New-York tribune., 1902-08-23
AN EXILE'S ESSAYS.
pp.r voy NEYsENBUG's RECoLLEc-
TIoNs OF REvoLUTIoNARIhS-

,rAs. <,,.-+.-+,s1 volume of essays gives a
number of interesting views OF peiSolt'4'''e'
xo-oe Of whom the author mas herseI h-IO'i'
and others of whom the world mas nearo ii'07
nnfwithsta nding the interest that she mas s-io
.,,s.hs, m them. They are parsons chiefly OF
revolutionary tendency, for Frau NoH -NeS 81
hing has herself been revolutionary ana SUI
,e,ed exile in ENGLAND. Her first essay Is Oh
,y,stzscba-not so tremendous a revoluuonaT3 III
.ha realr, of thought and morals she oeLeNes'
or SO gigantic figure as some nave ca'70
him Nor is his chief title to remembrance tnal
which has attracted the most attention f1S
was no prophet Of a new time, thinks this au-
thor but a representative of a tans1uoh peIiou'
of the contest between two views OF the "Otlu
thai stood in hostile opposition to each otneI-
Cosima Wagner on a visit 10 Florence, hTst
called her attention TO him. At Bayreuth our
ing the ceremonies Of laying the cornerstone
of the Fesrspielhaus Frau Wagner came 10 her
g., .he lfrtle rocco theatre of the old MargraFes
with a young man to introduce to her-HefI
Nietzsche:
.c,r,a+ fbe N,etzscbe?" I cried joyfully. Both
laughed and Frau Wagner answered; !es' ~ "
Niefzsche" And there Was consorteu Win -
mental image of him the impression or a gUu.n gt
4,,I banSs0Toe sr7iable personality, with whom
a hearty understanding was quickly est@h
Their friendship soon became intimate. ana
she gives n1anv extracts from his letters show
ing the mans high ideal nature and his anlol-
tions freely expressed to her, as well as MS
,,essiuistic views Of life 1T is terrible and dan
gerous to live" he wrote her. even SO early as
1873: after his burden OF physical ana mental
afnlent had already announced ft5el1, ne speaAS
of himself as "a young cid man, to whom lie
Is not sorrow though ne must soon reach us
.n5" The cloud that came upon his brain first
showed itself in the exaggerated idea he had Of
tgS NUN work Thus he wrote.
Tbave given mankind the deepest book that it
possesses q book compared 10 whlch DOCKS i"
general are only literature
The publication of his book, The Case Of Wag-
ner." finally severed the friendly relations OF
Nietzsche and Frau Won Meysenbug, and she
closes her account OF him with regret that ne
did not live TO enter upon third perlod OF
his life in which he should have reached cisaf
expression of a nobler philosophy
Joseph Mazzini she knew during his exile III
England-a man Of action above all else, as far
removed in one sense. from Nietzsche as one
man could well be from another During MS
second banishment Frau Won Meysenbug found
him a man gray before his time. en- whose face
grief and bitter experience had ploughed oeep
burrows: the hard lines around whose mouth
were only occasionally relaxed by srlle' "lio07
thin figure. clad in q black coat huttoneo oitF'e
I'D un6er his chin, would suggest q phllosopHeL
or q man of science rather than bold man ol
action. and whose sharp and categorical manner
in talking about political principles and views
WAS at first strange. Such he was when she
first met him in 1853. at the house OF Russian
exile and heard him discuss vehemently the
revolutionary dogma, the DUTY Of the holy
deed" and inveigh against mere sceptclsn' the
mere negatior Of the existing things. He had
an almost mystical belief in the meaning OF
Rome the name and its anaSram-Rorna- amor
pointing to q third time when it should rule
the world: but this time was TO come through
the power Of brotherly love In London
though he had a small Independent income. he
lived like an anchorite. spending most OF his
money in aiding his countrymen in need and
in forwarding the cause TO which he was de-
voted Cigars. Of which he smoked many. were
his only luxury.
Many letters passed between him and Frau
Won Meysenbug in succeeding years, chiefly de-
voted On his part to discussion Of the principles
Of the revolutionary party The attack of Or
sini on Napoleon deeply affected him The
world would gladly have discovered some con-
11ection between him and the deed but Mazzni
had long since parted company with the assas-
sin and he knew nothing OF II, as his friend
assures us. nor Of the attempt Of Milano on the
King Of Naples, which he had endeavored in
every way 10 prevent What lay nearest to his
heart was the organization Of the revolutionary
party His letters speak Of uninterrupted hard
work MY task is that Of the factory operatives
who cannot get away from the machinery
am whitening up under it, but it must be- And
On her invitation 70 seek rest and refreshment
IN the Isle Of Wight, he writes: The Isle Of
Wight is too beautiful for me. Compared
to what goes on within me, / am well enough
eff where I am SAD and gloomy as l am. the
most beautiful landscape. like the most beauti-
full music makes r7e q thousand times gloom
fer" The many evidences Of his friendship and
tenderness show different side Of his nature
from that which tie word regards as concerned
only with ambitious, nladly daring. impossible
plans, martyr 70 the Ideal"
Frau Won Gleysenbug writes of more reyolu-
tionists In an essay upon The Decembrists,"
the Russian PesteI RyIejeff Bestuscheff and
their associates who were condemned TO death
after the assassination Of Alexander in $50
and the revolution of that year They were not
concerned in that catastrophe. but their work
was the foundation Of that movement for free
dorn in Russia which has since attained so great
dimensions
Rylejef was typical Of the class of men who
worked for freedom in Russia at that time.
student in the cadet school lawyer distin-
guished for the honor and sincerity of his char
scter and love Of justice. writer whose works
attracted widespread attention in the Russian
capitai he was early drawn to the movement
for the overthrow Of the Russian despotism- The
efforts Of the society to which he belonged We're
directed to securing the adhesion Of the soldiers.
especially al the time when, On the accession OF
Alexander's successor Nicholas. a new oath of
allegiance 10 be exacted Of them There
was not much prospect OF success, since the
conspirators could not reckon on any entire
regiment Characteristic of their attitude was
Rylejeffs declaration: y now that we can
hut he 0Tip M