. Count Louis Batthyányi was shot at Pesth, and thirteen gallant generals, belonging to Görgei’s army, met their deaths at Arád. Wholesale massacres were committed throughout the country, until at last the conscience of Europe rose up against these cruel butcheries, and the court itself removed the sanguinary baron from the scene of his inhuman exploits. The best men in the country were thrown into prison, and thousands of families had to mourn for dear ones who had fallen victims to the implacable vindictiveness of the Austrian government. Once more the gloom of oppression settled upon the unhappy country.

Many of the patriots had accompanied Kossuth to Turkey, or found a refuge in other foreign countries, and for ten years a great number of distinguished Hungarians were compelled to taste the bitterness of exile. Kossuth himself went subsequently to England, and visited also the United States. In the latter country he was enthusiastically received by the free and great American nation, who took delight in his lofty eloquence. During the Crimean war, and the war of 1859 in Italy, Kossuth and the Hungarian exiles were zealously laboring to free their country by foreign aid from the thraldom of oppression. At last, however, the Hungarian nation succeeded in reconquering, without any aid from abroad, by her own exertions, her national and political rights, and made her peace with the ruling dynasty. But the Hungarian exiles had their full share in the work of reconciliation, for it was owing to their exertions that the nations of Europe remembered that, in spite of Világos, Hungary still existed, and that again, at home, the people of Hungary were not permitted to lose their faith in a better and brighter future. Kossuth, the Nestor of the struggle for liberty, lives at present in retirement in Turin, and, although separated from his people by diverging political theories, his countrymen will forever cherish in him the great genius who gave liberty to millions of the oppressed peasantry, and who indelibly inscribed on the pages of the national legislation the immortal principles of liberty and equality of rights.

It is proper, however, to present in their regular order the chief events through which down-trodden Hungary of 1849 became from a subordinate province again an independent kingdom, taking part as an equal partner in the great realm of Austria-Hungary.

It was not until 1854 that the state of siege inaugurated in 1849 was abolished, and only in 1856 that an amnesty was proclaimed. In 1857 the emperor visited Hungary, and during his stay, he decreed the restoration of their confiscated estates to the late political offenders. From this time the emperor and the government of Vienna seemed anxious, by means of concessions to the national aims, to cause the Hungarians to forget the bitterness and strife of 1848 and 1849. In 1858 agricultural colonists were given special inducements to settle in specified districts, and were allowed certain exemptions from taxation.

In 1859 a most important concession was made by the imperial government to the spirit of nationality. By a ministerial order the language used in the higher schools was for the future to be regulated according to the circumstances of nationality, the predominance of German being thereby abolished. In the same year was issued what was known as the Protestant patent, which granted to the communes the free administration of their own educational and religious matters.

In 1860 the supreme court of judicature, known as the _curia regia_, and the county assemblies were reinstated, and the Magyar was recognized as the official language. Later in the year the district called the Banate of Temesvár was re-annexed to Hungary. In 1861 the old constitution was restored to Hungary, including Transylvania, Croatia, and Slavonia, and the Hungarian Diet reassembled in the old capital, Buda, afterwards removing across the river to Pesth. Within a few months, however, an address was presented at Vienna demanding the fullest autonomy for Hungary. To this the emperor declared himself unable to accede, and the Diet was dissolved. Stringent measures were again put into force by the imperial government, and military aid was invoked to enforce the collection of the taxes.

In 1865 the Diet was opened by the emperor in person, and the imperial assent was given to the principle of self-government for Hungary. The provisions of the Pragmatic Sanction (of 1722) were proposed as the basis for the settlement of the questions still at issue. The Diet also demanded, however, an acknowledgment of the continuity of the constitutional rights of 1848. Before an imperial decision had been reached on this point, the war of 1866 broke out between Austria and Prussia (allied with Italy), and the Diet was prorogued. The Hungarian troops formed an important contingent in the Austrian army which faced the Prussians in Bohemia, and the general in command, Marshal Benedek, was himself by birth a Hungarian. Hungarians also fought in the army of the south, which, under the leadership of the Archduke Albrecht, made a brief but brilliant campaign against the Italians. In Bohemia the Austrians met with a decisive defeat at Sadowa (in July, 1866), and although in Italy Archduke Albrecht gained the important battle of Custozza, and Admiral Tegetthoff a naval victory near Lissa (in the Adriatic), the general results of the summer’s campaign were adverse to Austria, and brought about material changes in its relations to Germany and in its own imperial organization.

By the peace of Prague (August, 1866) the German confederation was dissolved, and Austria’s long preëminence among the states of Germany came to an end, the leadership in German affairs being transferred to Prussia. The centre of gravity of the Austrian empire (which was thus, as it were, pushed out of Germany) was thrown southward and eastward, and the most important result for Hungary was the constituting of the present dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, finally sanctioned in February, 1867.

Under this arrangement the constitutional, legal, and administrative autonomy of 1848 was secured to Hungary, while the full control of the army rested with the emperor-king. The representative committee of the Diet, which conducted and completed the new constitutional arrangements, was headed by Deák, and the presidency of the first ministry was given to Count Andrássy.

In June, 1868, the emperor and empress were crowned at Buda-Pesth King and Queen of Hungary, and a complete pardon was proclaimed for all political offenders. It is worthy of note that twice in the checkered history of Hungary has Prussia been instrumental in securing for the kingdom from its Austrian rulers recognition and privileges which, had it not been for the pressure of the Prussian attacks, might long have been delayed.

