William Penn Life, 2018 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2018-03-01 / 3. szám
Birth of a hero Book describes how Lajos Kossuth’s path to becoming the liberator of his country began in his childhood About six years ago, my daughter-in-law Nicholle presented us with a large portrait that she bought at a yard sale. She didn't know who the subject of the portrait was. "He looks so Hungarian," she said, "so I bought it for you. The frame alone is worth more than what I paid for it." And, there I was, holding in my hands a portrait of the "Father of the Hungarian Nation"-Lajos (Louis) Kossuth. ************************************************************* Recently, I went through my Hungarian library collection, looking for a fun and entertaining book about the Hungarians. A book entitled Egy Nép Szerelme (A People in Love) caught my eye, so I started reading it. However, it was not what I expected. Instead of a romantic novel, I was reading about the life of the great orator Lajos Kossuth. The book's author is Otto Zarek, of whom I had never heard. But, as I later found out, he was a very well known German writer who was so impressed with the great Hungarian leader that he went to Hungary and spent over a year doing research on Kossuth's life. The details of Kossuth's life as a great leader are familiar to many. What intrigues me more are his childhood years. Most don't know much about his formative years, his father, his mother or his three younger sisters. After reading this book, I now have some insight. He was born in the village of Monok, Zemplén Megye, south of the Carpathian Mountains, in the rolling hills of the Tokay region. The year was 1802 in the month of September. We do not know the exact date; even in his writings, Kossuth said "it was between the 16th and the 19th." So, in Hungary today, they celebrate his birthday on the 19th. His father László was of noble birth (born in the village of Kossuthfalva) but without wealth (a bocskoros nemesek közé tartozott). László was a well-known and respected attorney in the village; his house was large and more of the upper class style. His mother was Gizella Weber, a woman of German heritage, who spoke German to the children. She was very proud of her ancestry, especially Andrew Weber, who was sent to the gallows for defending and standing by his Protestant faith. László, Gizella and their family were staunch Lutherans, very religious and God fearing. On Sunday mornings, they gathered in the family library where the father read the big family Bible, slowly and devoutly. The rest of the family shared in the reading of the Psalms and devotions. This was one of Kossuth's most cherished memories, recalling his father opening the large, gold-crested Bible and reading it in the Hungarian language to the family. No portrait of Lajos Kossuth as a child exists, but he was described as having dark blond, curly hair framing his rosy cheeks and sparkling blue eyes. While growing up, he learned to speak three languages: Hungarian from his father and the villagers, German from his mother and Slovak from the servants working in the house and in the fields. Young Lajos began learning about injustice in his formative years. He learned that honesty and standing your ground for what you believe is not always respected. He believed in honesty, obedience, and respect for others. His father—being strict, hard-headed and proud—forbade the boy to play with the village children. One time when Lajos was 12 years old, the elder Kossuth saw his son around the village children. Lajos was only watching them play, but his father thought he was playing with them and became so angry that he grabbed and beat the boy and treated him harshly. The father thought the boy learned his lesson and dismissed the incident. But, young Lajos felt differently. His pride was hurt and he felt an injustice was done to him. He refused to come to the dinner table. His mother begged him to ask for forgiveness and come and eat, but young Lajos said, "I would rather die than ask forgiveness for something that I didn't do." He would not give in. In the end, his father was the one who asked to be forgiven. Another incident took place in boarding school when Lajos was 14. He was well liked by the other boys and his teacher. The teacher was arrogant, mean and unfriendly, and the children trembled when he entered the classroom. Young Lajos stood up to him, defending his classmates. The enraged teacher was going to punish him, but Lajos ran out of the classroom, pale-faced, angry and determined. The shocked teacher sent a couple of boys after him in case he would harm himself, which was his intention. They caught up with him on the bridge of the Bodrog River as he was ready to jump. One of Kossuth's favorite pastimes, which was instilled in him at a young age by one of his teachers, was a love of nature. He learned all about the plants, trees, birds and animals in his area. With his flute in hand, he would spend hours in the vineyards, woods and fields. He was in love with nature; he was a romantic. One day when he was 14 and roaming the dark forest, a terrible wild storm caught him by surprise. He ran from the thunder and lightning, but wasn't sure which way to run. Eventually, he reached a clearing where he spotted a gypsy shack. He ran towards it, not thinking about the dangerous reputation of the gypsies, and went straight in. Daguerreotype of Lajos Kossuth taken in 1851 or 1852 in New York. 12 0 March 2018 0 WILLIAM PENN LIFE
