The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1905-05-25
Jarucs holman.

Hardly less wonderful than the s'ory o
Helen Keller 10 that OF James Holmsr, III
blind traveller. Not even the celebrate,
Baron won Humboldt Travelled so IA, or VIZ
tied so many distant COUNTRIES. Eight!
years ago, too, when Holman lived, trsve
was va,tly more d n ,ut and perlleus thai
now.
At an early sge james Holman had enter
ed the y iglish navy as q midshipmsn, To
several years his ship was with the tqpad
ron at Halifax, Nova Scotia. 10 1907 b,
wssprcmoted to be naval lleutensn'.
Three years later there befell him s,v
ere Illness, accompanied by an acute II him
msiln Of the eyes, which resulted in com
plete loss OF sight. Thus, almost In day
an ambitious ofiicer found every plan snt
ardent hope Of bis youth faded out In as' X
ness. For time grief and despair quit,
osercame him he would gladly have died
King George Ill, la whose service be me
with his misfortune, made hin knight q
Windsor, and gave him some nom'nsl du
tbs at court, with a pension.
Aiterward, when the natural buoy arcl
OF youth had revived, the inac ivly ant
almlessness Of life at Windsor Castle prey
ed upon Holmsn's spirits and seriou'lv af
fected his health. He obtained leave Of ab
sence, took two years course Of s'u ly a
Edinburgh uoiversity, and then formed ,h'
bold plan Of making European tour II
search Of health and information. All ar
guments failed to move him, and to th'
CONSERVATION Of his friends, he set cfi en-
tirely alone to feel bis way In the dahl
through strange lands.
What rendered such an undertaking still
more dinicult was the fact that at first hi
could not speak French, German or Italian
But his indomitable will, his resourceful
ness, and happy faculty Of making friends
carried him through successfully, and hi
returned 10 triumph to tell Of two years
wanderipgs in France, Italy, Switzerland
Germany and Holland. he wrote a nara,
tive Of his travels, which proved interest
leg enough to bis contemporaries to &c
through several editions.
Elch succeeding journey was followed
by a volume, and these, the EncycloI m iis
Britannica says, are "of considerable value
ss bJ.ks Uf irsyd,"as well as occupying
"a unique place in literature as products Of
very extraordinary energy and presever-
srce.
Young Holman, for all his iron will, was
Of genial disposition. He stllom refer.
red to bis tfiljction, and never cough pity
He had good share Of hum Or, WHICH PER-
haps accounts for bis happy faculty Ct
making warm friends, who were glad to
serve as eyes for him.
For fifteen years Lieutenant Holman
travelled almost constantly. He visited
Brtzl, Chile, the west coast Of Africa, Bar
barv, South Africa, Madagascar, Z.nzibar,
Maurlias, India, China, Singapore ard
Java. Space prevents making even cats.
logue Of these brave voyages. Although
often exposed to grave perils and repeated
ly In the power of robbers and savsges, he
came safely back from every i,urney.
His most notable adventure, In Iced, was
at the hands OF the Russian authorities
while In Siberia. Travelling leisurely from
city to city, he had reached the distant
northern town Of lrkutsk, in the winter OF
1928 His character and the ot 'cts Of HE
travels had been abundantly certified In bis
passport and letters Of introduction to Rus.
sian tfiicials.
But now suspicion that he was an Epg.
lish spy, or some kind OF spy in disguise,
appears to have entered the minds Of the
Tsar and his ministers. Inmediitely an
aide dec mp, or messenger OF the Tssr,
was sent to apprehend the blind traveller
and conduct him to the frontier OF the en-
pire.
The aldo L. :amp--a YouDg { I'll Ger nam
cd Alexis Kolovir-arrlyed by sltdge a.
Irkutsk on January l0.h, when the timper-
ature was twenty degrees Fshrenheit belos y
zero. Ii had been Holmsu's intention to
visit Lake Baiksl and Kamchatka after th,
iigors Of winter had abated. The governor
and military officers at Irkatsk we're bis
warm friends. Hi, genial manners made
him fayorite in society.
But now came the aide IL camp With an
imperial order to escort him to the Austrian
frontier, 10 the coldes. period OF the Siber-
ian winter, when fur-clad Russians hesitat.
ed to make even the briefes. trips ou.-o.-
doors.
In vain the blind Travelled demonstrated
and begged for delay.
You are compelled, was the governor .
reluctant reply.
This inhuman order, too, had Arily, d
when Holmsn's funds were, for the Il re
being, nearly exhausted and the order I.
pTcsslv stipulated that he mus. bear the On.
tire expense OF the enforced i)urney III :
self
He and the fiiser set q n on the morning
Of Jsnusry l9.h, 10 bittor wind, sgsintt
which the hood and curtain OF the sledge
ifered an ipst n ,ispt protection. The Ras.
alan wlsh,d TO make neord for celsrIIy
10 tIscating his commission. II be could
reach 81. pstersburg agsia wllhin . Certain
number Of days, be would b ient on az i'm.
por,snt nission TO pArls. Three honcs
were attached abreast to the ielegs, and
the c iilser ordered the driver TO pu, them
st:s gallop, although the snow was 10 their
kneei. This rate Of travelling was kept up
hour after hour. The tIfIIngs OF the
horses so touched the heart cf the diver Al
iast tha, be disobeyed the repeated con.
msnds Of Kolovin 10 lath them forward.
Tb,reupon the latter aopp,d the slecge
atd gave the driver thirty blows with ihs
steel tcstbrd Of his sabsr.