St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-03-27
LOwell's Americanism.

The intensity of MIR. Lowell's Ameri-
canism was one cause of the interest he
reused in London, and of the liking Tor
him. 1t was not merely that the flavor
OF it was piquant, and that London isever
eager for new sensations. 1t was still
more that this trait was so obviously
genuine, and genuineness is part of
character on which the English set high
value. They may have been Americans
who thought they could make their way
in London by renouncing their American
ism or by disparaging their own country.
If so, they knew nothing of the English
before whom they abased themselves. II
ever Lowells large charity grew strict
it was for such as these.
l know very well that it is impossible
to refer to Mr.. Lowell's Americanism in
England without stirring cert ain animos-
tiles, which were freely expressed during
his life, and were not hushed by death.
And since must refer to them, | shall
use a certain freedom Of speech which
they who trumpeted their dislike of him
will have no right to resent. They can
not be wholly passed over. They affected
Mr.. Lowell at one time deeply. They
more or less colored one period of his life.
In part they were personal to him; in
part they are the common heritage of
every American minister and ambassador
in England. They are partly social and
partly political. In so far as they are
political they are mostly Irish or, which
is worse, they were the censures of Amer
leans upon an American minister con-
ceived and expressed in order to concliate
the Irish in America. 1t is not necessary
to spend much time in combating COM
ments of that kind. The echo of them is
still sometimes heard. The Irish, of
course, complained that Mr.. Lowell as
minister did not take sufficiently hostile
line. 1t is the accepted and freely ex-
pressed Irish view that he envoy whom
the United States send to the Court ofSt.
lanes is sent in order to make trouble
in order to be disagreeable to England,
in order to embroil the two countries. Is
it necessary to argue such point as
that? A minister who acted upon sucli
a theory of his duty would be disloyal to
his own country-that is answer enough.
But the irony of the situation is not COM
plete or not completely visible, until you
know that Mr.. Lowell's personals ympa-
thies were with the Irish, and that he
looked upon home.rule for Ireland, as in
some form, inevitable. Nor is itcomplete
till we recall what he has written on the
subject, and perhaps most of all one mes
sage in letter to DR.. Oliver Wendell
Holmes, dated December %. 1884, and
published by Mr.. Norton. He describes
some of his diplomatic efforts for the
Irish, then says:
"Whep had at last procured the con-
ditional Greatly unconditionaD release of
all the suspects, they refused to be liber-
ated. When l spoke of this to Justin
Mccarthy (then the head of the Irish
Parliamentary party, Parnell being in
Kilmainham,) he answered, cheeriuly,
Certainly; they are there to make
trouble!
There was q report-one of many set
afoot, with no other apparent object than
to give annoyance-that Mr.. Lowell
would take up his abode in Oxford when
relieved of his duties as American minis
ter. This particular story was of Mr..
Labouchere's coinage; at any rate, it APP
peared in the weekly periodical which