The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-11-25

As natlOn Is only man OF Woildn
on big scale, let me ask, Would you
individually prefer to be judged by your
faults or your virtues3 All people, ex.
cept ourselves, have faults.
The pessimist attempting to write
your biography would take you in yous
weaker moods, and the picture of you
on the first pags Of your biography
would DO rs You looked after some
meanness had been practiced on you and
you were tearing mad. Now, rs am an
optimist, give you fair warning that IL
! ever write your biography l will take
You as you looked the day your divi-
dends came In twenty per cent. larger
than you ever anticipated, n the morning
on your way to business after your first
child was born, OF the morning after
your conversion, when heaven had
rolled in on your soul. The most ac-
cursed homunculi of all the earth are
the pessimists, who, whether they judge
individual or national character, aud
whether they WELD tongue or pen, are
filled with anathematization, and who
have more to say about the freckles on
the cheek Of beauty than of the sunrises
and sunsets that flush it.
1t is most important that this country
have right ideas concerning Russia, for
among all the nations this side Of
heaven Russia is Americas best friend.
There has not been an hour in the last
seventy-five years that the shipwreck Of
free institutions in America would not
have called forth from all the despotisms
of Europe and Asia a shout of gladness
wide as earth and deep as perdition.
But whoever else failed us, Russia never
did, and whoever else was doubtful,
Russia never was Russia, then an old
government, smiled on the cradle of our
government while yet In its earliest in
fancy. Empress Catherine of Russia in
1776 or thereabouts offered kindly inter-
ference that our thirteen colonies might
not so down under the cruelties of war
Again, In 1918, Russia stretched forth
toward us q merciful hand. When our
dreadful civil war was raging, and the
two thunder clouds of northern and
southern valor clashed, Russia practi-
cally said to the nations of Europe,
Keep your hands off and let the brave
men of the north and the south settle
their own troubles" Prince Gortscha-
koff, the Russian statesman, diplomatist
and prime minister, during that war
looked earnestly into the face of Bayard
Taylor, our minister plenipotentiary to
Russia, and said: Russia alone has
stood by you from the first, and we will
continue to stand by you. You know
the sentiment of Russia. We desire,
above all things, the maintenance of the
American Union as one indivisible
Union. We cannot take any part more
than we have done. We have no hos
tility to the southern people. Russia has
declared her position and will maintain
1t. There will be proposals for inter-
vention. We believe that Intervention
could do no good at present. Proposals
will be made to Russia to join in some
plan of interference. She will refuse
any invitation of the kind. Russia will
occupy the same ground as at the begin
ming of the struggle. You may rely
upon it, she will not change"
Irehearsed some of those scenes to the
emperor last July, saying, "You were
probably too young to remember the po-
sition your father took at that time" but
with radiant smile he responded, "Oh,
yes; remember, l remember" and
there was an accentuation of the words
which demonstrated to me that these
occurrences had often been talked of in
the imperial household.
I stood on New York Battery during
the war, as I suppose many of you did
looking off through magnifying glass
upon feet of Russian ships. What
are they doing there?" 1 asked, and 60
every one asked. "What business have
the Russian warships in our New York
harbor?" Word came that another fleet
of Russian warships was in San Fran
cisco harbor. "What does this meany'
our rulers asked, but did not get imme-
date answer. In these two American
harbors the Russian fleets seemed sound
asleep. Their great mouths of iron
spoke not a word, and the Russian flag
whether floating in the air or dropping
by the flagstaff, made no answer to our
inquisitiveness. William H. Seward,
secretary Of state, asked the Russian
minister at Washington the meaning OF
those Russian ships in American waters
and got no satisfactory response. Ad.
miral Farragut said to Russian officer
after dining in the home of the eminent
politician, Thurlow Weed, that maker
and unmaker of presidents, What are
you doing here with those Russian yes.
sells of war;
Not until the war was over was il
found out that in case of foreign inter.
vention all the guns and the last gun OF
these two fleets in New York and San
Francisco harbors were to open in full
diapason upon any foreign ship that
should dare to interfere with the right
Of Americans, north and south, to set.
Gle their own controversy. But for those
fleets and their presence in American
waters, there can be no doubt that two
of the mightiest nations Of Europ,
would have mingled in our fight. Blu
for those two fleets the American gov
eminent would have been today only
name in history. l declare before Coz
and the nation that l believe Russii
saved the United States Of America
Last July stood before great thron,
of Russians in the embarrassing position
of speaking to an audience three-fourth
of which could not understand my Ian
guage any more than could understan,
theirs. But there were two names tina
they thoroughly understood as well a
you understand them, aad the utteranc
of those two names brought forth an az
clamation that made the city hall of 81
Petersburg quake from foundation ston
to tower, and those two names wer
George Washington" and Abraham
Lincoln"
Now is it not important that we shout
feel right toward that mighty, that Go
given friend of more than one hundre
years? Yea, because it is a nation c
more possibilities than any other exceI
our own should we cultivate its friend
ship. There is vast realm of Russia a
yet unoccupied. If the population of tn
rest of Europe were poured into Russif
it would be only partially occupied