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84.   Arthur Görgei (1818-1916), former army general.

84. Arthur Görgei (1818-1916), former army general.

... Autograph letter to Pál Gyulai, addressed "Kedves barátom!" (My dear friend!).

The opening sentence is interesting: "You were the one who initiated my rehabilitation. After you, two hundred and seven openly followed suit after some time had passed – not to mention those who did so secretly!" The latter refers to the statement made by 207 former soldiers in 1884, according to which they did not consider the former commander-in-chief a traitor. He expresses his gratitude for Gyulai's support and then thanks him for the gift of a kostök (a tobacco holder made from a ram's testicles) with an ironic remark: "I hasten to thank you for the kostök, lest I treat you as Lajos Kossuth has just treated the city of Komárom." This is a reference to the fact that the former governor thanked the towns that had made him an honorary citizen in a series of articles, but did not mention Komárom. The offended residents of Komárom reminded him in an open letter that this had already happened on 9 March 1848. Finally, he also thanks them for the wine they sent, adding that he will not give them Visegrád wine in return, but "the kind of table wine that you, despite your Leányfalu bias, can drink without denying the national genius that shines in the cellars". The deepening of their decades-long friendship was helped by the fact that, being almost neighbours (Visegrád-Leányfalu), Gyulai regularly visited the former army general.

2 written pages.

Dated: Visegrád, 19 July 1889.

 

Starting price: 150 000,-

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