This work made Széchény very popular; but as yet his countrymen regarded him only as an able engineer. He soon showed himself, however, a politician and publicist of the highest rank, by a number of pamphlets published in quick succession, advocating with great eloquence and ability some important changes in the constitution of the state and the relations between the peasants and the nobility. These pamphlets were the first productions of importance written, not in Latin or German, but in the Magyar tongue. Széchény knew his countrymen well, and was aware how much favor might be conciliated for his schemes by this innovation in language. His arguments were directed chiefly against the tithes, road-tax, duty-services, and other feudal burdens on the land, and against the exemption of the nobility from taxation. He proposed to redeem the tithes and the road-tax by means of a national loan, after the example that had been successfully set in several of the German states. Following up warmly in the Diet the schemes which he had broached in his pamphlets, he soon had the satisfaction of finding himself at the head of a numerous and active party, both in the legislature and the country at large, who eagerly seconded his designs. The discussion was carried on with great spirit on both sides, and the interest which it excited threw all other subjects into the shade. "The old feudal edifice erected by St. Stephen, fortified by Andreas II., besieged and breached for three centuries by Austria, was to open its gates to a more powerful assailant, the spirit of the age." The Diet of 1836 adopted several of Széchény's proposed reforms; other steps in the same direction were taken by that of 1840; and the discussion of others was interrupted only by the thunder of the revolutions of Paris and Vienna. Among the many disastrous consequences of those great convulsions, perhaps the most lamentable of all was the interruption, the ruin, of Széchény's work of peaceful reform in Hungary.

The brilliant reputation which Széchény acquired was earned as much by his temperance, and his regard for justice and the rights of all, as by the boldness of the changes that he proposed. "I wish," he remarked, "to awaken my countrymen so that they may walk, and not that they may throw themselves out of the window." His popularity became immense.

His name was in every mouth, and the

counties vied with each other in sending him addresses of congratulation and rights of citizenship. When he arrived in any village, the peasants went out to meet him with music, and called him their father and liberator. The Diet of Transylvania sent him an entire gold pen several feet in length, and the national academy, the circle of the nobility, and the institute of the Hungarian language, at the same time, elected him their president. His name was given to the first steamboat which glided down the lower Danube; and in every drawing room at Pesth, the stranger might see an engraving in which Széchény appeared in a sort of apotheosis surrounded by luminous clouds, while beneath Hungary was represented as coming out of chaos, and the Danube, covered by vessels of all nations, flowed on majestically, not fretted by rocks or rapids, towards the sea. It is afflicting to be obliged to add, that when, in 1848, Count Széchény saw his great work interrupted, his popularity overcast, his place usurped by demagogues and radicals of the lowest stamp, and his country wrapped in the flames of a civil war, the shock was too great for his reason, and he made an attempt on his life. He threw himself into the Danube, whence he was rescued with difficulty, to be still preserved, let us hope, till he can again reap his reward from the returning reason of his countrymen.

It is much to the credit of the Austrian government, that although Széchény was the leader of the constitutional opposition in the Diet, it adopted nearly all his projects of reform, and submitted them, under the form of royal propositions, to be discussed by both houses. Strange to say, also, these propositions were received with most favor in the upper house; many of the magnates, especially the younger ones, warmly welcomed the new ideas of progress and social reform. "I do not know any class of men," says Langsdorff, "who, by their character, their liberality, and their devotion to the common good, merit more fully the high prerogatives they enjoy than these Hungarian magnates. A noble and chivalrous race, they are still worthy of the eulogy which Montesquieu pronounced upon them; their valor amounts to heroism in fight, their generosity to self-sacrifice so far as wealth is concerned." In their voluntary contributions to benevolent and national objects, they put to shame the munificence of the

rich in England. Thus, to the national academy established in 1827, for the propagation and improvement of the Magyar language, Count Széchény gave $30,000, Prince Bathiany nearly as much, Count Karoly $25,000, and the two Esterhazys about $16,000. This object, it is true, is regarded as one of vast interest and importance in Hungary, where attachment to the Magyar language is considered the true measure of one's patriotism. Thus, a military school was founded about twenty years ago, for the benefit of the children of the poor nobility. The government approved the project, and from the liberal contributions of the magnates, a splendid edifice was erected. Up to the last moment it had been taken for granted, that in all the exercises of the institution the Magyar language alone would be used. But just as the school was about to be opened, the government decided, very reasonably, that this would destroy all unity of action in the imperial army, in which the words of command must necessarily be given in German. An order was consequently issued, that the Magyar language should not be used in the school; and the effect was that not a single pupil presented himself for admission. To this day, the building, a large and handsome structure, has remained unoccupied.

