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Kossuth in England" is, the extraordinary genius which he has for saying the right thing in the right place. Of the speeches now reported, not one could change its locality without manifest disadvantage. The City speech was precisely adapted to the City, the Manchester speech would not have done at Winchester,-nor that delivered at Southampton at Copenhagen Fields. Not that the views and opinions are in any respect contradictory; but in each there is a special tone, a particular line of argument, exactly calculated to suit the audience before him. If M. Kossuth had lived in England all his days, we do not see how he could have displayed a nicer knowledge of our local peculiarities, pursuits, and character than he now does.

As samples of oratorical art these remarkable speeches constitute a study. How frank and simple-how shaped to disarm hostility and inspire confidence-were the first few words uttered by the Exile in England!—

nervous and excited. There are many that misuse this sacred word as a blasphemy. They call social order absolutism; they call social order when humanity is put into a prison; they call social order the silence of the grave. This 30th of October has presented to the world a spectacle which, once seen, I proudly proclaim that no Czars and Emperors of Austria have the right or can have the pretension to speak more of social order. Here is social order in London; and by whom watched? I had my thousands and thousands of the people rushing forward, not with the effusion of blood, but with the warm enthusiasm of noble hearts, to cheer liberty and the principle of freedom in my poor humble self. And what is the safeguard of social order in this meeting of the people? I asked the attention of Lord Dudley Stuart: Let us look how many policemen are present. I have seen four.' Such a scene, my Lord, for the Czars and Emperors, and all men ambitious, who may be called Presidents, for they are all the same thing, no matter how called! They would have had their 20,000 bayonets, and I do not know how many open and secret spies; they would have safeguarded by arms and cannon-what? Social order? No. Against whom? Against foes and enemies of social order? No; against their own people.”

How well the orator chose his moment at Manchester to dispose of the assertion that were it not for himself and two or three other persons the European world would be peaceable and content with its present condition! He had been speaking of the imminency of the next great struggle between liberty and brute force,-between the citizen and the soldier,-when he suddenly turned the flank of his opponents as follows:

"I beg you will excuse my bad English. Seven weeks back I was a prisoner in Kutayah, in Asia Minor. Now I am a free man. I am a free man because glorious England chose it. That England chose it which the genius of mankind selected for the resting monument of its greatness, and the spirit of freedom for his happy home. Cheered by your sympathy, which is the anchor of hope to oppressed humanity, with the view of your freedom, your greatness, and your happiness, and with the consciousness of my unhappy land in my breast, you must excuse me for the emotion I feel, the natural consequence of so striking a change and so different circumstances. So, excuse me for not being able to thank you so warm"The dragon of oppression draws near, but the ly as I feel for the generous reception in which St. George of liberty is ready to wrestle with him. you honor in my undeserving person the cause of How can I state that this struggle is so near? my country. I only hope God Almighty may for Why, I state it because IT IS. Every man knows ever bless you and your glorious land. Let me it; every man feels it; every man sees it. A hope you will be willing to throw a ray of hope philosopher was once questioned how he could and consolation on my native land, by this your prove the existence of God? Why,' answered generous reception. May England be ever great, he, by opening my eyes.' God is seen everyglorious, and free; but let me hope, by the blessing where. In the growth of the grass, and in the of Almighty God, and by our own steady perse- movements of the stars; in the warbling of the verance, and by your own generous aid, that Eng-lark, and in the thunder of the heavens. Even so land, though she may ever remain the most glorious spot on earth, will not remain for ever the only one where freedom dwells."

