“Proclaiming freedom in the name of God,”

till—­to continue in the beautiful words of your Whittier—­

  ——­“Its blessings fall
  Common as dew and sunshine over all.”

[From Lexington Kossuth proceeded to Concord, and was there addressed by the well-known author, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  His reply was at greater length, and on the same subject as at Lexington; yet a part of it may here be printed.]

Kossuth said:—­

In my opinion, there is not a single event in history so distinctly marked to be providential—­and providential with reference to all humanity—­as the colonization, revolution, and republicanism of the now United States of America.

This immense continent being peopled with elements of European civilization, could not remain a mere appendix to Europe.  But when it is connected with Europe by a thousand social, moral, and material ties, by blood, religion, language, science, civilization, and commerce, to believe that it can rest isolated in politics from Europe, would be just such a fault as it was that England did not believe in time the necessity of America’s independence.  Yes, gentlemen, this is so sure to me, that I would pledge life, honour, and everything dear to man’s heart and honourable to man’s memory, that either America must take her becoming part in the political regeneration of Europe, or she herself must yield to the pernicious influence of European politics.  There was never yet a more fatal mistake, than it would be to believe, that by not caring about the political condition of Europe, America may remain unaffected by the condition of Europe.  I could perhaps understand such an opinion, if you would or could be entirely isolated from Europe; but as you are not isolated, as you cannot be, as you cannot even have the will to be (for that very will would be a paradox, a logical absurdity, impossible to be carried out, being contrary to the eternal laws of God, which he for nobody’s sake will change); therefore to believe that you can go on to be connected with Europe in a thousand respects, and still remain unaffected by its social and political condition, would be indeed a fatal delusion.

You stretch out your gigantic hands a thousandfold every day over the waves; your relations with Europe are not only commercial as with Asia, they are also social, moral, spiritual, intellectual; you take Europe every day by the hand.  How then could you believe, that if that hand of Europe, which you grasp every day, remains dirty, you can escape from soiling your own hands?  The cleaner they are, all the more will the filth of old Europe stick to them.  There is no possible means to escape from being soiled, than to help us, Europeans, to wash the hands of our old world.

You have heard of the ostrich, that when persecuted by an enemy, it is wont to hide its head, leaving its body exposed; it believes that by not regarding it, it will not be seen by the enemy.  That curious aberration is worthy of reflection.  It is typical.