The opposition to Széchény's plans proceeded chiefly from the inferior or untitled nobility, who feared that the overthrow of the ancient feudal constitution would also be the downfall of the inordinate privileges and political influence of their order. They were the only class who were benefited by the retention of antiquated customs; the magnates, with their vast landed estates, and having the entire control of the upper house in the Diet, would still be predominant in the state, even if their feudal privileges should be swept away. But the lesser nobles, many of whom are quite poor, would have no more power than the burghers of the free cities, or the wealthier class of the emancipated peasants, if the historical ground should be taken away from them, and the abuses and inequalities of the feudal system abolished. The ancient

constitution of Hungary was made, as we have seen, solely for the benefit of this class; in their favor, for the protection of their order, the Golden Bull of Andreas II. had been issued. Hitherto every one of their number had called himself a member of the crown of Hungary; he was a part of

Many of the characteristics of the Magyar race interest the imagination and the feelings strongly in their favor; but the sober judgment of one who looks at them under all the light derived from the improved civilization of the nineteenth century cannot but condemn their position as a false one, their institutions as antiquated, and their character and customs as little suited to promote their intellectual and material well-being. The most intelligent among them have long admitted the necessity of great reforms, and during the twenty years which immediately preceded the recent war, many beneficial changes were actually made, and the way was paved for others of greater moment. The credit of these ameliorations is chiefly due to Count Széchény, one of the noblest and best reformers of whom any age or country can boast. Having a princely fortune, an enterprising and generous disposition, and an intellect thoroughly cultivated by books and foreign travel, joining the enthusiasm and the perseverance of a reformer to the practical skill and tact of a statesman, and being both an accomplished writer and an eloquent and practised debater, he has accomplished so much for his country that she owes him a larger debt of gratitude than is due to all her sovereigns and warriors united. His first enterprise, commenced twenty years since, was an attempt to improve the navigation of the Danube, a work of immense importance, as we have shown, to the prosperity of the country. The obstructions in the river were so great, that only large rafts and some rude bateaux were sent down stream, to be broken up when they had once arrived at the Black Sea. Széchény built at his own expense a light and stout boat in which he descended the river himself, and ascertained that the rocks and rapids were not so formidable as had been supposed. He then organized a company for removing the greatest obstacles from the bed of the stream, and placing a line of steamboats upon it. The undertaking had complete success, and within one year the boats were plying regularly from Ratisbon to Vienna, and from Vienna to Constantinople. The enterprise excited great enthusiasm in Hungary; the Austrian government favored it, and contributed largely for its execution. Metternich himself was pleased, and became one of the first stockholders, though he laughed at the boasting of the Magyars respecting it, "who thought they had invented the Danube."

This work made Széchény very popular; but as yet his countrymen regarded him only as an able engineer. He soon showed himself, however, a politician and publicist of the highest rank, by a number of pamphlets published in quick succession, advocating with great eloquence and ability some important changes in the constitution of the state and the relations between the peasants and the nobility. These pamphlets were the first productions of importance written, not in Latin or German, but in the Magyar tongue. Széchény knew his countrymen well, and was aware how much favor might be conciliated for his schemes by this innovation in language. His arguments were directed chiefly against the tithes, road-tax, duty-services, and other feudal burdens on the land, and against the exemption of the nobility from taxation. He proposed to redeem the tithes and the road-tax by means of a national loan, after the example that had been successfully set in several of the German states. Following up warmly in the Diet the schemes which he had broached in his pamphlets, he soon had the satisfaction of finding himself at the head of a numerous and active party, both in the legislature and the country at large, who eagerly seconded his designs. The discussion was carried on with great spirit on both sides, and the interest which it excited threw all other subjects into the shade. "The old feudal edifice erected by St. Stephen, fortified by Andreas II., besieged and breached for three centuries by Austria, was to open its gates to a more powerful assailant, the spirit of the age.' The Diet of 1836 adopted several of Széchény's proposed reforms; other steps in the same direction were taken by that of 1840; and the discussion of others was interrupted only by the thunder of the revolutions of Paris and Vienna. Among the many disastrous consequences of those great convulsions, perhaps the most lamentable of all was the interruption, the ruin, of Széchény's work of peaceful reform in Hungary.

The brilliant reputation which Széchény acquired was earned as much by his temperance, and his regard for justice and the rights of all, as by the boldness of the changes that he proposed. "I wish," he remarked, "to awaken my countrymen so that they may walk, and not that they may throw themselves out of the window." His popularity became immense.

His name was in every mouth, and the