New-York tribune., 1901-07-07
iiER/L.
y TWENTIETH CENTURY MOSES.

From The London star.
\ year ago. while | drinking afternoon
tea in a London dra wing room. entered Il tail.
1.-the man. with coal black hair beard and
mustaches, restless visionary eyes. and ner-
Nous mouth, tWitching with half sad humor. l
did not know him. but he maGnetiZed me i'm
mediateiy. l intutivey OWNED the intensity
OF his personal force. the rich radiance of his
character the passionate idiosynCrasy of his
soul At that time Zionism was mere shib-
Loleth TO me. one OF the husks that are blown
about the social and political highway. But the
moment | saw this modern Moses this praC
tica prophet Zionisn became a vivid reality.
For recognized in him At of those
apostles who work miracles by the power of
their will and the empire of their egosm. At
that timr HcrZl could not speak Il word of Eng
'iSh, After a few commonpaces he drifted
away again. leaving me profoundly interested in
his romantic genius. He had done nothing. said
nothing, but he had been himself. Now, the
man who be himself in Il drawing is
And this mans self was so bizarre, SO
disturbing. so strange. that l caught myself
Wondering ut its persistence in my mind. Why
should keep in my memory 50 clear picture
OF ierzI when so many other men and women
fade out OF it like shadows of shadows2
Well, the other day met Herzi again in an
other drawing r"om-the drawing room of the
Hotel Cecil. Here ii was | who driftcd in. and
the first thing thai discntangled itself from the
roUt OF men and women the old restless
visionary gaze that had haunted me before.
Til. Jewish leader was holding q kind of levte
with lyrical iuterludcS in the shape of songs by
his hungarian compatriot Mile Aurelia ReVy.
young prlma donna who has golden praise
with The carr Rosa opera Company and at
C0Ncnt Garden. My talk with H"rZl was laced
with musical outhursts. He eXpounded his Eor-
. Ee"us dreams To the sound of airs by Wagner
+ schubert. Bach and GOunOd. | think the music
was as worthy oi the dreams as the dreams
were worthy OF the music II all idealist pol
tiles were conducted thus. if all humanitarian
visions Wer" set to music, the world would not
b." 50 drab and dull
was astonished to find that Hcrzl had learned
To speak English with wonderful nucncy. New
and then h. falls back ON q charming I-atInism
tsUCG as "aVitatc' FOR "dvoid'1. hut he expresses
/ himself with surprising lucidity. The dom
inaut note in his idealiSm IS his confidence. H,
walls of difficulty And this imaginative proph-
. et has in him granite basis Of common sense
! to talk uf the hard. practical side of his vast
scheme for leading the people of Israel back
To the Promised Land
1t is potent force. this pride of race
which lI"rA has rekindled- / was struck by
J TIA" passionate energy with " hich he and his
comrades protested against the Injustice Of
judging the Jews by their black sheep Th.
core and heart of the Zionist movement is its
caronizaton Of the jew q a Jew. its glorifica-
ton OF the Jew historic heritage. its call the.
Jew L. emerge from his suhterrauean hiding
places and to stand before the world as a racial
unity Zangwill put this all in n parable The
jew in the past he said. has acted like the.
| ostrich. II" has buried his head in the sand
with the natural result that the world has been
tempted to kick the prominent part of his
anatomy. Some influential Jews prefer 10 con
! tinue these tactics But think the time has
/ come to stand erect"
Ana as Mig ttNy sang some Of her Wild
! Hungarian folksOnSs | could not help thinking
that there is more dynamic force in this Jewish
ienascence than the Gentle inagines. For the
: Jews. above all races, idealiStS. II this
great ideal took fire and blaZcd through their
! ranks. who shall say where it would end? But
Z the men who are organizing il very prudent.
! ltcrZl d"uT"CateS wild and nebuouS aims. He
/ prefers To keen the movement on the practical
! lin" of an agricultural and industrial colony.
/ Yet. in his restless visionary eyes there is Il
! lotticr dream, more splendid conception, the
| immortal image of Israel a nation. and not
! the least of the nations of the earth 'MenO
| Ruh' ist HIM
TENPERlTL RE AND MlRLNE LIEE