ly for his own peace of mind and for the destinies of the nation
he was called upon to rule, he committed a fatal error in the selection
of the methods for accomplishing his humane and philanthropic objects.
He desired to render Hungary happy, yet he excluded the nation from the
direction of her own affairs. He wished to enact salutary laws, yet he
reigned as an absolute monarch, unwilling to call the Diet to his aid in
the great work of reformation, ignoring and disdaining the constitution
and laws of the country. He was impolitic enough to attack a
constitution which, thanks to the devotion of the people, had withstood
the shock of seven centuries. He was unwise enough to suppose that the
people, in whose hearts the love of their ancient constitution had taken
deep root, for the defence of which rivers of blood had been shed,
could be prevailed upon to relinquish it to satisfy a theory of royalty.

The old political organization was eminently an outgrowth of the
Hungarian nationality, and all classes of the people, including the very
peasantry to whom the ancient constitution meant only oppression, clung
to it with devoted fervor. The people were as anxious for reforms as
Joseph himself, but they wanted them by lawful methods, and with the
cooperation of the nation and their Diet. Joseph might have become the
regenerator and benefactor of Hungary if he had availed himself, for the
realization of his grand objects, of the national and lawful channels
which lay ready to his hand. But he unfortunately preferred attempting
to achieve his purpose out of the plenitude of his own power, by
imperial edicts and arbitrary measures, thus conjuring up a storm
against himself which wellnigh shook his throne, and plunging the nation
into a wild ferment of passion bordering on revolution.

The people presented a solid phalanx against Joseph's attack upon their
nationality and language, which to them were objects dearer than
everything else. They little cared for the Emperor's well-intentioned
endeavors to make them prosperous and happy as long as he asked, in
exchange, for the relinquishment of their nationality. And this, above
all, was his most ardent wish. He wanted Hungary to be Hungarian no
more, and wished its people to cast off the distinctive marks of their
individuality, and to adopt the German language, instead of their own,
in the schools, the public administration, and in judicial proceedings.
In a word, he made German t