The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-03-05
adness and Gloom OF
Russian Literature.
BY CICERO w. HARRIS.

captives in war and in peace drink
themselves poor on the vile vodka OF
the Russians. Their fatalism is as
apparent as their barbarism. 1t is u
picture as black as midnight. Tolstoi
is more philosophic less realistic, but
every whit as Sombre. SombreneSs
broods over the whole field
of Russian and Polish fiction. / know
hardly anything of Bohemian novels
and poetry. but the VIVID sketch of
some phases of upper Bohemian Hfe
especially on its religious side, given
by that great genius, George Sand, in
perhaps her best story. "Consuelo.
would seem to point to the Czechs as
resembling the Poles and Muscoyites
in their pessimistic tendencies. re.
verting to Russian letters for another
moment: when ] was boy one OF
my favorite pieces in the higher school
readers was DerZchaYen's solemn and
mystic ode to the Deity. Since that
time | have read with mingled profit
and pleasure q few of Poushkin's short
poem / never read any of his lic-
ton. For that the authors mentioned
above sutficed. Trugenieff has fancy,
Knowledge of human life and force
full brevity. His philosophic insight Is
considerable, but is held i'm and does
not run riot as it does in Tolstoi. He
is far more enjoyable, in my opinion,
than the latter. l have read nothing
of Gorky 's--do not think | care to
read his stories, reeking with crime
and pessimism.
OF all the Slavonian romance writer's
with whom have acquaintance
through translation, the most pictur-
esaue and full of incident is Sienkic-
wicz pronounced, says Translator.
Curtin Sinkayvitch, with accent on the
the second syllable). and his national
romances have more literary power
than the famed Quo Nadis.' They
are likewise more Interesting for the
general reader.
There has been of late considerable
restiveness. on the part. even of the
political organization heretofore in
different to the subject because in
tcrested in maintaining the protective
tariff. to the great and unnecessary
increase every year in the public eX-
penditures. 1t is a wholesome sign.
The question of holding up these eX-
penditures and ccnfining them within
the absolute necessities Of the case is
not one for partisan consideration in
fact although the Democrats, being
for the greater time since 1850 out
of power, have been quite insistent on
economy.
The history of nations, especially
of free governments, has shown That
wastefulness is a symptom of de-
moralization both public and private:
and we all know that in the indivi-
dual and in the people decay in
varab1y sets in with luxury and ex-
traVagance The examples are so
many that ii seems almost schoolboy-
ish TO recite them as warnings. And
yet some of them are fertile with
profit to us il we pay heed 10 them.
Perhaps the two most conspicuous in
stances in European history are those
of the later Roman Republic and of
France under Louis the Great So
called. The Roman people under
stood the art Of conquering and cor
trolling-thc great art of govern
ment-the science of politics-bettcr
than any people who lived in ancient
times and better than most nations
in modern times. The French al
ways deficient in the true liberality
of institutions. but sometimes great
in mere administration for a war
period have had q political history
for more than a thousand years OF
grand impressivenesS. Two great
short-lived imperial dynasties arose
there-thosc of Charles the Great and
Napoleon Bonaparte. the one Ger
man. the other an italian. In the case
wantonncSs of her Senate and the
change in the mode Of living OF the
Roman people and their Italian allies,
the freedom of the people rotted in
its luxury. In the case Of France 1T
is true such freedom as some of the
French people enjoyed in their parlia-
ments-couits of law-and in the oc-
| Casional assemblage Of the Estates
was taken away by the neglect of
the King. who said II am the state"
But it was the Kings arbitrary com
lnalid requiring the nobility 10 reside
at Paris and not at their ch9teauX
in the provinces which contributed
more than ANYTHING else--eyen more
| than the Kings costly and unjust
wars to reduce the people OF France
to restitution in a few generations.
And we know that Il was the misery
of the proletariat and the teaching of
the philosophers combined which pro-
duccd the bloody Revolution that
cleared the air and eventually left
France frecr than ever before The
morals of the feudal nobility in
France on their estates were not any
worse than the morals of any other
European nobility. and were decided
~ superior TO the morals Of the
mobiles i'm Italy. In Paris the gay life
Of the Court OF Louis le Grand soon
Slapped the virtue OF the deccndauts
of the old t'fankisf counts aud mar
graves. This reckless life OF
pleasure required money. The peas
ant WAS taxed 10 death to sustain the
magnificence Of the court circle and
the terrible wars Of the absolute King
stripped the f;lrns and the villages
of their male population. Industry
declined as population declined.
Liberty decayed as men were ground
To death i'm poverty or were left TO
bleach their bones on foreign battle
fields.
This is gloomy picture. But that
most modern of the great French his
torians i'm his Ancient Regime,
Taine. n writer who afterward piled
horror on horror in his account Of
thc Revolution in order 10 discredit
it, has shown the steps. one by one.
on the downward path of u great
people who once possessed q measure
of both personal liberty and rational
free gov eminent.
If the two greatest powers of
Europe could SO lose liberty and
public virtue and private worth could
SO decay, why do we expect exemp-
fiotl