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I prove that the decisive struggle of mankind's destinies draws near: I appeal to the sight of your eyes, to the pulsations of your hearts, and to the judgment of your minds. You know it, you see it, you feel it, that the judgment is drawing near. How blind are those men who have the

affectation to believe, or at least to assert, that it is only certain men who push the revolution on the continent of Europe, which, but for their revolutionary plots, would be quiet and content. Content! With what? With oppression and servitude? France content with its constitution turned into a pasquinade! Germany content at being but a flock of sheep pent up to be shorn by some thirty petty tyrants! Switzerland content

with the threatening ambition of encroaching despots! Italy content with the King of Naples, or with the priestly Government of Rome--the worst of human invention! Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, Dalmatia, content with having been driven to butchery after having been deceived, oppressed, and laughed at as fools! Poland content with being murdered! Hungary, my poor Hungary, content with being more than murdered-buried alive. Because it is alive! ** Russia content with slavery! Vienna, Flensburg, Pesth, Lombardy, Milan, Venice, content with having been bombarded, burnt, sacked, and their population butchered! And half of Europe content with the scaffold, the hangman, the prison; with having no political rights at all, but having to pay innumerable millions for the high, beneficial purpose of being kept in serfdom? That is the condition of the continent of Europe,—and is it not ridicu lous to see and hear men prate about individuals disturbing the contented tranquillity of Europe?"

Nor was the question supposed by M. Kossuth to be now at issue on the European continent less clearly and strikingly placed before the same audience. The decision of this question, he had told them, is of interest for every people, as it may affect the fate of mankind for generations to come; and the warning with which the passage closes had a solemn and almost Cassandrian dignity of

tone:

"No country," he said, "no nation, however proud its position, none within the boundaries of the Christian family and of European civilization, can avoid a share of the consequences of this comprehensive question, which will be the proximate fate of humanity. I scarcely need to say that this comprehensive question is whether Europe should be ruled by the principle of freedom or by the principle of despotism. To bring more home in a practical way to your generous hearts that idea of freedom, the question is whether Europe shall be ruled by the principle of of centralization or by the principle of self-government. Because self-government is freedom, and centrali zation is absolutism. What! shall freedom die away for centuries, and mankind become nothing more than a blind instrument for the ambition of a few; or shall the brand of servitude be wiped away from the brow of humanity? Woe, a thousandfold woe, to every nation which, confident in its proud position of to-day, shall carelessly regard the all-comprehensive struggle for these great principles. It is the mythical struggle between heaven and hell. To be blessed or to be damned is the lot of all; there is no transition between heaven and hell. Woe, a thousandfold woe, to every nation which will not embrace within its sorrows and its cares the future, but only the passing moment of the present time. As the sun looms through the mist before it rises, so the future is seen in the events of the present day."

Of all the speeches made by M. Kossuth

in England, that delivered at Birmingham was the most characteristic and impressive. In the main calm and logical, full of facts, and varied with figures,-it nevertheless contains some of the finest pathos and most eloquent passion in language. The best harangues of Sheridan look cold by the side of the great Magyar's thrilling words. The exordium is perhaps not unworthy to rank with that of any of the masterpieces of eloquence-with the oration against Eschines and the First against Catiline. Thus dashed the great Hungarian, like a charge of his country's magnificent horse, at the Austri

ans:

which had chiefly me to thank for not having Three years ago, yonder house of Austriabeen swept away by 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 existsnce 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 fatherdreadful, could be but a faint shadow of the horland. Having made the sketch, which, however rible reality, I proceeded to explain the alternative which our terrible destiny left to us, after the failure of all our attempts to avert the evil,--to present the neck of the realm to the deadly stroke aimed at its very life, or to bear up against the horrors of fate, and manfully to fight the battle of legitimate defence. Scarcely had I spoken the words,-scarcely had I added 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 stood, in a calm and silent majesty, awaiting what further word might fall from my lips. And for myself: it was my duty to speak, but the grandeur of the moment, and the rushing waves of sentiment, benumbed my tongue. A burning tear fell from my eyes, a sigh of adoration to the Almighty Lord fluttered on my lips; and, bowing low before the majority of my people,--as I bow now before you, gentlemen--I left the tribunal silently, speechless, mute."