In 1765, Maria Theresa, in grateful acknowledgment of the cordially loyal support given her by her “faithful Hungarians” in the bitter struggle against Frederic the Great, initiated various most important reforms, while just a century later, under the convincing influence of the second great struggle with Prussia, the Austrian ruler again falls back on his Hungarian subjects as the chief support of his reorganized realm, and in the new dual empire of Austria-Hungary the ancient kingdom of the Magyars, whose wonderfully elastic national vitality had withstood so many vicissitudes and disasters, again takes a commanding place among the nations of Europe.

INDEX.

A

Abdi Pasha surrenders Buda to Duke Charles, 332

Academy of Sciences at Buda-Pesth founded, 407

Adalbert, St., Bishop of Prague, 56

Agram, Bishopric of, founded, 111

Ahmed Pasha, besieges Temesvár, 302; takes fortress, 305; besieges Erlau, 308; is repulsed, 311

Albert, Emperor of Germany, comes to the assistance of Wenceslaus, 153

Albert, King of Hungary, dies, 210

Aladar and Csaba, sons of Attila, 30

Albert, Duke of Poland, lays waste Hungary, 262

Albrecht, Archduke, 438

Alföld (Lowland), taken by the Turks, 340; colonized by the Servians, 361; depopulated, 368

Ali Pasha of Buda, besieges Drégel, 299; clemency to two youths, 300; takes Drégel, 301; generosity to remains of Szondi, 301

Aliportug, 315

Almos, first duke of the Huns, 36; oath to, 36

Almos, brother of Coloman, rebellion of, 116; defeated 116; deprived of sight, 116; rebels against Stephen II., 116; dies, 117

Altai Mountains, cradle of Magyar race, 32

Anagarini, John, Papal envoy to Matthias, 236

Andrássy, Count, 439

Andrew, Prince, rebellion of, 60; made king, 61; issues rigorous laws, 61

Andrew I., King of Hungary, 102; victories over pagan rebels, 103; gives one third of his realm to Béla, 103; son born, 104; feud with Béla, 105; defeated by Béla, 106

Andrew, brother of Emeric, 123; defeats Emeric and proclaims himself Duke of Croatia, Dalmatia, Rama, and Chulmia, 123; captured by Emeric, 124; made guardian of his nephew, 125

Andrew II., ascends the throne, 125; under his wife’s dominion, 125; weakness of, 126; campaign in Galicia, 126; goes to the Holy Land, 129; grants “Golden Bull,” 129; dies, 133

Andrew III., ascends the throne, 149; death, 150

Andrew, son of Charles of Anjou, betrothed to Joanna of Naples, 164; assassinated, 166

Anjou, house of—first king, 151

Anna, daughter of Uladislaus, 265; betrothed to Ferdinand, son of Maximilian, 266

Anna, Duchess of Teschen, mother of Stephen Szapolyai, 265

Anna of Candal, wife of Uladislaus, dies, 276

Anna Pekry, wife of Losonczy, tries to raise money for her besieged husband, 303

Apaffy, Prince of Transylvania, 357

Apors, 147

_Apotheosis_ of _Augustus_, 18

Arnulph, King of Germany, 39

Árpád, first ruler of Hungary, 42; death, 44; house of, 97; extinction of, 149

Astrik, mission to Rome, 76

Attila, pushes forward, 23; death of, 24; sons of, contend for possession of empire, 24; Aladar and Csaba, sons of, 30

Augsburg, victory near, 48

Aurelian, withdraws legions, 32; allows Goths to settle, 23

Austrian government persecutes the Protestants, 344; encourages the Catholics, 347; defeated by Kossuth, 431; declared to have forfeited its right to Hungary, 432

Austria, supremacy comes to an end, 438

Austria-Hungary, new kingdom of, 440

Avars, first appearance, 24; conquered by the Franks, 25

B

Baján, prince of the Avars, 25

Bajazet, on Hungarian soil, 182; defeats Sigismund, 184

Bakacs, Thomas, archbishop, aspires to the papal see, 268; organizes crusade against the Turks, 268; appointed guardian to Louis, 276

Balassa, Valentine, 318; takes part in the storming of Gran, 319

Balkan Peninsula, appearance of Turks on, 299

Barbara, wife of Sigismund, negotiates with Ladislaus III. of Poland, 193; imprisoned, 193

Bardico, John, captain of the republic of Venice, 180

Báthory Stephen, traitor to the son of Matthias, 261, 285; at battle of Mohács, 288

Batthyányi, Count Louis, deputy from county of Pesth, 121; president of new ministry, 424

Batu Khan, leads Mongolians across the Carpathian range, 138; massacres Kuthen, defeats Béla at Muhi, 139; retreats from Trau, 141

Bavaria, invaded by the Hungarians, 48

Bazarád, Ban Michael, ruler of Wallachia, revolt of, 160

Beatrice, daughter of the king of Naples, wife of Matthias, 234; favors candidature of Maximilian of Germany, 260

Béla, Adalbert, brother of Andrew, 103; defeats Henry III., 103; popularity of, 104; feud with Andrew, 105; conquers Andrew, 106; proclaimed king, 106

Béla I., rebellion against, 106; sons of, resign claim to throne in favor of Solomon, 107

Béla II., son of Almos, ascends the throne, 117; Ilona, wife of, 117; vengeance of, at Arad, 117; dies, 118; Geyza II., son of, 118

Béla III., brother of Stephen III., 98; goes to Constantinople, 119; adopted by Manuel, 119; takes oath never to attack the Greek empire, 119; returns to his native country and ascends throne, 120; restores order, 120; introduction through wives of German and French manners, 122; Emeric, son of, 123; dies, 123

Béla IV., ascends the throne, 133; drives back Frederic, of Austria, 134; admits Kuthen, king of the Kuns, and his people into the land, 135; defeated by the Mongolians at Muhi, 139; flees to Spalato, then to Trau, 141; returns to Hungary, 141; strives to revive his desolated country, 142; founds Buda, 144; triumphs over Frederick, of Austria, 144; dies, 145

