But the Hungarian Parliament
sitting in Debreczin, led by Kossuth and under the influence of the
recent victories, was determined to pursue a different course. The royal
house at Hapsburg, whose dynasty had ruled over Hungary for three
centuries, was declared to have forfeited its right to the throne by
instigating and bringing upon the country the calamities of a great war.
This act had a bad effect, especially on the army, tending also to
heighten the personal antagonism between Kossuth and Gorgei. But its
worst consequence was that it gave Russia a pretext for armed
intervention. The Emperor Francis Joseph entered into an alliance with
the Czar of Russia, the purpose of which was to reconquer seceded
Hungary and ultimately to crush her liberty.
One more brilliant victory was achieved by the Hungarian arms before the
fatal blow was aimed at the country. The fortress of Buda was taken
after a gallant assault, in the course of which the Austrian commandant
bombarded the defenceless city of Pest on the opposite bank of the
Danube, and thus the capital, too, was restored to the country.
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