224 HUNGARIAN LITERATURE years later. In the Gourse of the same year, Petőfi we nt once more to see Arany, this time taking his young wife with him, six weeks after their marriage . The e poch of the war for freedom (1848-49) forrned a great crisis in Arany's life. For some time he was the editor of a revol utionary paper on behali of the Hungarian Government. In 1848 he enlisted for a time in the yeomanry. Next year he was obiiged to resign his position of notary, as in consequence of the war and the devastation it caused, the town was unable to pay its employees. For some time he obtained occupation as a clerk, but the catastrophe of 1849 and the bloody suppres sion of the revolution deprived bim of that employment. After Hungary's defeat, Arany was in the depthc; of despair. He had lost his position, lost his slowly but steadily increasing capital, lost his idolised friend Petőfi, and lost all confidenec in himself. He no Ionger believed in the future of his country nor in his own . 11 I tied Jike one chased ; tied from my own soul," he said, "no hope was to be seen anywhere in the heavens, only despai r, which withheld me from lifting up my bands to those heavens." In 1851 he was offered a prolessorsh ip at a college in the typical lowland town of Nagy Kőrös. He accepted it and filled the post for nine years. As a professor, he was conscientious and untiring, and he made s ome valued friends among the staff, but he did not seem to strike root in N agy Kőrös. At first his heart drew bim toward s Szal onta, where he had spent his childhood, but later on he began to wish to go to the capitaL 11 What a ebeer tess place this Nagy Kőrös is," he wrote in a letter. 11 Our only resource and amusement is to go to the cemetery. It is only there under the shady trees, that
