Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1911-11-01


| the grave of one of ours; it is the
| home of others. We were happy; we
asked favor of no man; fear of no one
did we feel. Elizabeth has in her time
slept on a bed of husks. She has
cooked at a sooty fireplace Of her
own; and at her cabin door l myself
have been the guard. We made our
way by ourselves and for ourselves, as
did those who conquered America for
our flag. "The citizen standing in the
doorway of his home shall save the
Republic" So wrote later pen.
It was not until long after the dis
covery of gold in California had set US
all to thinking that l was reminded
of the strange story of the old Ger
man, Won Rittenhofen, of finding some
pieces of gold while on one of his
hunts for butterflies. I followed out
! his vague directions as best l might.
| We found gold enough to make us
rich without our land. That claim is
! staked legally. Half of it awaits an
owner who perhaps will never come.
There are those who will accept al
| iticians, who by word of mouth or pen
assert that this or that party made
our country, wrote its history. Such
as they might smile If told that not
even men, much less politicians, have
written ali our story as a nation; yet
any who smile at woman's influence In
| American history do so in ignorance
of the truth Mr.. Webster and Lord
Ashburton have credit for .determin-
ing our boundary on the northeast
| England called it Ashburton's capitu-
latton to the Yankee. Did you never
hear the other gossip? England laid
all that to Ashburton's American wife!
Look at that poor, hot-tempered devil,
Yrujo, minister from Spain with us,
who saw his kings holdings on this
continent juggled from hand to hand
between US all His wife was daugh-
ter of Gov Mexican of Pennsylvania
yonder. If she had no influence with
her husband, so much the worse for
her. In important times a generation
ago NJ Genet, of France, as all know,
was the husband of the daughter of
Gov Clinton of New York. Did that
hurt our chances with France? My
Lord Oswald of Great Britain, who ne
gotiated our treaty of peace in 1882
was not his worldly fortune made by
virtue of his American wife? All of
us should remember that Marbois,
Napoleons minister, who signed the
great treaty for him with US, married
his wife while he was mere charge
here in Washington; and she, too, was
an American. Erskine, OF England,
when times were strained in 1903, and
later-and our friend for the most
part-was he not also husband of an
American? 1t was as John Calhoun
said-our history, like that of England
and France, like that of Rome and
Troy, was made in large part by
women.
Of that strange woman, Helena, Bar
oness Won Ritz, I have never definitely
heard since then But all of US have
heard of that great uplift of central
Europe, that ferment Of revolution,
most noticeable in Germany, in 1S4S
Out of that revolutionary spirit there
came to US thousands and thousands
of our best population, the sturdiest
and the most liberty-loving citizens
this country ever had. They gave US
scores of generals in our late war, and
gave US at least one cabinet officer
But whence came that spirit of revolu-
ton in Europe? Why does it live,
grow, increase, even now? Why does
it sound now, close to the Oldest
thrones? Where originated that germ
of liberty which did its work so we'll?
am at least one w1o believes that
I could guess something of its source,
The revolution in Hungary failed
for the time. Kossuth came to see
US with pleas that we might aid Hun
gary. But republics forget. We gave
no aid to Hungary. l was far away
and did not meet Kossuth. l should
have been glad to question him. l did
not forget Helena Won Ritz, nor doubt
that she worked out in full that
strange destiny for which, indeed, she
was korn and prepared, to which she
devoted herself, made clean by sacri
fee She was not one to leave her
work undone She, know, passed or
her torch Of principle.
Elizabeth and l speak often Of
Helena Won Ritz. | remember her
still-brilliant, beautiful fascinating,
compelling, pathetic, tragic. If it was
asked of her, l know that she still
paid it gladly-all that sacrifice
through which alone there can be
worked out the progress of humanity,
under that idea which blindly we at
tempted to express in our Declare
ton; that idea which at times we may
forget, but which eventually must tri-
umph for the good of all the world
She helped us make our map. Shall
not that for which she stood help Us
hold it?
/ At least, let me say have thought
this little story might be set down;
and, though some to-day may smile al
flags and principles, should like. If
may be allowed, to close with the
words of yet another man Of those
earlier times: THE old flag of the
/ Union was my protector IN infancy
and the pride and glory of my ripper
| wars. and nv the grace of God, under