398 SURRENDER OF ARAD. herd of cattle, by the Cossacks, to the neighbouring village of Zarand. An unprecedented day, the 13th of August, for Hungary! On the pages of its history many a most disastrous day may be found, but the 13th of August was a day of disaster coupled with ineffable shame. Never have the Russian arms gained such an easy victory, never could the Czar have dreamed of so speedily and entirely humiliating the Circassians of Austria, who, alas! were without a Schamyl at their head! The whole weight of this disaster was naturally first felt by the fortress of Arad, with the disabled Damyanics for its commander. A Damyanics on his feet would assuredly have redeemed the dire scene of Vilagos, either by a brave defence of Arad or a glorious death. But what could a soldier chained to his sickbed do? After having notified to Rudiger the conditions on which he would surrender, the Russian general asked Görgei to tell the defenders of the fortress how imprudent it was on their part to demand more favourable conditions than he did. Görgei thereupon wrote an open letter to Damyanics, advising him to surrender at discretion. After the delivery of this letter by General Buturlin, the commander of the fortress convened a council, delaying to answer for the space of several hours. Then Rudiger let Damyanics know, that in case of receiving no decisive answer at once, he would withdraw and abandon the fortress to the Austrians. Damyanics still delayed, sending a new draft of conditions of surrender, which having been peremptorily refused, he, helpless in body and broken in spirit, actuated also by confused notions of Russian policy and magnanimity, opened on the 17th of August the gates of Arad. By this time Kossuth roamed a fugi PRESENT STATE OF EUROPE. 415 exemplary long suffering, as exhibited during the last four years it is from the strength of their self-esteem and their hope that they do not even complain; uncovering with pride their scars, they scorn to hold up to compassion their wounds. Sooner perhaps than it is imagined may Hungary again become free, and enabled to accomplish what appears to be her destiny,-To carry Civilization into the East. JOY AT THE FALL OF HUNGARY. 401 last two months, has desolated Hungary, has been brought to a close by a pacification which Her Majesty's Government hope will prove in its results beneficial to all parties concerned." Here the noble lord goes on to express his hopes that Austria will make a generous use of its success, and have a due regard for the ancient constitutional rights of Hungary. The complimentary part of this dispatch was, as may easily be imagined, highly acceptable to the Austrian prime minister; as to the rest, Prince Schwarzenberg answered in terms rather more than merely diplomatically uncourteous. Almost all the governments exhibited more or less satisfaction at the news of the fall of Hungary, except the cabinet of Washington. Still mindful of its past, that government had given instructions to its Chargé d'Affaires, Mr Stiles, to acknowledge the independence of Hungary as soon as he should find from personal experience that the Hungarian government rested on a stable footing; from this trouble the surrender of Vilagos relieved the envoy of the United States! In the meantime, in Hungary the feeling of bewilderment began to give way before that of deep gloom, greatly increased by the hundreds on hundreds who had served the Revolution either as soldiers or civilians, and who now wandered in disguise from county to county. But, on the other hand, a rock of hope was offered by the fortress of Comorn, still in possession of the national troops. This bulwark, which lies midway between Pesth and Vienna, on the banks of the Danube at its confluence with the Waag, consists of an old fortress, having within its walls gunfoundries, ammunition-stores, and the requisite depôts for provisions, as well as a new fortress, with bomb 402 SURRENDER OF COMORN. proof walls, and a long series of redoubts, in addition to outworks, erected with much labour and skill during the war. In front of the fortress, which derives no small advantage from being situated in the midst of a plain, a circumstance highly unfavourable to besiegers, lies the town of the same name, whose inhabitants, amounting to upwards of 20,000, proved as devoted and persevering as did those of Arad. This fortress, garrisoned by 20,000 men, infantry and cavalry, and provided with all the necessary provisions and ammunition for months to come, was commanded by Klapka, one of the more distinguished generals of the Hungarian army, and, at the same time, a good patriot. It was thus very natural to suppose that, as long as Comorn remained in national hands, it would ward off Austrian vengeance; and that, in case of a surrender, the conditions would be such as to save the lives of those who were already imprisoned, extort a general amnesty, or enforce some other provisions regarding the fate of the country at large. At the first summons of surrender made by Haynau, in the presence of a besieging army, consisting of both Russians and Austrians, the Council of War in the fortress prescribed conditions which did it honour. This determination, however, was short-lived. Amid the repeated advances made by the Austrians to persuade the commander of the fortress that the Emperor of Austria was the more anxious to get possession of every spot of Hungary in order to commence with ease his acts of grace, Petervardein was surrendered by Colonel Paul Kiss. In a few days after, on the 2d of October, Klapka likewise opened the gates of Comorn to Haynau. The chief conditions of surrender were, the free withdrawal of the garrison to their re |