FRANCIS By F. G. Moorhead. VARGA
FRANCIS VARGA, Judge Advocate General of Louis Kossuth's provisional government in Hungary during the revolu tion of 1849, died at his home in Leon, Iowa, early in the month of April. Varga had lived in seclusion in the little Iowa town for the past fifty years, residing on land secured by a grant from President Fillmore, when the Hungarian refugees found shelter in America after being driven and buffeted all over Europe. Few remembered that Kossuth's chief advisers and counsellors were still alive; but in quietness and serving their adopted country as they had their fatherland, Francis Varga, Judge Advocate General of Hungary; Ladislaus Madarasz, for thirty years Secretary of State of Hun gary; L. Ujhazy, Civil Governor of the for tress of Komorn; Baron Joseph Majthenyi, Secretary of the Hungarian House of Lords, and other Hungarian nobles and notables have resided for the past half cen tury. The story of Varga 's life is a stirring one, and in his declining years the old Hunga rian delighted to re-tell the story of the struggle of his native country, but he never told it without weeping bitterly for the de feat that was his country's portion. Al though born a noble, and a statesman by years' training and experience, after coming to America Varga lived as a simple farmer, contented to accept the lowly offices that the people of his country (Decatur county, in Iowa) gave him. The last years of his life found him extremely feeble in body, but his mind was always clear; and sitting in his in valid's chair, to which he was confined for years, he would re-tell the story of Hun gary's struggle, forced to stop now and then
until he could control his weeping and con trol his voice. A short time before he died (at his funeral the bar of the Iowa county paid him the honors due to a judge of this land), Varga told for the last time the story of the Hungarian struggle and his participation therein. His story was taken down and runs as follows : "The story of Hungary's struggle is short. For three hundred years Austria and Hungary had dwelt together, under one ruler, bound together through fear of the Turks and united resistance against them. Yet Hungary had her own constitution and was to preserve her separate rights; yet year by year the rights under Hungary's constitution were curtailed, and year by year Hungary lay crouching while Austria took the ascendant. "At last came the struggle for the change — the change that did not come as we had hoped. An imbecile, a fool, was on the throne of Austria; dear sir, an imbecile. Why, let me tell you what an imbecile he was. A two-headed eagle is an emblem of Austria, typical of the double country. One day this imbecile's adjutant out hunting shot an eagle. The noble bird fell at the king's feet. ' See, sire, see, it is an eagle.' Ferdi nand, the King, looked and quickly said : ' This is not an eagle, it has only one head.' "Finally, in answer to our insistent de mands, the Emperor went to the Hungarian Congress; he promised the reforms we asked, we were satisfied; we asked only to have our rights under the constitution re stored; he gave back to Hungary the con stitution that was hers by right. But the Emperor went back to Austria and the
