The Labor enquirer., 1886-01-30
ALEXANDER HERzEs.
nalist, With Note by the
Translator.

A sketch OF the Life Of the Russian Jour.
j nalist, With Note by the
i Translator.
i He was born at Moscow. His mother
was French lady, Madame Herzen
His father-''Some Russian who called
| himself my father" said Herzen.
4 With large capital he went to Swift.
zerland and afterwards to Paris, France,
where he opened a book store. AS bust
ness did not prove succ ss he, left for
i London, England, where. by the advice
of Worzel, refugee from Poland, he
started the publications of Kolokol, aThe
Belp' and Poliarnaia Zvezda, aThe Polar
STAR" both in Russian language. He was
assisted by TchernezskY, who for that
purpose studied type setting and helped
in casting Russian type, at CASTOR &
Co.'s, London. The papers proved a
success. The printing was done by
Trubner & Co., who. finding the enter
prise profitable, became the owner of the
papers, which were conducted, however,
fby Herzen. He SION sent for his friend
since boyhood. Ogareff. an able writer
and poet.
Besides Herzen's and Ogaretf's articles,
many able ones were sent from Russia
by friends Of thu cause, though the pub
Fishers, Trubner & Co., according to
agreement, paid Herzen the sum Of e16
for each issue of the Bell and e2O for
each issue of the Star. That was the
exclusive income of Herzen. He lived
in an aristocratic part of London, paying
s5OO rent yearly, and received Russian
refugees only on Sunday evenings.
April 5, 1881, the wires. brought the
sad news of murders committed at War
saw, by order of his Majestic Tyranny,
Alexander IL, but Herzen was too busy
then in preparing speeches in Russian,
English, French and German languages,
the sense ofJwhich principally was, that
history had never recorded a liberal
toasting for an emperor, yet at that day
he-Herzen, a Socialist did 1t for Alex
ander H., the liberator of the serfs The
speeches we're accompanied with social
gatheringin which Mazzini, Louis Blanc
and other Revolutionists and liberals
participated. ".'.' ,'" t..
Herzen lost nothing ia his propaganda
enterprises. They gave him large In
come, and when he died considerable
wealth was left to his children.
A. HoNCHARENKo.
| TRANsLAToR's NOTES.
| At come future time shall speak of
Father Agapius, giving him due credit
for all the battles he has fought for man
kind as an agitating Reyolutionist. At
present intend to strictly confine nv
self to the subject-Herzen, and had
Father Agapius' tales of Herzen coin
cided with nv opinions of the latter! 1
would be silent and add nothing, but
alas we seem to differ. and differ so far
as to be really afraid of leading the
readers into false understanding of
either Father Agapius or Herzen, if un-
explained. To avoid that / think it
necessary to say a few words about
Father Agapius first, and by doing so I
merely do my duty. ali. >....t
Father Aeapius was brought up for the
priesthood and principally for the So
called black priesthood, or monks. He
was supposed to confine himself to the
inside of cfoisters, praying to the
Almighty for the sinners outside: on a
so-called pure Christian principle that
all human beings are brothers and sis
ters, children Of one God in three per-
sons or one person in three Gods-just
as YOU please-and all, therefore, should
love each other; ;more-love thine enc
mics.
religion upheld the institution, the tenn
pies built to God in her name were en-
titled to some compensation in the form
of owning serfs:: The cloister in. which
Honcharenko knelt was an owner of
many human beings-serfs, and while
the monks knelt before the Almighty in
Heaven the poor peasants serfs were
oftentimes slmightily whipped on earth.
His holiness, young monk, Honcha-
renko, could not stand such hypocrisy,
and first mentally and secretly and after
wards actively and publicly rebelled.
He appealed to his colleagues, church
authorities, and found one reply: "Such
is the will of our czar-the head of our
church" He consequently became the
cars enemy. The czar ought to have
nothing to do with church institutions,
was his motto then, and he acted ac-
cordingly. No matter what kinds of re-
forms the czars may bring about, Hon
charenko would not compromise. Down
with csars he propagated. g..
Herzen, the contrary, received secu-
lar university education, never knelt
before images. and had settled mind in
regard to both religions and czars, and
were it in his poyer to put stopto both
/ he would have done so in moment,
but acknowledging its Impossibility, be.
/ judging from his writings, followed up a
4 policy which brought effective results.
1t was time of Indignation. The fail
ure of the battle of Sebastopol and the
II xn-dar Of tzar Nicolas hu the inability