William Penn Life, 2018 (53. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2018-03-01 / 3. szám

Inside, he came upon a band of gypsies sitting around a fire. Lajos had never spoken to any "cigány" in his life, and didn't know in which language he should greet them: Magyar? Slovak? Roma? So, he wished themjó napot, "good day" in Hungarian. The greeting was returned in Hungarian by the friendly chief of the gypsies. They asked him to sit with them and started a conversation.

As Lajos sat in the middle of a semi-dark, dreary room, still in awe, a sudden strong, eerie, shrill voice broke the silence. Lajos was surprised and stunned by this sudden change around him. An old gypsy woman came towards him and grabbed his hand, smiling and started telling his fortune. Her voice sounded as if it was coming from the bottom of the earth.

"Hear this!" she said. "You will be a great man.

Soon the time will come when your fame and reputation will be spread all over the country. Te leszel az ország felszabadítója. (You will be the liberator of your country.)"

The boy was stunned and astonished. The elements outside were still in an uproar-lightning, wind and thunder. But, inside the boy's heart, something had changed. He took these words seriously. Thus, the seeds of liberty and justice were planted firmly in his being.

Kossuth would later write in his memoirs that he didn't believe in fortune tellers, but that moment in time led him on the path of following the call of liberty.

And the rest is history.

Maria Aczél Schauer is a member of Branch 28 Youngstown, Ohio.

WILLIAM PENN LIFE 0 March 2018 0 13