Note

The defects and shortcomings of the following memoir, whether regarded as an attempt to portray the character of a great man, or to describe the far-reaching historical events of the time in which he lived, are so patent as to require an apology for thus laying it before the public. Nevertheless it is hoped that, in the absence for the time of a more satisfactory biography, this memoir, superficial though it be, may serve some purpose in bringing the character and work of Francis Deák more clearly before the minds of those English readers to whom he has hitherto been little more than a name.

In M. de Mazade, France has furnished a worthy biographer of Cavour, the principal hero in the drama of Italian Unity. Would it not seem in all ways fitting, that an Englishman, equally well qualified for the task by wide knowledge and genuine sympathy with his subject, should one day present his countrymen with a complete and living portrait of the law-loving Hungarian citizen, who played so noble a part in the political regeneration, not only of his own country, but of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy?

For most of the extracts quoted from Deák's earlier speeches, as well as for many personal incidents recorded, the writer is indebted to the interesting Memorial Address delivered by M. Csengery in 1877, translated into German by Professor Heinrich of the University of Pesth; to the biographical sketch by Herr Rogge in the volume of 'Unsere Zeit' for 1876; and to the chapter on Francis Deák, in 'L'Autriche et la Prusse depuis Sadowa' by M. de Laveleye.