Belgrade, Turks defeated by Hunyadi at, 214; taken by the Turks, 284

Benedek, Marshal, 438

Beni, 431

Bethlen, Gabriel, Prince of Transylvania, leads the Czechs and Protestants of Hungary, and takes Presburg, 348; makes terms With Viennese government, 348; dies, 350

_Black Troop_, organized by Matthias, 224

Bocskay, Stephen, Prince of Transylvania, leads insurrection against the Hapsburgs, 345; proclaimed king of Hungary by the Turks, 345; counsels a conciliatory policy, 346

Bonafini, lectures of, at the court of Matthias, 249

Brankovitch, Prince of Servia, 212

Branyiszkó, 431

Brebiris the, 147

Bruno, 56

Buda, assembly of lords at, 184; under Matthias, 252; founded by Béla IV., 144; captured by Solyman the Magnificent, 289; restored to Hungary, 332; diet at, 386

Buda-Pesth, 10; statue of Stephen Szechenyi at, 400; national casino at, 411; newspaper started at, by Kossuth, 415; real capital, 422; revolution in, 422; seat of government, 428

C

Capistrano, John, preaches a crusade against the Turks, 213

Caraffa, 360

Carlowitz, treaty of peace signed at, 334

Carpathian range, 1

Casimir, King of Poland, 159; acknowledges Louis, son of Charles of Anjou, his heir, 162; dies, 171

Census in Hungary opposed, 384

Charles Robert, of Anjou, ascends the throne, 151; crowned the fourth time, 154; defeats Matthias Czák, 157; introduces chivalry, 158; popularity, 159; escapes from Wallachia, 161; acquires Naples and Poland, 162; arranges with Cassius, King of Poland, that Poland should descend to Louis, his son, 162; death, 164

Charles of Durazzo conquers Naples, 168; crowned at Stuhlweissenburg, 177; death, 178

Charles IV., of Germany, suspicious of Louis of Hungary, 170

Charles, Duke of Lorraine, routs the Turks, 331; takes Buda, 332; conquers at Mohács, 333

Charles III. of Austria and Hungary inaugurates new policy, 368

Church of Hungary, relations with the Vatican, 186

Church of Rome, condition of, 187

Christianity, victory of, 60

Cities, franchises of, 186; privileges of, 343

Climate, 9

Coloman, ascends throne, 114; drives crusaders away, 114; receives Godfrey of Bouillon, 114; increases domains, 115; styles himself King of Croatia and Dalmatia, 115; called _Könyves_, a bookish king, 115; Brother Almos rebels, 115; administers justice, 115; Stephen, son of, 116

Congress of Vienna, 404

Conrad, death of, 50

Conrad II., Emperor of Germany, 88; war with Stephen, 89

Constantinople, capital of the Turkish empire, 212

Constitution, 16; restored to Hungary, 437

Constitutional monarchy established, 424; enthusiasm for, 424

Corvinus, John, son of Matthias, candidate for the throne, 259

Council of Constance, 190

County assemblies, 437

Court of Matthias, 250

Cracow, coronation of Louis of Hungary at, 172

Croatia added to Hungary, 111; dissatisfaction in, 176; old constitution restored to, 437

Croats, incited by the Viennese government against the Hungarians, 420; rebel, 426; defeated, 428

Crown, double, of Hungary removed by Joseph IV. to Vienna 382; sent back to Buda, 386

Crusade, 114; third, 122; against the Turks, 213; proclaimed, 268

Csák, Matthias, 159; marauding expeditions from the castle of Trecsén, 155; excommunication of, 156; defeated by Charles Robert of Anjou at Kassa, 157; dies a horrible death, 157

Csák (family), 147; extermination of 159

Csáky, Nicholas, killed, 271

Cselényi, John, 160

Culture, renaissance of, 247

_Curia regia_, supreme court of judicature, 437

Custozza, battle of, 438

Czechs, clamors of, against Hungary, 203; routed on plain of Morava, 146; joined by the Protestants in insurrection against the Hapsburgs, 348; routed by Tilly near Prague, 348

D

Dacia, province of, 20

Damjanics, 431

Danube Steam Navigation Company, 411

Debruzen, seat of government, 430

Deák, Francis, 414; minister of justice, 424; heads representative committee, 437

Diákovár, 179

Diet (1567) inveighs against the foreign soldiery, 341; religious discussion in, prohibited by Rudolph, 345; minority of Protestants in, 358; relinquishes the people’s right, 360; at Buda, 386-389; removed to Presburg, 387; reforms institutions of Hungary, 423; removed to Buda-Pesth, 427; driven to Dubreczen, 430; declares the house of Hapsburg to have forfeited its right to Hungary, 432; dissolution of 437; opened by the emperor, 438

Dobó, Stephen, commandant at Erlau, 307; repulses the Turks, 311

Dobozy, Michael, flight and death of 293

Dózsa George, made leader of crusade, 270; leads his men against the nobles, 271; besieges Temesvár, is defeated and executed, 272

Drágfy, John, Chief-Justice, at the battle of Mohács, 287

Drégel, taken by the Turks under Ali Pasha, 300; monumental chapel erected at, 301

E

Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew III., 151

Elizabeth, wife of Charles of Anjou, builds cathedral at Kassa, 162; goes to Naples in aid of her son Andrew, 162

Elizabeth, wife of Louis of Hungary, offers to Poland her daughter Hedwig as queen, 176; strangled, 179

