New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-04

Dr. Wight visited Europe twenty-five years
aro and again recently. On the last occasion
he extended is journey round the world anu
he endeavorcd in making it 10 ascertain as lar
nc nossible VIII az progress had been made by the
civilized matte ms toward democracy vi course
the danger of travelling with this or any o'her
GO. nnrpose n = dominant idea is that the NINA
establishes tendency. 70 Judge every 'n'ns w
che one stan dard and to find Affirmative evil
dence IN the most improbable things and Places
Nm his earlier tours Dr. Wight was deslrous only
of meeting n oplc OF distinction ana seeing ceic-
irated places and his opportunities lor max
ing the acou ,ntance of famous men ana women
were evidenti exceptionally good while happy ID
cidents often made up what they lacked nc was
enabled to "a ther a stock OF experience anu u"u
GET OF anecdt ties neither OF which nave oso "c'i
interest aftel q quarter OF century. lie "'s ~
fortunate w lille in Scotland. as to be invited 10
s;ro ,,;,b n. Ou1pcev whom he thus met: For
" 1ong time we had been discussing WORDSWORTH,
Coleridpe N nd all the rest when there ghdeo
noisecssy i, ito the room. like shadow h''ie
>yeird-loolan old man. sahron-coiored. WIN JILL
kermit hair. dirty COLLAR, long snufl-orown coa1
foot sliding about in large india-rubber gaioshes'
and extende d TO me wee. heshless hand' horc
like bird, claw than the Drehensile organ Oh
mans supre macy" At dinner De Quincy spoke
little Ate the ladies had withdrawn he eA-
opum as large as a small hicSory-nut, ana
swallowed #: In the drawing-rOom he dozed Tor
n time b, Il presently his daughter asked MN
10 read sor netting from Wordsworth whose voice
and mann er lie was said to initiate exactly
T1ere,rs IN she took from shelf volume OF WORDS
worh's pc try opened Il at the ode on d,o bv her
safbers az e lie rubbed his eyes and drawled ms
hre" q the poem ey sr Tsd they
We're fortp nate who heard him As ne coSe sea
ewes s2e 0 sEd Illuminate his face began talk with
at seemed to flow out OF te MIN awe
We stcns almost bIealess and soon f1Fng no his
snS %, "a '9 9sc h0Ir like a, ENHANCED Children On
he discou rsed as have never heard mortal d, us
Tisdom ,sSnttment and learning be crushed. from
DE Quint ey's many volumes of printed books' , anu
some ca cepton Of that long discourse-how long
knew not 1T was bd prO pcte 1 would form
spep W Tthy Of the pencil Of COreggo or Titan
% Snd on ri %as o'clock m moTnps The poor
exhause old Of genius whom ncs e t6 Sow me
my tar sa 70 n Se Toa s
leave Of the little household. who had ente 1Sd "a
F 9s % Il, in the beautiful Scotch cleaning he;
holding the way inc great s n nS MANI fhng
Wbgs y pity the Doctor failed TO take some
notes ( that wonderful monoogue. At Dresden
DR. w. rht had bizarre. adventure, which he re-
lates ~ follows;
At Dresden met Berthod Auerbach, the well,
known SGerman nosolist lie was very r, genial nds
, nose 10 which race he belonged He. read poetry
with line Interpretation OF voiye am a nnetrv nv
the n our bringing ou; the latent nleanins win
extrA dinary elocqonary skill His ,o wife was syes
hands me with rather saletesh cmps .r 0ne
the :, eat park of Dresden when a sudden quarrel
~ between them Win ssa f Aneasac Oh
asied me to stop the carriage. whch did and ne
u%po out Slammed to h drive SsG on 70 The Situation was
emba assg stopped the Sa1s ,Ne ae 1 ouI
tsh ", ,dame at her hogso with very formal salus-
ton, nd drove home when met me- cb rnsods Ssd
taken place
Tbes o stories are taken from te earlier travels
(which il must be said are decidedly more amusing
than hose later ones which were saddled with so
serious purpose Nor can il be admitted that the
serious ness of that purpose afones for the SUD-
ordina. ion of personal observation and recital
Dr. " light is remarkably intelligent traveller
and vi zen he gives his pen free swing he can write
brlIiss ,ty but he has political ideas about all the
conntr les he visits and he cannot away with them
For the most part they do not add much TO the
geners stock of knowledge DR. Nights notions
about the part taken by the Russian people IN the
nanag ement Of the Empire are rather Wild ana
yhirilg, and his needless championship Of the
Russia Government in the matter of Siberia ana
the pr sons is certainly not vndicacd by the force
of the arguments he employs. He contends that
the complaints of prisoners ought not to be re-
ceived. because they are criminals ana ne
does not perceive that this is begging the whole
ouesti on-the contention of the other side being
that the victims are not criminals at ALL but IN
nocent and often highly deserving people, who are
nersetuted 10 stamp out all freedom of expression
nv a despotio and therefore morbdly appreheEsve
Government Such witnesses as Mr.. kennan
and Stepnak not to be disposed OF so easily
and far less formidable evidence than they bear
against the Russian tyranny would be too strong
for Dr. Nights singularly illogical and feeble
reasoning
Not much inheritance can be attached to his at
teurtots at forecastng European events either, Tor
he clnerishes several viewy not to crotchetty,
ideas, and he bases his conclusions Ear too much
npa1 them to be a trustworthy guide. His con-
cepaion of personal freedom must be a strange one
if he regards the present of the German citizen
as exemplifying the ideal of that condition lie
even reconciles his belief in this state of ideal
liberty with the fact that half million Germans
have left their country within few years to avoid
the intolerable burdens and exactions Of the
military regime. The obvious truth is that Ger
many to-day is weighed down by militarism that
the career of every adult male in the country is
inevitably broken and mutilated by the iron law
of service for three years with the colors at the
most critical and formative period Of life that the
.so-caIled paternalism OF the Government is often
a meddling oflciousness which intrudes into even
domestic privacy: and that between the police and
the army the modern German is drilled, disciplined,
watched and protected to an extent incompatible
with personal independence All this doubtless
tends 10 build up great military machine but it
certainly is not public opinion that operates that
machine, for the caprice of a young man, who Is
not believed to be ovcr-wise, may plunge the great
German Nation into at any moment and nc
matter whether the masses approve or disapprovc
of the cause of hostilities they III save TO fight
Just the same.
The authors observations on the French Re-