by Mór Jókai
CHAPTER XI.
THE FIRST STEP.
Three days after the betrothal a county assembly was held under thepresidency of Administrator RideghvAiry.
At an early hour the white feathers and the black--the badges of theProgressive and the Conservative parties respectively--began toappear. But not only were white and black feathers conspicuous; loadedcanes, also, and stout cudgels were seen peeping out from overhangingmantles, to be brought forth in case some convincing and irrefutableargument should be needed in the heat of debate.
Punctually at nine o'clock RideghvAiry called the meeting to order. TheProgressives had planned an energetic protest against an allegedunconstitutionality in the administration, and their best speakerswere primed for the occasion, hoping to bring the matter to a vote.The Conservatives, on their part, had summoned to their aid all themost tiresome and long-winded speakers to be found in the neighbouringcounties, to kill the motion.
Nevertheless, the white feathers held their ground, being determinedto sit the meeting out if it lasted all night, and well knowing that,the moment the chairman should note any preponderance of blacks in thehall, he would put the question to vote and it would be lost.Therefore they kept their places patiently until it came the turn oftheir chief orator, TormAindy, to speak.
When he rose to address the assembly, the black feathers seemed tounite in an effort to silence him, disputing his every statement andmaking constant interruptions. But TormAindy was not to bedisconcerted. If a hundred voices shouted in opposition, hisstentorian tones still made themselves heard above the uproar. In theheat of debate it could not but occur that an occasional word escapedthe speaker's lips that would have been called unparliamentary in anyother deliberative body, and a repetition of the offence would havenecessitated the speaker's taking his seat. Not so here, however. Assoon as TormAindy's ardour had betrayed him into the utterance of anunusually insulting expression, TallA(C)rossy and his comradesimmediately set upon him, like a pack of hounds after the game, andcalled out in concert: "_Actio, Actio!_" Thereupon the assembly,_stante sessione_, passed judgment on the case and imposed a fine.
TormAindy, however, was not so easily put down. Coolly drawing out hispocketbook, he threw down two hundred florins,--the usual fine,--andcontinued his philippic. Upon a second interruption of the same kind,he merely threw down another two hundred, without pausing in hisspeech. And so he continued his oration, interspersed with occasionalinvectives, until he had emptied his pocketbook and surrendered hisseal ring and his insignia of nobility in pledge of payments stilllacking. His speech, however, was finished; he had succeeded in sayingwhat he had to say, to the very last word. But his concludingsentences were drowned in an uproar. Deafening huzzas on one side, andshouts of "Down with him!" on the other, turned the meeting into averitable pandemonium, each party trying in vain to drown itsopponents' cries.
Meanwhile the presiding administrator sat unmoved, listening to theuproar as an orchestra conductor might listen to the performance ofhis musicians.
The customary tactics of the Conservatives had failed. In the firstplace, there were more white feathers than black in the hall.Secondly, the former were not to be routed from their position eitherby the high temperature of the room,--it would have almost hatchedostrich eggs,--or by the pangs of hunger, or by the long-windedharangues of their opponents. Thirdly, they refused to be silenced byany fines; they paid and spoke on. Fourthly, both parties seemeddisinclined to begin a fight,--a diversion which hitherto had commonlyresulted in the white feathers abandoning the field and taking flightthrough doors and windows. A fifth expedient still remained,--theadjournment of the meeting.
RideghvAiry rang his bell, and was beginning to explain, in a low tone,that the excessive noise and confusion made further debate impossible,when suddenly he found himself speaking amid a hush so profound thatone could have heard a pin drop.
"To what noise and confusion does the chairman refer?" asked TormAindy,with a smile.
RideghvAiry perceived that the meeting was under other control than hisown. The white feathers had received orders to hush every sound themoment they heard the chairman's bell; their opponents, observing thattheir leader was trying to make himself heard, would voluntarilybecome silent. Thus it was that the chairman found himself completelyoutwitted.
"I admit, there is no noise now," said he, "but as soon as the debateis resumed, the uproar will begin again, and therefore I claim theright, as presiding officer, to adjourn the meeting."
But not even then did the result follow which he had expected. Thestorm did not break out again; the emergency had been foreseen, andall his stratagems were too well known to catch his enemies napping.