Elizabeth, daughter of Sigismund, married to Albert of Austria, 186

Emeric, son of Stephen, 90; education of, 90; death of, 94

Emeric, son of Béla III., ascends the throne, 123; defeated by Andrew, 123; dies, 125

Emperor and Pope, rivalry of, 70

Eperjes, bloody tribunal of, 360

Erlau besieged by Ahmed Pasha, 308

Eugene, Duke of Savoy, assumes commandership of Hungarian forces, 333; annihilates a Turkish army, 334; defeats the Turks near Peterwardein, 335; defeats the Turks, 359

Europe threatened by a new foe, 170

F

Ferdinand of Austria, elected king of Hungary 295; king of Bohemia, 338

Ferdinand II., cousin of Matthias, King of Bohemia, 347

Ferdinand V., King of Hungary, 424

Field of Blood, 396

Fiume, city of, 7; given to Hungary by Maria Theresa, 371

France, revolution in, 386

Francis I., of France, stirs up Solyman, 286

Francis I., crowned, 390; persecutes enlightened men, 396; arbitrary government, 398; returns to constitutional government, 399

Francis, Joseph, enters into alliance with Czar of Russia, 432; visits Hungary, 436

Frangepán Christopher, 267; conspires against Leopold I., 355; beheaded, 355

Frederic Barbarossa leads third crusade, 122

Frederic, Duke of Austria, defeated by Béla IV., 144; dies, 144

French enter Hungary, 397; defeat the Hungarians near Ráab, 398

Fuggers, the, 279

Fünfkirchen (Pécs), University of, 174

G

Galamböcz, siege of, 191

Galicia, campaign in, 126

Garay, palatine of Croatia, 176; defends the queens and dies, 178

George of Brandenburg, appointed guardian to Louis, 276

Gepidæ, ruling people in Hungary, 24

Gerhard, St., death, 61

Germans, defeat of, 44; victory of, 48; in Hungary, 322

German confederation dissolved, 438

Gertrude, wife of Andrew II., 125

Geyza II., ascends throne, 109; son of Béla, 118; hostilities, 118; dies, 118; Stephen III., son of, 118

Gisella, wife of Stephen, 69

Golden Bull, 99; rights granted by, relinquished by diet, 360

Görgei, commander-in-chief of the Hungarian army, 430; surrenders, 433

Gran (Esztergom), capital of Hungary, 68

Gregory VII., claims submission from Ladislaus, 110

Grosswardein, Tomb of Ladislaus, 112; Hungarian victory at, 168

Gustavus Adolphus, 350

Guyon, 431

Gyula, Duke, rebellion of, 60; defeated, 60

H

Hajnoczi, Joseph, 393; arrested, 395

Hapsburg, house of, rulers of Hungary, 337; Rudolph of, 145

Hatvan, diet at, 280

Haynau, Baron, persecutes the patriots, 434

Hedervári, Francis, deserts Belgrade, 284

Hedwig, daughter of Louis of Hungary, marries Duke Jagello, 174; becomes queen of Poland, 175

Henry the Fowler, 47

Henry II. of Germany, 88

Henry III. visits Stephen, 89

Horváthy, John, attacks the two queens near Diákovár, 179

Holubar, contest with Matthias, 229

Horse-racing introduced into Hungary, 411

Hungarian Alps, 6

Hungarians (early), legends in regard to origin, 27; invade Germany, 42; invade Italy, 44; incursion into Germany and France, 46; disasters of, 56

Hungary, topography and climate, 1; cities of, 16; conquest by the Huns, 39; invasion by Luitpold and Ditmar, 44; under two kings, 295; reduced to an Austrian province, 356; reorganized by government of Vienna, 361; material condition improved by Maria Theresa, 372; German made the official language, 382; new laws, 423; recovers her national rights, 436

Huns, first appearance, 23; of Turkish extraction, 33; seven dukes of, 34; mode of warfare, 37; conquer Hungary, 39

Hunyadi, John, 194; defeats the Turks, 197; gallantry, 198; triumphs in the Balkan passes, 205; victorious at Varna, 207; defeated, 209; governor of Hungary, 210; unites with the Albanians, 211; defeated, 211; death, 215

Hunyor, 28; settlement of progeny, 29

Huss, John, 189

I

Illeshäzy, 344

Ilona, wife of Béla II., 117; opens diet at Arad, 117; orders massacre at Arad, 117

Industrial and commercial status, 16

Iron gate (Vaskapu), 5, 411

Ishak, pasha of Semendria, 198

Izolda, nurse of Andrew, 165

J

Jacobins, Hungarian league of, 392

Jagello, Duke of Lithuania, marries Hedvig, a daughter of Louis of Hungary, 174

James, son of Vatha, leads pagan rebellion against Béla I., 107; defeated, 107

Jellachich, Ban, leader of the Croats, 426; defeated, 428

Jesuits inaugurate Thirty Years’ War, 347

Joanna of Naples, wife of Andrew, conspires against her husband, 165; marries Louis of Taranto, 167; sentenced by the Pope, 168

Jókai, Maurus, 422

Joseph I., Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, 366; grants amnesty to the insurgents, 367

Joseph II., sends crown back to Buda, 386; death, 386

Joseph II. refuses to receive the crown of Hungary, 375; called the “_kalapos_” king, 375; wages war against the Hungarian nationality, 376; reigns as absolute sovereign, 278; hated by the people, 380; gives religious freedom to the Protestants, 380; shocks the religious feelings of the Hungarians, 381; removes double crown to Vienna, 382; makes, by edict, German the official language of Hungary, 382; declares war against Turkey, 385

