, 1882-08-09

of such a people, who can die so, though
we do wonder that the dread should be so
specially developed in England; and the
reason for dreading was undoubtedly in.
creased, so far as the mere strength of
Russia is concerned, by the existence of
such a popular hero.
Whether General Skobeleff would have
used the strength he gave to his people I'm.
wisely, depends mainly upon a question
to which, perhaps, five people could give
a clear reply. How far would he have
insisted on independence? His personal
politics, so far as they were known, were
not exceptionally dangerous.-not half so
dangerous as those of Napoleon, who
wanted to be Emperor of a Federated
Europe. Skobeletf desired, as all his
friends allege, to Eberate all Slavs every.
where from foreign domination, but not
to merge them in Russia: and that design,
so limited, is not in itself a vicious one,
or not more so than the design of uniting
all who speak German, or English, or the
Romance languages, plans entertained by
very competent statesmen. He desired
the expulsion of the Turks from Europe;
but so does every good man who ~realises
what their rule over Christians actually
means. He desired the subjugatiOn of
Centra' Asia but that project, offensive
as 1t IS to EngliShmen, who permanently
mistake the Slav drift towards the Medi-
terranean for a drift towards Calcutta, is
probably one which would benefit the
world. The single hope for those vast
regions, as evidenced by their history since
the day ~ofJenghiz Khan, is thatthey should
be held to order for a century or two
by som c~ivilised Power and the work
would OverSt?ain Great Britain. We see
nothing i'll the Generals own politics tn
show that he was either foolish, or devoid
OF conscience, or devoted to any scheme
OF vast and general conquest, or filled
with any insane ambition but, uudOubt-
eddy, there are two other considerations
to he recoliected Every man who has
studied Russians deeply or learnt to know
them thoroughly attributes to them, amid
many virtues and some great powers, q
certain lnconSequenCe of character, levity,
devil may -cariSllneSS, call 1t what you
Will, such as many Englishmen, on light
er grounds, attribute to the Irish. Rus
slams yield to an impulse more than the
Western peoples do, and possibly because
they have little happiness to IOSe-pessim.
ism is the note OF all Russian literature
and oratory-reckon up consequences with
mach less fOrethought. General Skobe-
left was accused by his friends of this de-
feet. and certainly his u%tterances gave
that impression to the world. 1t is diff
cult to contide implicitly in the Judgment
OF Il great General who warns a people
lIk the German of his deadly enmity, or
not feeling it, allows that impression to
be d~ltfuSed, or who sends through the
Russian post such a letter as, according
to the testimony of his friend in the Pail
Nal Gazette, he recently forwarded to
Parls,-a letter describing his Sovereign
IS abruti with fear, and incapable of
reigning. He must have lacked some
thing of the caution which can alone
make power like his safe, and have
had i'll him something of Garibaldi, who
was capable of almost as much silli-
ness as heroiSm. And then he might
have considered it his duty to suppress
himself absolutely in face of an order from
the Gar, a willingness which, OF course,
makes the personal qualities of a General
OF little avail. The friend to whom his
rash letter was addressed, and who seems
TO have enjoyed his full confidence, dis
tinctly states that this was the case; and
reverence for the autOcracy, as absolutely
indispensable to Russia, and so i~ntertwined
with the national life that otherwise Rus
STA might perish, is so common among
Russians otherwise liberal, that we see no
reason for denial. In practice, we sup.
pose, a great General, deriving most of
his power from popular favour, would
sway the policy Of the Cars more than
they would sway his; but still, the belief
that he would have obeyed any formal
order, and cast mis- enormous weight on