Hungary and the Hungarians . ral affection that one loves more hisown than another nation. For all this achievement Laski was to be rewardedwith the sovereignty of Transylvania. Alas! whatfrail memories some men have! Instead of beingrewarded, Laski was thrown into a dungeon andaccused of dangerous machinations. Influentialfriends then set to work to secure his release, andeventually royal letters patent proclaimed his in-nocence ; and for the injustice done he was presentedwith the towns of Kesmark and Debreczen. This,however, did not satisfy him, and he at once set aboutto revenge himself. A
Hungary and the Hungarians . ral affection that one loves more hisown than another nation. For all this achievement Laski was to be rewardedwith the sovereignty of Transylvania. Alas! whatfrail memories some men have! Instead of beingrewarded, Laski was thrown into a dungeon andaccused of dangerous machinations. Influentialfriends then set to work to secure his release, andeventually royal letters patent proclaimed his in-nocence ; and for the injustice done he was presentedwith the towns of Kesmark and Debreczen. This,however, did not satisfy him, and he at once set aboutto revenge himself. Approaching Ferdinand, he wassent by him to Constantinople, and his appearancethere in a cause so diametrically opposed to that hehad espoused some years before not only roused thesuspicion of the Sultan but incensed him, and Laskiwas ordered to be imprisoned, and for some time hislife was in danger. Eventually his eloquence toldupon the Sultan, who forgave him, and afterwardsshowered upon him many marks of favour. An illness. TRANSYLVANIA AND TRANSYLVANIANS 173 in Constantinople led to his return to Poland, wherehe died in 1542. He is a little known figure inhistory, but his gifts were such that Erasmus in hisletters says he learned many things of him andimproved by his company. His son Albert wasreceived by Queen Elizabeth of England, and it issaid that the honours which were shown to him atOxford, by the special command of the Queen, wereequal to those rendered to sovereign princes. Another theory advanced by some historians con-cerning this period is that Transylvania achieved herindependence under bad auspices, and that Zapolyaisubmitted to the degradation of paying tribute to thePorte in lieu of, or as a tax for independence. Un-certainty looms everywhere, and a variety of opinionshas baffled the few serious historians who have triedto account for and explain the past of the country,proving again and again that history is not an exactscience. In the fortunes—whatever the
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