Julius II., 268

Juranics, Lawrence, 317; death at siege of Szigetvár, 317

Juricsies, Michael, commander of Köszeg, 297; saves Austria, 298

K

Kaan, Prince, defeated by Stephen, 60

“_Kalandos_” Society, 281

Károlyi, Alexander, 335

Kassa, battle of, 157; cathedral of, 162; given to the Catholics, 344

Kazinczy, Francis, regenerator of Hungarian literature, 394; imprisonment of, 396

Kiev, fate of, 136

Kieystut, Prince of Lithuania, 168

Kinizsy, Paul, captain of Matthias, 230; traitor to the son of Matthias, 261; massacres Hungarian soldiers near Halos, 264; dies, 264

Kisfaludy, Charles, 285

Klapa, 431; defends Komárom, 433

Komárom, 431; taken by the Imperialists, 433

Kont, Stephen, of Hédervár, death, 181

Kopán, rebellion of, 59; death of, 60

Korogi, Peter, of the wonderful stomach, 277

Kosovo, battle of, 186

Kossuth, Louis, rival of Széchenyi, 412; refuses to be bought by the government, 415; starts newspaper, 415; imprisoned, 416; pardoned, 417; obtains permission to edit a paper, 417; attacked by the press, 418; deputy from the county of Pesth, 421; asks for responsible ministry, 421; Minister of Finance, 424; introduces motions in Assembly, 427; head of the government, 430; exile, 434.

Köszeg, refuses to do homage to Solyman, 297; siege of, 298

Krafi Bey, death of, 208

Kuns (Cumanians), routed by Ladislaus, III; under Kuthen, settle in Hungary, 135; cruelties, 152; devastate Moravia, 170

Kurucz-Labancz era, 357

Kurucs, rebellion, 268; insurgents, 357; receives aid from the French, Porte, and Transylvania, 358; led by Tökölyi, 358; led by Francis Rákóczy II., 363; demands of, 394

Kuthen, King of the Kuns, settles in Hungary, 135; massacred by Batu Khan, 138

L

Labancz (Austrians), 357; surrender, 358

Laczkovics, John, 393; arrested, 395

Ladislaus, son of Béla, 109; ascends throne, 109; character of, 110; sides with Pope, 110; extends his kingdom, 111; routs the Kuns, 111; laws of, 112; buried at Grosswardein, 112; apparition of, 168

Ladislaus, son of Emeric, dies, 125

Ladislaus IV., 155; defeats Ottokar, 146; alliance with Rudolph, 147; death, 148

Ladislaus of Naples, penetrates into the interior of Hungary, 186; defeated, 186

Ladislaus V., King of Hungary, 212

Ladislaus, son of Hunyadi, assassinated, 218

Lands of the Sacred Crown, 374

Language, regulated according to nationality, 436; Magyar recognized as the official language, 437

Lazarevitch, Stephen, Prince of Servia, 191

Lehel, Duke, death of, 50

Leo the Wise, Emperor of Byzantium, 39

Leo X., Pope, 268

Leopold I., tries to conciliate the Turks, 331; defeats George Rákóczy II., 352; defeated by the Turks near Raab, 353; endeavors to make homogeneous empire, 354; imposes land and corn tax, 355; death, 366

Leopold II., ascends the throne, 387; crowned, 389; death, 390

Library of Matthias, 252; destroyed by Solyman, 289

Linz, Peace of, 327

Lissa, naval battle at, 438

Literature, leaders in, 404

Lithuanian insurrection, 172

Logody, Simon, heroically defends Shabatz, 224

Longobards, invited by Justinian to settle in Pannonia, 24; collision between, and Gepidæ, 25

Losonczy, Stephen, commander of garrison at Temesvár, 302; besieged by Ahmed Pasha, 302; tries to raise money, 303; writes last letters, 304; withdraws troops, 305; death, 305

Louis of Taranto marries Joanna, widow of Andrew, 167

Louis Laczfy, voyvode of Transylvania, defeated at Grosswardein, 168

Louis, son of Charles of Anjou, acknowledged heir to the throne of Poland, 162; ascends Hungarian throne, 164; swears revenge for his brother’s death, 166; subdues Naples, 167; puts an end to incursions from the East, 168; Servian victories, 169; Venetian victories, 169; offered the German crown, 170; crowned king of Poland, 172; death, 174

Louis II., son of Uladislaus, born, 266; crowned, 276; poverty of, 277; marries Mary of Austria, 283; defeated and killed at Mohács, 289

Lukács, Bishop of Cenád, 263

M

Magyars, 28; rebellion against, in 997, 59

Manuel, Emperor of the East, 118; offers peace to the Hungarians, 118; promises to adopt Béla heir, 119

Marcomanni, the, invasion of, 21

Maria Theresa, policy of, 368; appeals to the Hungarians, 370; gives Fiume to Hungary, 371; improves the material condition of Hungary, 372

Maritza, defeat of the Turks at, 171

Martinovics, Ignatius, leader of Hungarian Jacobins, 392; arrested, 395

Marton, Father, embassy of, to Ali Pasha, 300

Mary, daughter of Louis of Hungary; betrothed to Sigismund, son of the Emperor Charles IV., 170; proclaimed queen of Hungary, 175; marriage of, 176; made prisoner, 179; dies, 183

Mary, widow of Louis I., flies to Presburg, 292

Matthias, son of Hunyadi, proclaimed king, 217; chivalric character of, 220; victories over the German knight Holubar, 220; captures Vienna, 222; organizes _Black Troop_, 224; lays siege to Shabatz, 224; anecdotes of, 226; campaign against Frederic, 229; sends embassy to France, 233; to Naples, 234; reforms the laws, 240; capacity, 243; increases royal revenue, 246; dies, 256