Here the orator paused for a moment,and then added :—

"Pardon me my emotion,--the shadows of our martyrs pass before my eyes; I hear the millions death!" " of my native land once more shouting, ‘Liberty or

We remember reading an account of the scene in the Hungarian Parliament to which this impressive reference is made. Kossuth's

before the memory of my suffering people; allow me to bear witness before you, that the people of Magyars can take, with noble self-esteem, a place proud to be a Magyar. While, during our holy view of your greatness, to proclaim that I feel struggle, we were secluded from the world, our enemies, wanting to cover their crimes by lies, told you the tale that we are in Hungary but an insigstirred up by foul delusions to the fury of civil Well, I feel proud at my country's strength. They

words were few, but they acted like inspiration on the Magyar deputies. He said, amidst profound silence:-"I enter the tribune to appeal to you for saving your father-in the great family of nations; allow me, even in land. I feel the awful importance of the moment; I feel as if God had placed the trumpet in my hand, to rouse the nation from her dream, and to awaken her to a new and eternal life if she yet possess vital sub-nificant party, and this party fanaticized by myself. stance, or to condemn her to everlasting death if she is cowardly." The Assembly did not even await the conclusion, but rose to a man, and unanimously adopted the motion by the exclamation "Megadjuk!" (granted!) Kossuth answered:-"That it was which I would beg of you, deputies of my country! but you anticipated me, and I deeply bow to the greatness of this nation."

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war our Croat, Wallach, Serb, and Slovach brethren against us. It did not suffice. The house of Austria poured all his forces upon us; still it would not do. We beat them down! The proud dynasty had to stoop at the foot of the Czar. He thrust his legions upon us. *Afterwards, the scorned party turned out to be a nation, and a valiant one; but still they said it is I who inPowerful and dramatic as this must be inspiring such a nation, and to such a degree. spired it. Perhaps there might be some glory in confessed to be, it is surpassed by some other But I cannot accept the praise. No; it is not I passages in the orator's Birmingham address. who inspired the Hungarian people,—it was the What, for instance, in the literature of elo-Hungarian people who inspired me. Whatever quence, is finer than the allusion to his own representative character?

"You remember [he said] Paulus Æmilius, whose triumph by a whim of fate was placed between the tombs of his two sons. You remember his quite Roman words-' Cladem domûs meæ vestra felicitas consolatur.' Were there anything in the world able to console a Magyar for the misfortunes of his fatherland, here is the place where I would repeat the words of yonder Roman son! But, alas! even here where I am, and so

surrounded as I am, still I feel myself a homeless exile,—and all that I see carries back my memory to my down-trodden land. Sorrow takes deeper root in human breasts than joys; one must be an exile, and the home of the poor exile must be suffering as mine is, that the heart of man can feel the boundless intensity of the love of home. Strange it may appear to you, the roots of my life are not within myself, my individuality is absorbed in this thought, 'Freedom and Fatherland What is the key of that boundless faith and trust my people bear to me, their plain unpretending brother, a faith and confidence seldom to be met in like manner in his way? What is the key of it, that this faith, this confidence, stands still fast, neither troubled by the deluge of calumnies, nor broken by adversities? It is that my people took, and take me still, for the incarnated personification of their wishes, their sentiments, their affections, and their hopes. Is it not then quite natural that the woes of my people also should be embodied in myself? I have the concentrated woes of millions of Magyars in my breast. And allow me, gentlemen, a sort of national self-esteem in that respect. * * To me, a Hungarian, that sort of sentiment may not be becoming which befits a British man, who, whatever be his personal merits, puts-and with right-his greatest pride in the idea to be a citizen of Great Britain; still, allow me to prostrate myself in spirit

I thought, and still think,-whatever I felt, and still feel, it is but a feeble pulsation of that heart which in the breast of my people beats. history-theirs are the laurels of immortality. And The glory of battles is ascribed to the leaders, in yet on meeting the danger, they knew that, alive or dead, their names will upon the lips of the people for ever live. How different, how purer, is the light spread on the image of thousands of the people's will lie unknown, their names unhonored and unsons, who, knowing that where they fall they sung, but who, nevertheless, animated by the love of freedom and fatherland, went on calmly, singing national anthems, against the batteries whose cross-fire vomited death and destruction on them, and took them without firing a shot--they who fell, falling with the shout, Hurrah for Hungary! And so they died by thousands, the unnamed demigods."

