The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-02-19
FRENCH VIEWS OF ENGLAND


An English writer has compiled from the
text books used by French children the fol-
lowing statements about England and Eng
lish history, with the view Of assisting
the countrymcn TO see themselves as others
see them:
or the followers of William the Con-
queror it is said: "Herdsnien and peasants
born mounted TO the condition ofgentlemen
and great proprietors, and this is the orr
gin of the proudest aristocracy there is in
the world.
or the war with Holland In 1865: 1.-THE
richess the colonies, the vast commerce or
Holland dazzled England. This was the
true reason of this war, which the English
began by chasing Holland from one OF her
foothoids in Africa" After the war: THE
English have never been patient. They
demanded an eXpiatory victim. The lot
fell on Clarendon.
Ot William of orange 'He was ambitious
for the throne of England because he wished
to make that country the head and princi-
pal force Of a European federation against
France.
or the Crimean war: England carcdlittle
enough about the Latin Christians, but she
regards herself as inteTestedin maintaining
the empire of the Turks.
OF the preponderant role of England in
recent We lrs: 'ThisinflUe1c, she has oftenest
exercised at the expense of her ancient enc
my, France
In 1870: France was beaten, crushed,
and England looked on without budging at
the defeat of the nation that was her
rival in former times and has been her
useful ally since. She alone could have
helped France because she alone sympa-
thiZed with her"
This country, England, seems to have
had for her mission to show the rest OF
the world how the superior races of
Europe are destined to conquer and civilize
the inferior races and to occupy vacant
territory In other parts of the globe; but
to be just and accurate it must be said that
England up to this time has shown rather
how to exploit inferior races than how TO
civiliZe Them
Concerning the revolution OF Louis
Philippe: Lord PalInerston was minister
of foreign affairs. He was an Englishman
of the old rock, jealous to excess of the
least growth OF other powers And
of the revolution of 1S4S: THE English
governme Mt recogni Zed without diff
Guilty the French republic nd Lord Palmer
ston counted that France as republic
would be less strong than before-an idea
not displeaS sing to his excessive patriotism
For the same reasons and in perfect re-
curity herself, on account of her insular
position, the English government enc our
aged and saw, with egoistic satisfaction,
the events unrull that reduced for the
moment Austria to extreme feeblencss,
Prussia to embarrassment, Russia TO in
uuetnde, and chased from his estates the
pope, always odious to the mass of the
English people
.,Thc other mission Of England has been
to create, bit by bit, and often without
realizing it herself, a kind OF government
unknown to antiquity, that is up to now
the last word of political art, the paTlia-
mentary government"
And to Swecten tie doses there is pr city
summing mp
The nat onal character that the history
of England has formed is assurcdly OF a
superior quality. Robust Of body, patient
and tenacious Of win, with activity, and
capacity for work without equal, adven-
tuTols, with great courage in face of dan
ger gifted in exceptional individualities,
with Imagination strong even TO violence
and genius of observation, with induction
carried to the asst precision, the people that
has produced Shakespeare and Milton pos
sesses a nat .onal genius thatn o other nation
can flatter itself, all said 10 smpass. The
English is certainly one Of the two or three
types the most beautiful that the human
race has pr oduced.''