Matthias, successor to Rudolph, 346

Maximilian, treaty with Uladislaus, 266

Maximilian of Austria, King of Hungary, 341

_Melancholy Magyars_, 49

Merseburg, battle of, 47

Mészáros, Lawrence, 270

Metternich, Prince, 408, 421

Mezid Bey, dispatched by the Sultan against the Hungarians, 198

Miecislas, wife of Béla, 103

Mohács, battle at, 288; slaughter at, 292

Mohammed I., Sultan, 190; Viceroy of Hervoga, 191

Mohammed II. makes Constantinople his capital, 212

Mongolians, invasion of, 137; defeat the Hungarians at Muhi, 139; retreat of, 141

Money (paper), issue of, 398

Morava or March, plain of, route of the Czech armies, 146

Moré, Michael, treachery of, 284

Muhi, battle of, 139

Murad, Sultan, death, 182

Mustapha II., Sultan, defeated by Duke Eugene near Zentu, 334

N

Nádasdy conspires against Leopold, I; seized and beheaded, 355

Nagy, Paul, 407

Nagy, Simon, 229

Napoleon endeavors to tempt the Hungarians from their Austrian allegiance, 397

National Assembly, 427

National Breeding Association, 411

National casino at Buda-Pesth, 411

National exhibition (1885), 17

National museum of Buda-Pesth, 402

_Nicopolis_, battle near, 183

Nickolsburg, treaty of, 328

Nobles arm under Báthory (Comes) and Csáky, 271; oppose the Austrian government, 343; poll-tax imposed upon by Leopold I., 356; _Honvéds_, national guard, 427

Nyáry, Paul, leader of the opposition, 428

O

Oláh, Blasius, 284

Ostyaks, 32

Ottakar, King of Bohemia, overthrown by Béla IV. and his sons, 145

Otto the Bavarian, assists Wenceslaus, 153; decoyed by the _vayvode_ of Transylvania, 154

Otto the Great, of Germany, 48

P

Palace of Matthias, 252; sacked by Solyman, 295

Palæologos, John (Emperor of the East), 171; visits Buda, 171

Palisna, John, delivers up Mary, wife of Sigismund, to Venice, 180

Pannonians, 18

Parliament (diet), 16; at Arad, 117

Patriots, persecutions of, 434

Pázmány, Cardinal Peter, 326; primate of Hungary, 347

Peasants, condition of, 269; oppressive laws for, 274

Peasant War, 267; end of, 273

Perényi, Francis, Bishop of Grosswardein, 287

Persecutions, 391

Pesti Hirlap (Pesth newspaper), 417

Petchenegs, defeated by Stephen, 79

Peter, successor to Stephen, 100; asks help of the German emperor, 100; takes oath of fealty to Germany, 100; rebellion against, 101; prisoner and deprived of sight, 102

Peterwardein, 287

Petöfi, Alexander, 422; death, 433

Philip of Taranto, son of Catherine of Valois, at Naples, 165

Pilgrin, Bishop of Passau, 55

Piso, Jacob, teacher of Louis, 257, 277;

Podrebrád, George, King of the Czechs, 242

Poland, troubles in, 172

Political divisions, 9

Porte, secretly promises aid against the Austrians, 357

Pragmatic Sanction, 369

Prague, root of the Czechs at, 348; peace of, 438

Press, liberty of, gained by the Revolution in 1848, 422

Presburg, battle of, 45; taken by the Turks, 293; taken by Bethlen, 348; diet at, 389

Protestantism, rise of, 320; loses ground in Hungary, 348

Protestants, laws against, 323; persecuted, 325; given equal rights by Stephen Bocskay, 326; persecuted by the Austrian government, 344; join the Czechs against the Hapsburgs, 348; freedom of worship interfered with, 361; receive religious freedom from Joseph II., 380

R

Raab, Turkish victory at, 353; French victory at, 398

Rákóczy, George I., Prince of Transylvania, 351

Rákóczy II., George of Transylvania, rebels against the Austrian rule, 334; retires to Poland, 335; victorious over the Germans and Turks, 352; defeated by Leopold, 352

Rákóczy, Francis, conspires against Leopold I., and estates confiscated, 355; leads new insurrection, 363

Rákos, diet at, 258; meeting of National assembly at, 265

Raven Knight, the, 196

Reformation, 282; in Hungary, 323

Religions, 14

Rivers and islands, 8

Roman influence, weakening of, 23

Roman emperors of Pannonian origin, 22

Rozgonyi, Cecilia, heroism of, 192

Rudolph of Hapsburg, alliance with Ladislaus IV., 145; letter to Ladislaus, 146

Rudolph, son of Maximilian, King of Hungary, 342; irritated with the Hungarian diet, 342; leaves Hungary for 25 years, 342; prohibits religious discussion in the diet, 345

Ruprecht, Emperor of Germany, dies, 187

Russ, Melchior, Swiss envoy, received by Matthias, 236

S

Sadowa, battle of, 438

Sarolta, wife of Duke Geyza, 51; mother of Stephen, 68

Selim, Sultan, vows to build mosques in Jerusalem, Buda, and Rome, 282

Semendria, fortress of, 196

Serbs, rebellion of, 426-428

Serédy, Caspar, 286

Servia, conquered by the Turks, 182

Shabatz, siege of, 224; siege of, by the Turks, 283; taken by the Turks, 284

Shamanism, 53; Magyars, religion of the, contains traces of the Parsee religion, 55

Sigismund, husband of Queen Mary, hypothecates the countries’ funds, 176; crowned king of Hungary, 179; marches into Croatia and Bosnia, 180; makes alliance with Manuel, Emperor of the East, 183; defeated by Bajazet, 184; imprisoned, 185; marries Barbara, daughter of Count Arminius Cilley, 186; establishes the Order of the Dragon, 186; elected emperor of Germany, 187; war with Venice, 188; travels of, 190; offered the crown of Bohemia, 192; death, 193

