Montecuccoli assured the deputation that the Emperor had already
promised to summon the Provincial Assemblies to Vienna, and that, for
their part, the Estates of Lower Austria were in favor of progress.
"But," he added, "they must have room and opportunity to deliberate."
Fischhof assented to this suggestion, and persuaded his followers to
withdraw to the courtyard. But those who had remained behind had been
seized with a fear of treachery, and a cry arose that Fischhof had been
arrested. Thereupon Fischhof showed himself, with Montecuccoli, on the
balcony; and the President promised that the Estates would send a
deputation of their own to the Emperor to express to him the wishes of
the people. He therefore invited the crowd to choose twelve men, to be
present at the deliberations of the Estates during the drawing up of the
petition. While the election of these twelve was still going on, a
Hungarian student appeared with the German translation of Kossuth's
speech. The Hungarian's voice being too weak to make itself heard, he
handed the speech to a Tyrolese student, who read it to the crowd.
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