The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-10-21

+ the royal family will believe anything
In the way of kindness ascribed to them,
and will join mo In the execration of
that too prevalent opinion that tyrant
is on the throne Of Russia.
If God spares my life / will yet show
by facts beyond dispute that the most
slandered ard systematically lied about
nation on earth is Russia, and that no
ruler ever lived more for the elevation
of his people in education, morals and
religion than Alexander LII. So put
all the three prayers together-God save
the president of the United States! God
save the queen of England! God save
tie emperor and empress of Russia! |
will, whether in sermons or lectures, /
have not yet decided, show that nir.e.
teen-twentieths of all the things written
and published against Russia are fur
nished by men who have been hired Ly
other countries to write up" or rather
write down Russia, so as to divert COM
merce from that empire, or because of
international jealousies. Russia being
larger than all the rest of Europe put to-
SSohSAS } oo Van oCC INV lldtuIdl WOuiu
be the jealousies know of two prom
inent European newspapers that keep
men on salaries to catch up everything
unfavorable to Russia and magnify the
incident. And the stereotyped stories
of Siberian. cruelty in one case out of a
hundred is true, but in ninety-nine out
of hundred cases they are fabrication.
And in the one case. as soon as it is re.
ported, the official is discharged. Those
who have been sent "to write up" Rus
STA and Siberia have done as that man
would do who, sent to "write up" New
York, should write up the slums as a
specimen of what New York is, or, sent
to write up the American congress,
should write up some depraved politi-
clans as specimen of American states
manship, or, sent to write up the sani-
tary condition of this country, should
send kodak picture of all the warts and
carbuncles lie could find as specimen
of American health. believe can re
verse the opinion of any man antagonis-
tic to Russia who will give me an honest
hearing, as my own opinions have been
reversed by what recently saw and
heard.
A sIANDERED NATION.
Before passing to the other field of
my summer observation give you one
little specimen of the falsehoods about
Russia. l stood in London with my
tickets for st. Petersburg, Russia, in my
pocket. 1t was two o'clock in the after
noon, and at three o'clock was to take
the train. An American physician came
In and said, "You certainly are not going
to Russia" said, "Why not?" Then
morning paper was shown me, saying
that in st. Petersburg there were 1900
cases of virulent cholera; the city had
been divided into hospital districts, and
the doctors were at their wits end what
to do with the number of patients; the
population was flying in terror. 1t was
almost as bad in Moscow. While re-
fecting on these accounts two messages
arrived from other friends protesting
against the foolhardiness of my rushing
into the presence of 1900 cases of chol-
era in one city. Of course halted.
halted for four days. Meanwhile tele-
gram from st. Petersburg encouraged
me to go. l went. There was not a
single case of cholera either in St. Pc
tersburg or Moscow, and there was not
a single case in either city until four
weeks after left those cities. But the
continental falsehood had done its com
nercial errand. Tens of thousands of
Americans and Englishmen who pro-
posed to summer in Russia turned in
other directions.
At the large hotel in st. Petersburg
at which l stopped, though capable Of
holding 500 guests, and months before
every room and every hallway and every
mattress and every pillow had been en-
gagged by telegraph by sightseers, all the
orders We're Cancelled, and instead of 500
guests should think about thirty, and
that including our party. And SO it was
in all the hotels in northern Russia, and
the subtraction Of that amount of COM
mercial profit from those cities you may
imagine. But that whole subject Of
systematic fabrication adjourn to some
other hour. Yet must tell you Of pic
ture Of pathos and moral power i'm
pressed upon my mind SO that neither
time nor eternity can efface it. The ship
Leo swung to the docks few miles be-
low st. Petersburg loaded with -four
from America. The sailors on board
huzzaed as they came to the wharf.
From yacht on which we had descend
ed the river to the sea the prominent
citizens of st. Petersburg disembarked.
The bank was crowded by prosperous
citizens who stood on the wharf, and
back of them by poor laborers who had
come down TO offer their services free of
all charge for the removal of the bread
stuffs from the ship to the imperial
freight train that took the flour to the
interior free of charge. While we stood
there theplcng freight train rumbled
down to the docks, the locomotive and
each car decorated with flag-the
American flag and the Russian flag al.
ternating. Though flag to some eyes
is only a floating rag, you ought to see
how the American flag looks 5000 miles
from home. 1t looked that day like q
section of heaven let down to cheer
mortal vision. Addresses of welcome
and responses were made, and then the
work began, the only contest being who
should lift the hardest and be most ex
peditious. From ship to rail train
From rail train to kneading board
From kneading board to oven. From
oven to the white and quivering lips Of
the dying. Upon all who, whether by
contribution small or large, helped make
that scene possible, may there come the
benediction of him who declared, ~ was
hungry and We fed me-"
THE GOSPEL IN GREAT BRITAIN.
But must also give word of report
concerning my other errand-the preach
ing of the Gospel in Great Britain las
summer. 1t was tour | had for man,
years anticipated. With the themes o.
the Gospel | confronted more peopl,
than ever before in the same length O
time-multitudes after multitudes, ant
beyond anything can describe. TIL,
throngs in all the cities were SO grea
that they could be controlled only b,
platoons of police, so that none SHOULD
be hurt by the pressure, each service in