Sigismund Hampr, Bishop of Fünfkirchen, 263

Siklós, castle of Sigismund, 185

Silistria, conquered by the Turks, 182

Simon Kemény, 199

Slavonia, old constitution restored to, 437

Slovaks, sway of, 37

Slovenes, 37

Sobieski, John, of Poland, routs the Turks, 331

Solomon, son of Andrew, 104; betrothal of, 104; ascends throne, 108; feud with sons of Béla, 109; defeated at Mogyoród, 109; leads the life of a hermit, 109

Solyman the Magnificent, 282; sends ambassador to Louis II., attacks Shabatz and Belgrade, 283; invades Hungary, 286; defeats Louis at Mohács and enters Buda, 289; returns to Constantinople, 295; marches towards Vienna, 297; retreats after siege of Köszeg, 298; besieges Temesvár, 302; invades Hungary for the sixth time, 311; besieges Szigetvár, 311

Spalato, 141

Spanish war of succession, 364

Standing army, 369

States, general meeting of, 260

Stephen, baptism of, 57; rebellion against, 59; defeats Gyula and Khan, 60; first king of Hungary, 65; extinguishes the pagan faith, 72; founds abbeys, 80; munificence of, 82; constitutional reforms, 84; war with Conrad, 89; advice to his son, 91; chooses his successor, 95; death of, 95; canonization, 96

Stephen II., son of Coloman, ascends the throne, 116

Stephen III., son of Geyza, ascends the throne, 118; dies, 119

Stuhlweissenburg, capital of Hungary, 102; Wenceslaus crowned at, 152

Svatopluk, King of Moravia, 39; death of, 41

Sylvester II., Pope, confirms Hungarian bishoprics, 74; gives Stephen title of “Apostolic King,” 75; presents crown to Stephen, 75

Szalánkemén, complete rout of Turks at, 333

Szalkán, primate of Hungary, 267

Szalkay, Bishop, 285

Szapolyai, Governor of Vienna, sells Hungarian throne to Uladislaus of Poland, 261

Szapolyai, Stephen, aspires to the throne of Hungary, 265; attempts to murder Uladislaus, 266

Szechenyi, Stephen, statue of, 400; birth and history of, 402; travels, 404; speaks in Hungarian, 406; founds the Academy of Sciences, 407; first literary work, 409; “Credit,” 410; introduces horse-racing, 411; rivalry with Kossuth, 412; aristocratic tendencies of, 413; insanity and suicide, 429

Szécsi, Desiderius, death of, 161

Szerenc, Emeric, 280

Szigetvár besieged by Solyman, 312; death, 317.

Szondi, George, gallant defence of Drégel, 299; asks favor of Ali Pasha, 300; death, 301

Szörény, Turks repulsed by Kinizsy at, 264

T

_Talpra Magyar_, poem by Petöfi, 422

Táltos, Shamanish priests, 54

Tartars defeat Ráckóczy in Poland, 352

Tax, land and corn, imposed, by Leopold I., 355; oppressive, imposed, 362; made permanent, 369

Tax-poll, imposed on every inhabitant of Hungary, 356

Taxes, military aid invoked to collect, 437

Tcheremisses, 32

Tegetthoff, Admiral, 438

Telegdy, Stephen, protests against crusade, 268; killed, 271

Temesvár, royal seat of Charles Robert of Anjou, 157; siege of 302; taken by Turks, 305; restored to Hungary, 335

Theiss, battle of, 106; regulation of, 411

Thirty Years’ War, beginning of, 347

Throne, claimants to, 151

Thurzó, Alexius, lends money to King Louis, 280

Tilly routs the Czechs near Prague, 348

Tinódy, Sebastian, poem on siege of Szigetvár, 318

Tökölyi, head of the rebels, 358; proclaimed by the Porte king of Hungary, 359; exiled in Turkey, 363

Tömöry, Paul, defeats the Turks at Nagy-Olasz, 286; commander-in-chief at Mohács, 287

Torma, Andrew, heroically defends and is killed at Shabatz, 284.

Törok, Valentine, deserts Belgrade, 284

Trajan, campaign in Dacia, 20

Transylvania, gold and salt mines of, 20; still asserts independence, 306; forms a bulwark against the Turks, 320; under Bethlen, 348; downfall of, 351; devastated by Tartar hordes, 354; refuge for Hungarians, 357; remains a separate duchy, 361; old constitution restored to, 437

Trau, castle of, 141; siege of, 141

Treaty of peace signed, 334

Tripartite code, 274

_Turks_, defeated at Maritza, 171; invade Servia, 182; condition of, 190; a dangerous enemy, 197; defeated by Hunyadi, 200; victorious, 209; invade Albania, 210; defeated by Hunyadi near Belgrade, 214; repulsed near Szörény, 264; victorious at Mohács, 288; take Buda, 289; take Presburg, 293; take Drégel, 301; take Temesvár, 305; repulsed before Erlau, 311; take Szigetvár, 317; routed near Vienna, 339; defeated at Mohács, 333; completely routed near Szalánkemén, 333; annihilated by Duke Eugene, 334; defeated near Peterwardein, 335; oppose the increase of power of the house of Hapsburg, 339; seize Alföld, 340; treaty with the Germans, 351; attack Leopold, 353; invade Hungary, 359; defeated by Prince Eugene, 359

Two kings, the rivalry between, 295

U

Uladislaus, elected to the throne of Hungary, 210; King of Hungary and Poland, 203; defeated by the Turks, 209; dies, 210

Uladislaus of Poland, elected king of Hungary, 262; birth of son, Louis, 266; Anna of Candal, wife of Uladislaus, dies, 276; dies, 276