Not less lofty in tone and poetical in thought is the following paragraph:—

"Still they say it is I who have inspired them. No; a thousand times, no! It is they who have inspired me. The moment of death, gentlemen, is a dreary one. Even the features of Cato partook of the impression of this dreariness. A shadow passed over the brow of Socrates on drinking the hemlock cup. With us, those who beheld the nameless victims of the love of country, lying on the death field beneath Buda's walls, met but the expression of a smile on the frozen lips of the dead, and the dying answered those who would console, but by the words, Never mind; Buda is ours. Hurrah for the fatherland!' So they spoke and died. He who witnessed such scenes, not as an exception, but as a constant rule, he who saw the adolescent weep when told he was yet too young to die for his land; he who saw the sacrifices of spontaneity; he who heard what a fury spread over the people on hearing of

the catastrophe; he who marked his behavior, towards the victors, after all was lost; he who knows what sort of curse is mixed in the prayers of the Magyar, and knows what sort of sentiment is burning alike in the breast of the old and of the young, of the strong man and of the tender wife-and ever will be burning on, till the hour of national resurrection strikes; he who is aware of all this will surely bow before this people with respect, and will acknowledge, with me, that such a people wants not to be inspired, but that it is an everlasting source of inspiration itself. This is the people of Hungary!"

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speeches whose titles are placed at the head
of this article we need not say much,-since
we cannot say anything in their favor.
up in haste to meet a sudden demand, they
are almost of necessity extremely imperfect.
Some of the earlier specches are best re-
ported by Mr. Gilpin; but the last and
greatest, the address at Birmingham, is very
badly given in his copy. Messrs. Bradbury
& Evans render an excellent report of the
Birmingham speech,-and it is from their
edition that we have taken our illustrative
extracts; but their other reports are often

Of the two collections of M. Kossuth's meagre and unsatisfactory.

From Bentley's Miscellany.

A VISIT TO THE GREAT SKELLIG ROCK.

By dint of sharp walking we arrived at Cahirciveen, just as the night came on. About a couple of miles from this town we saw the huge mansion of Mr. Charles O'Connell, built in the middle of a wild black bog, without a single tree or shrub to distract the eye from the monotony around. Truly a man might as well plant himself down in the marshes of Australia as here; yet if his object be to shun mankind, he will probably succeed to his heart's content. Not very far from this, at the bottom of a small creek, are the ruins of what was probably a considerable farm-house, where the celebrated Daniel O'Connell-or, as they style him in this part of the country, Liberathur-was born. The ruined tenement is called "Old Carnes," and stands on ground now belonging to the individual born there. The immediate vicinity is rather pretty, and a hill planted with fir and larch overhanging the creek is a picturesque feature. Here it was that Mr. O'Connell's father-whose real name was Connell, the O' having been assumed by his sonlived, and made some little money by retailing all kinds of goods. It was his brother, however, well known in Kerry as "Hunting Cap Connell," who patronized the gossoon, and to him may Ireland consider herself indebted for the benefits or evils-we are no politicians-conferred on her by the Liber

| athur. When yet a boy, this same Hunting Cap transferred him from Old Carnes to Derrynane, and after forwarding his education in France, and the Dublin University, died, leaving the abbey to his nephew. Had we space, we might be disposed to introduce. some curious anecdotes relative to the Hunting Cap, for he was extremely singular in his habits. Indeed he was always looked upon with a species of awe, approaching to veneration, by all the peasantry; and it is more than probable that those wedges of gold, which were ever and anon cast up on the beach--by a blessed Providence, as he said-not a little tended to impress the neighbors with this feeling.

It was quite dark when we entered Cahirciveen, and had it not been for our wish to sleep in. Valentia, and thus achieve the triumph of carrying into effect the plan of the morning, we should have remained in this town. The ferry was distant two miles, and when we arrived at the shore we found all the boatmen absent, and the boats hauled up. This was provoking, but with the lights of Valentia in view, the distance across being but little more than a quarter of a mile, it would have betrayed a sad want of spirit not to persevere.