TormAindy first broke the silence. "Mr. President," said he, rising andcalmly addressing the chair, "I beg to propose that, if the chairmandeclines to preside longer over this meeting, we proceed to elect asubstitute, after which we will continue our debate."
A hundred voices were raised in approval of this suggestion, and asmany against it. The cries increased until confusion and uproar wereagain supreme. Assuming a stern expression and leaning forward overhis table, RideghvAiry tried to make himself heard.
"This is an open affront," he declared, "a violation of the law. Butit lies in my power to put an end to such unbridled license. If themembers oppose the adjournment of the meeting I shall call for theirexpulsion by force of arms."
"We will stand our ground," shouted back TormAindy, crossing his armsand facing the administrator defiantly.
But the latter had resources still in reserve. Summoning the sheriff,he bade him clear the hall, whereupon that officer threw open thefolding doors behind the president's chair and revealed a body of menstanding there with drawn swords, ready to do his bidding. Both thesheriff and his posse were creatures of the administrator.
In the first moment of surprise every one thought this must be a jokeof some sort, so many years had passed since swords had been drawn ina county assembly. But when one and another zealous patriot was seento fall wounded beside the green table, and bloody blades werebrandished before their eyes, all took fright in earnest. The nextmoment, however, the scene changed. Some of the young Progressivesdrew their swords and ranged themselves against the sheriff's posse.Such a clashing of steel and din of battle then ensued as had neverbefore been heard in a meeting of that kind,--and all under the eye ofthe presiding officer, and, apparently, with his approval.
But what speedily followed was not so much to his liking. The valiantyoung wearers of the white feather soon succeeded in driving thesheriff and his force into a corner, where they struck the swords outof their hands, and sent the men themselves flying through thewindows. At that moment a newcomer opened the door and entered thehall.
It was A-dA?n Baradlay. In his rich mourning attire, and with sterndispleasure on his brow, he looked like an angry god. Withoutuncovering,--whether from forgetfulness or design,--he advanced to thepresident's chair, his face flushed with wrath and his eyes flashingresentment. RideghvAiry eyed him askance, like the jackal that suddenlyencounters a tiger in the forests of India.
"I hold you responsible for this shameful occurrence, which will standas a disgrace to our country before the world," declared A-dA?n,sternly confronting the occupant of the chair.
"Me responsible?" cried RideghvAiry, his voice betraying a mixture ofanger, haughtiness, alarm, and astonishment.
"Yes, you!" repeated the other, and, laying his hand on the back ofthe president's chair, he shook it in the excess of his wrath. "Andnow leave this seat," he continued. "This is the chair that myancestors have occupied, and only during my father's illness were youauthorised to take his place. The lord lieutenant is well again."
At these words there was an outburst of cheers in every part of thehall,--yes, in every part. Those familiar with Hungarian politicalassemblies will recall many a similar instance where one fearlessstroke has gained the admiration and support of all parties. Likes anddislikes, political prejudices and privat
e interests, are allforgotten, and the whole assembly is swept off its feet as oneman--whither, no one asks.
Such a miracle was wrought on the present occasion. RideghvAiry readonly too plainly in the faces of his partisans and hirelings that hisrule was at an end. Here was no place for him now. Pale with shame andfury, he rose from his chair. With one look of wrath and hatred at theassembly, he turned to A-dA?n and, with lust for revenge in his tones,muttered between his teeth:
"This is the first step to that height of which I have warned you."
A-dA?n measured him with a look of scorn. He knew well enough from hismother what height was meant, but he deigned no reply.
The door closed upon the administrator, and the young lord lieutenanttook the president's chair amid the huzzas of all present. Then atlength he removed his fur cap. His action had been, it must beadmitted, unconstitutional, since he had not yet been installed aslord lieutenant, and so was unqualified to assume the duties of theoffice. But the enthusiasm which greeted his appearance was warm andgenuine, and he accepted it as a sanction of his course. His had beena bold stroke, and one pregnant with results for himself, for hiscounty, for his native land,--yes, for his generation. But itsucceeded. His action formed a turning-point in his country's history.Whither the course he had adopted would lead, he knew not, and nolittle courage was called for in facing its possible issue.
What else occurred in that assembly is simply a matter of history, butthe glory of that day belongs to A-dA?n Baradlay.