Ujlaky, Duke, molests the royal domains, 267

United States enthusiastic reception of Kossuth, 435

V

Vajdafy, leader of the forces of Sigismund, 181

Valentine, John, envoy from Ferrara, received by Matthias, 236

Various nationalities, 12, 13

Varna, Hunyadi’s victory at, 208

Vaskapu (Iron Gate), 5, 201, 411

Vata, rebellion of, 60

Vatha, leads Pagan rebellion against Peter, 102; defeat of, 103; James, son of, 106

Vatican, the relations with the Church of Hungary, 186

Venice, humiliation of, 169; beaten by the Hungarians, 188

Verboczy, Stephen, leader of party hostile to Uladislaus, 264; tripartite code, 274

Vezprém, engagement at, 60

Viddin conquered by the Turks, 182

Vienna, Matthias holds court at, 249; peace of, 346; besieged, 359; rebellion at, 429

Világos, battle near, 433

Visegrád, Charles of Anjou makes his residence at, 158; tournaments at, 159; guests at, 162; Matthias’ sojourn at, 236; gorgeousness of, 254

Voguls, 32

Volga and Danube, country between, 34

Votyaks, 32

Vörösmarty, Michael, 422

W

Wallachs, rising of, 385; led by Hora and Kloska, 385; rebellion of, 426

Wenceslaus, King of the Czechs, crowned at Stuhlweissenburg, 152

Wesselényi, palatine of Hungary, heads conspiracy against Leopold I., 355; dies, 355

Windischgratz, Prince, invades Hungary, 430; loses his position, 431

Wolfgang, tries to spread Christianity, 55

Z

Zalán, Bulgarian prince, 37

Zemplén, 395

Zenta, defeat of Turks at, 334

Zernivar, fortress of, 329

Ziska, John, of Bohemia, devastates Hungary, 210

Zoltán, son of Arpád, 38

Zrinyi, Nicholas, commander at Szigetvár, 311; begs aid from king, 312, tempted and threatened by Solyman, 314; makes oration to his soldiers, 317; death, 317, 329; annoys the Turks from his fortress of Zerinvár, 329; dies, 330

Zrinyi, Peter, conspires against Leopold I., seized and beheaded, 355

Zyrians, 32

The Story of the Nations.

MESSRS. G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS take pleasure in announcing that they have in course of publication a series of graphic historical studies, intended to present to the young the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history.

In the story form the current of each national life will be distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes will be presented for the young reader in their philosophical relation to each other as well as to universal history.

It will be the plan of the writers of the different volumes to enter into the real life of the peoples, and to bring them before the reader as they actually lived, labored, and struggled—as they studied and wrote, and as they amused themselves. In carrying out this plan, the myths, with which the history of all lands begins, will not be overlooked, though these will be carefully distinguished from the actual history, so far as the labors of the accepted historical authorities have resulted in definite conclusions.

It is proposed to have the series present the results of the latest investigations in the progressive department of historical research. Disputed points will, however, not be discussed, but, instead, the writers will present, in a simple, direct, and graphic style, the story of each land, utilizing also, to illuminate the narrative, the side lights that the poets and novelists have cast upon it.

Possessing a knowledge of and sympathy with the youthful way of looking at such subjects, the writers will not offer annals, arid and unconnected, nor bare chronological statements of events, however complete. They will not expect to include all details of minor importance, but, on the contrary, will try to present pictures adapted to leave faithful impressions of the essential facts.

The editors will endeavor to preserve a unity of design and execution that will enable the series to give to the reader a survey of the rise and progress of the nations sufficient to form a sound basis for subsequent reading and study; but it will not be attempted to cover in detail the entire ground of universal history.

The subjects of the different volumes will be planned to cover connecting and, as far as possible, consecutive epochs or periods, so that the set when completed will present in a comprehensive narrative the chief events in the great STORY OF THE NATIONS; but it will, of course, not always prove practicable to issue the several volumes in their chronological order.

The “Stories” are printed in good readable type, and in handsome 12mo form. They are adequately illustrated and furnished with maps and indexes. They are sold separately, at a price of $1.50 each.

The following is a partial list of the subjects thus far determined upon:

THE STORY OF EGYPT. Prof. GEORGE RAWLINSON. ” ” ” *CHALDEA. Z. RAGOZIN. ” ” ” *GREECE. Prof. JAMES A. HARRISON, Washington and Lee University. ” ” ” *ROME. ARTHUR GILMAN. ” ” ” *THE JEWS. Prof. JAMES K. HOSMER, Washington University of St. Louis. ” ” ” CARTHAGE. Prof. ALFRED J. CHURCH, University College, London. ” ” ” GAUL. ” ” ” BYZANTIUM. CHARLTON T. LEWIS. ” ” ” EARLY BRITAIN. Prof. ALFRED J. CHURCH. ” ” ” THE GOTHS. HENRY BRADLEY. ” ” ” THE NORMANS. SARAH O. JEWETT. ” ” ” PERSIA. S. G. W. BENJAMIN. ” ” ” *SPAIN. Rev. E. E. and SUSAN HALE. ” ” ” *GERMANY. S. BARING GOULD. ” ” ” THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. ” ” ” HOLLAND. Prof. C. E. THOROLD ROGERS. ” ” ” *NORWAY. HJALMAR H. BOYESEN. ” ” ” THE MOORS IN SPAIN. STANLEY LANE-POOLE. ” ” ” *HUNGARY. Prof. A. VÁMBÉRY. ” ” ” THE ITALIAN KINGDOM. W. L. ALDEN.

* (The volumes starred are now ready, August, 1886.)

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

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