The herald., 1897-07-11
SCRATCH A RUSSIAN, FIND A
TARTAR

Was It Edward Gibbon who thus sen
tentiously delivered himself as to the
thin veneer of civilization which covers
the average Muscovite? There is only
one element of untruth in the assertion.
1t narrows down a universal truth.
in the subcutaneous regions you will
find a savage. Just as the domestic dog
turning round, following his tail before
he lies down, betrays his Wild origin,
and as the pig in the barn yard carry
ing wisps Of straw about in his mouth
before a storm, proves his not very re-
mote kinship to the wild boars hunted
still in Northern Europe, just SO in his
moments Of greatest triumph and re-
joicing in his civilization, man is con-
stantly discovering the savage.
We do not have to stoop to such trivial
things as mans fondness for hunting,
which has caused the remark that he is
never happy except when killing some
thing; nor do we have to refer to his
fondness for camping out in the woods
or mountains to illustrate how little re-
moved civilization is from savagery.
The most recent demonstration Of the
inherent savage state of man is found in
that climax, capsheaf, and crowning
glory Of the highest civilizationman has
attained to, the jubilee in London. And
of that unparalleled display of the high
est achievement of the race, let US take
the moet glorious and magnificent fea-
ture of it all.
The savage is above all the type of
man who proves the profound truth of
the poets line: Man needs but little
here below, nor needs that little long"
The small accumulation Of prosperity
possible to the savage because Of his
indisposition to toll and of his migratory
habits, he protects with bludgeon
tipped with flint or fish bones and eimi-
lar crude weapons. The bow, the toma-
hawk and the club are the title deeds by
which he holds on to what he may ac-
quire.
Well, we have only to pick up Sun
days papers detailing the splendors of
the great naval review at Spithead to
see how little progress we have made
beyond the status of the Apache. of the
Hottentot or of the Bushman.
In the weapons we use there is a
mighty stride of progress, but that is on
the surface. Scratch beneath the ma
terial features of it all and you get at
the savage instinct in the heart of hu-
manity in these wonderful triumphs of
human skill, made necessary by the in
herent lack of principle in our most
civilized and enlightened soul.
1t is awe-inepiring and soul-inspiring
to read of that great naval review at
night. Here in a narrow strait of the
ocean was gathered an armament of
Titanic power. AS one reads of the
signal rockets piercing the darkness
with their glowing fires, Of the wonder
full electric appliances lighting up the
vessels in glorious festoons of manifold
demons eyes slowly scanning the black
ness of the night for many miles, as if
the monsters Of a savage storm-tossed
sea, looking for the fair form of some
Andromeda typifying some creation of
civilized life, the mind ie lost in wonder.
But when, at the bursting of signal
rocket, all those ships, a mighty engine
ry of war, belched forth their fire in
one many-mouthed, multitudfnous, pro-
longed and mighty roar, illustrated the
real meaning OF their existence. and,