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“YOUNG GERMANY IN THE STORM AND STRESS PERIOD.”
SPEECH OF DOCTOR A. JACOBI.
From the tenor of the proposed toasts, Mr. Chairman,
I conclude that none should be devoid of some
connection with the guest of the evening. But I feel that,
in spite of his courage, he may well be overawed by
this celebration.
Whoever knows him well, is aware that, the more he is extolled, the more he will suffer. That is why, in order to alleviate his distress, I propose not to speak of him, but, for a change, of myself, and of some reminiscences of my own. [Laughter.] For that purpose, you will permit me to carry you back the trifle of half a century.
In the year 1848, when J. K. Polk was President of the United States, Wisconsin was made a State, the Mormons went into exile around the Great Salt Lake, when the Free Soil party was founded and gold was discovered in California; in that same year Italy began to shake the chains forged by its own many rulers and the Austrian foreigner; the Hungarians threatened the gates of Vienna in their efforts to gain independence; Louis Philippe hastily left his throne and his country; Frederick William the Fourth trembled while the German Parliament began its short-lived existence, and Czar Nicholas stood aghast.
The revolutionary wave rolling over Europe shook all
