New-York tribune., 1909-06-20

London. June 4.

=, - 1-ou take account of other kinds OF
.,;. and of Ministers. there are more than
-t-ee Mr. Motley a brilliant historian
hose Rise Of the Dutch Republic and His
cory Of the United Netherlands" gave him
t.s+,nr European reputation. and added distinc-
80, 70 American literature. But neither his six
.,,.-s Of service as Minister to Austria, 1861
,ss7. nor his year and half IN England, 1869
,s-n rroved him a great diplomatist-
Austria was not then and is not TOW. Of the
e-s+ importance from an American point OF
,,e-v We respect her wise old Emperor. we
IN nat. 7 think. agree with Mr.. Gladstone IN say
Eng YOU can nowhere put your finger on the
man and say. Here Austrian rule has been
berefcent- She never a model TO US, ana
&c not now But since like courage. and
c1ear-sighted decision. and the recognition OF
facts. and like the men who have these gifts, we
have not Joined very heartily in the European
or+crv against the Austrian annexation Of Bos-
MA and Herzegovina We are world-power for
certain purposes only We stand aloof from
-ure1v European complications. They are as
-75le no affair Of ours. We learned TO our cost
or possibly our modification. not very long ago.
that Austria. "effete" or not. was capable or
giving US q lesson in diplomacy; or. at least. in
Diplomatic etiquette: by which we. our late
President may may not have profited
NJ Motley. though he wrote excellent dis
ratches and made diplomatic or social mis-
takes in that difficult Austrian capital. had not
the smooth temper OF the patient arts which
are essential TO success at critical moments
ne was impetuous. explosive. rhetorical; prone
n interpret his instructions in the light of his
own wishes or convictions. Socially he was
force even in Vienna because Of his personal
charm his distinction OF appearance and OF
manner. Socially speaking. he was an aristo-
crst He was the first American Minister 10
London 70 establish himself in a house suitable
TO the dignity Of the post, Lord Yarboroughs'
in Arlington street. He was known to be Count
Bismarcks friend. That of itself gave him a
kind Of celebrity. for Count Bismarck was then
. comparatively unfamiliar parsonage in Eng
land where the outlook Of the average man on
the Continental horizon is not wide
One Of the first questions Count Bismarck
asked me when I first talked with him in the
wihelmstrasse in 1865 was whether I knew
MOTLEY
Yes"
"Are you going 70 Vienna"
Yes"
Then Of course YOU will see Motley. Be sure
-ou give him a message from re-a warm mes
sage. I have never forgotten our university
davs together at G6ttingen.-our friendship. He
knows that but tell him again And tell him 1
hope to see him in Berlin before he goes home"
AS he spoke. there came into the eyes of the
Iron Chancellor a look ] had not seen before
The steel-bl1le softened the blue of the skies
after rain. as tire Chinese say His friendship
for Motley was an afTectionate friendship. Later
talked with Motley about Bismarck. and of
course delivered my message.
yes said Motley. we were boys together
at Gottingen- His was different life from
mine dare say-yo have heard the stories
about young Bisn1arcks exploits In those mat
-e-s he was like most students Of his time ana
9. his class The Prussian Junker Is a being
nv himself But We became friends, and friends
-e have remained. We don't meet often. but
the friendship has never died out nor decayed"
Another thing made Motley far otherwise pop
uiar in England.-his passionate AnericanisTn-
Nr Price Collier is Of opinion that Englishmen
do no- ike Americans. 1 do not agree with Mr..
Collier hut whether they do or not. they like an
American 70 be an American. They liked Mr..
Motley because his patriotism burst forth in all
companies and at ali times II made him, or
tended to make him, reluctant TO compromise on
anv question where the interests OF his country
were concerned But compromise is Of the es-
sence Of diplomacy; most Of all as between the
greatest Powers of the World. If nobody ever
yielded anything. negotiations could end only in
surrender or in war: the two things which II Is
the business Of diplomacy TO avoid Nothng
Motiev ever did IN diplomacy of such service
70 his country q $ his two letters to the Times,
early in the Civil War. and his memorable out
burst in the Atheneum Club. To write the let
ters he violated the unwritten law Of diplomacy,
for he was then Minister to Austria To make
the Athenaun speech-for It was nothing less
he departed from the other unwritten law which
makes club neutral ground, and makes any
thing Ike an grafton impossible.
But Motley had among other qualities the
quality Of courage. His invective in the
Atheneum against the very classes among
whose representatives he stood was magnificent,
and II came very near being war. or a declara-
don Of war He would keep terms with the
men who were enemies Of his country in such
crisis as that II il had been anybody but
Motley who thundered against the ignorance ana
prejudice of the Confederate allies who then
gave the tone TO English society, 1 imagine the
Committee Of the Club might have taken notice
But Motley fascinated while he rebuked. When
he had cone denouncing them as renegades to
English ideas and enemies to liberty, they hked
him the better 1 can think OF incident SO
Ike this as Plimsoll's defiance Of the House OF
Commons. when he rushed into the middle OF
the floor and charged his fellow members with
sacrificing the lives of English sailors to the
cupidity OF English ship owners. and SO COM
PEELED the House adopt the load line
History has taken note Of Plimsolrs exploit.
MotIey's may never appear in pages which aim
at historical dignity But TO this day, when
near half 2 century has passed. Motley's is still
remembered still spoken Of: still admired.
There are men living who heard him. The Eng
lish do not entirely ike being reminded OF their
mistakes about us al that period. but pear
no malice against the man whose adnonluoh
Old much TO bring them to their senses ob
the contrary through all these forty-Odd years,