The boats were not very heavy-there was one close to the water, and after some

searching we found a couple of oars. We also succeeded in rousing a lad, who said he was one of the boatmen's sons; and pressing him into our service, we managed to launch the boat. Pulling briskly, we were under the island in a few minutes. Having landed, we bent our steps to a solitary light burning in the hotel, and those who have gone through such a day of adventure and fatigue as I have attempted to describe, will best be able to appreciate our feelings when, at past midnight, we found ourselves ensconced in a comfortable parlor, with the happy prospect of a good supper and a clean bed.

The following morning was most lovely, and it was difficult to believe that the previous day had witnessed such a storm. We went, after breakfast, to visit the slate quarries, for which the island is celebrated, and as they are of an interesting nature, I shall briefly describe them. They lie on the northern side of the island, about two miles from the town of the same name, and at an elevation of about eight hundred feet above the sea, though not immediately over it.

The workings are pretty extensive, and penetrate to a considerable depth, The slate-stone is detached in large slabs, some measuring upwards of twenty feet in length, and six in breadth. A steam engine is employed to drive machinery, constructed for planing and sawing the stone, after which it passes through various hands, according to the purposes it is intended for.

extensive, and the eye wanders for miles along the picturesque outlines of the Kerry mountains, until they become lost in the distance. One of the most remarkable objects in the panorama is the Great Skellig, which is situated about eight miles south of Valentia, and twelve from the main land. This is a stupendous mass of rock, rising majestically from the sea to the height of one hundred and eighty feet, and being divided into two pyramidal summits, the highest of which towers to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet above high-water mark, and terminates in a mere point.

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As I shall have occasion to speak more at length concerning this, I refrain from doing more than mentioning it now, as one of the most striking features of the view from the highlands of Valentia.

I could not avoid paying considerable attention to the harbor, which lay as a map beneath me, and concerning which so much has been said and written with reference to its being made a steam-packet station. Setting aside its own immediate advantages, which appear to me to have been much exaggerated, the great difficulty of communication with the mainland seems an insurmountable objection; and, as for constructing a railway direct to Dublin, the bare idea is absurd. Not all the shipping that could ride in the harbor, supposing the latter to be constantly full, would pay for so prodigious an outlay; and, I apprehend, it is equally certain that the internal trade of Ireland could never make up the deficiency. In fine, the idea of ever establishing an American steam-packet station at Valentia seems so chimerical, that I conceive it could only have originated with some one highly interested in the accomplishment of such a scheme. 2 cwt. 2 qrs. 22 lbs. The Shannon has always appeared to me a far more appropriate site, and the circumstance of having a water conveyance to Dublin not a little in its favor. Ships of the largest tonnage can ascend to within twenty miles of Limerick; thus bringing the station ninety miles nearer the metropolis.

Its main qualities are strength, durability, and non-absorbent properties; and, as regards the first, experiments made by command of the Board of Ordnance showed that to break slabs of equal dimensions required a weight of--

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And on trial by the hydro-mechanical press, it was found to bear a greater pressure than any of the granites. I believe this stone has been used successfully in many of the public buildings in London. The quarries are the property of the Knight of Kerry, and are worked by him; they are capable of great extension-in fact, the supply may be deemed almost exhaustless-but a want of capital necessarily fetters the owner's enterprise. Were they on English ground, how different would be the scene!-instead of a couple of hundred, the number of men employed then would be a thousand at least.

The view from the summit of the island is

We had determined, before leaving Valentia, on visiting, if possible, the far-famed Skellig rock, to which I have alluded, but as this can only be attempted during the calmest and most settled weather, we were obliged to wait until the sea became somewhat more tranquil. The difficulty and danger attendant on a pilgrimage to the summit of this extraordinary rock, coupled with the romance attached to it, heightened its interest in my eyes. With considerable pleasure,

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