I was in Moscow when our Monarch's mighty1 voice sounded in defence of little Serbia. I was driving near the Tverskoi Boulevard, when a shouting crowd rushed past me, and burst into a neighbouring restaurant.
"What does it all mean?" I exclaimed. "Is it a riot? do they want drink?"
"Oh no," said the bystanders. "They only want to call out the orchestra and make them play the national hymn2."
I stopped my carriage.
The orchestra appeared, and played our God save the Tzar, while the whole crowd, wild with enthusiasm, joined in.
Delighted and touched, I followed them. Most were singing and shouting "Hurrah," some praying and making the sign of the cross, while the throng3 continually increased.
{18}
Similar scenes occurred daily in various quarters of the town. One evening, an idle crowd had assembled near St. Saviour's Church. A priest appeared with a cross. The whole crowd fell on their knees and prayed. Such moments one cannot forget—indeed one can only thank God for them.
People say that in Petrograd the demonstrations4 were still grander. It may be so—but whenever the Emperor visits Moscow, and speaks there with his powerful, animating5 voice, the old capital rises to unapproachable heights of enthusiasm and to resolutions of unbounded self-sacrifice.
A few days later I realised that the great ambition of my life was about to be realised, not only by an entente6, but by an alliance between Russia and the country that has given me so many friends and shown me such splendid hospitality. Yet how differently everything had happened from what I had anticipated after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Agreement. It was not the gradual drawing together of the two countries that each might enjoy the peaceful friendship of the other: but the sudden discovery that they had a common foe7 to fight, a common ideal to preserve, a common civilisation8 to save.
Years ago I wrote, "I want to be a harbinger of peace, of hope, of prosperity to come," and yet here was my great ambition being realised to the sound of the drum and midst the thunder of the destroying guns.
History was repeating itself. As in 1875, a Slav nation was being oppressed, threatened with annihilation, and the great heart of Russia was moved. {19} I remember so well those days forty years ago when our Foreign Office tried all it could to stop the reckless chivalry9 of the Russian people—determined10 as all classes were to sacrifice everything, life itself even, for the sake of their oppressed co-religionists, the Bulgarians.
In that August thirty-eight years before (1876), Petrograd itself (always more cautious and reserved than Moscow) showed an enthusiasm for the cause of the Christian11 Slavs that daily gathered strength. It pervaded12 all classes from prince to peasant.
The sympathy of the masses had been evoked13 by the atrocities14, committed in the usual unspeakable Turkish fashion, in Bulgaria. That sympathy, however, bore chiefly a religious, not a political character, and as in almost all great national movements our Emperor identified himself with his people. Public collections were being made for the sick and wounded.
Officers of the Red Cross and ladies of the Court and society went from house to house requesting subscriptions15.
At railway stations, on the steam-boats, even on the tramways, the "Red Cross" was present everywhere, with a sealed box for donations. Every effort was made to animate16 feelings of compassion17 for the suffering Christians18, and to swell19 the funds for providing ambulances for the sick and wounded.
And now in 1914 another great national emotion had swept over three hundred millions of people. This was not a war of greed or gain; it was not concerned with some insult levelled at Russia or the violation20 of her frontiers; it was the result of a {20} deep religious sense of justice in the hearts of the people. It was what in England would be called "the sporting instinct" which forbids a big man to hit another smaller than himself.
No power could have held back the chivalrous21 Russians from going to the aid of threatened Serbia. All recognised that a terrible and fateful day had dawned, and throughout the dark days of the autumn of 1915, the people never flinched22 from the task they had undertaken. They were pledged to save Serbia.
Russians believed, still believe and will always believe, in the sacredness of an oath given in the name of God. Certain words indeed are not meaningless sounds! To such sacred promises naturally belongs also the oath of allegiance.
For centuries confidence and harmony reigned23 between all the Russian subjects. Now, the blasphemous24 Kaiser was trying to abolish every moral and religious tie. Could anything be more cruel and mischievous25?
Everywhere it was the same. When I visited the wounded in my Tamboff country place, our poor soldiers, in answer to my queries26 as to their wants and desires, answered quite simply, not in the least realising the nobleness of their feeling:
"If God would only make us strong enough to go and punish the infamous27 enemy. You do not know the harm done to our fields, our churches, our brothers."
The tone of this and similar remarks was very striking. One of the wounded was a Mohammedan. I do not know whether it is wise or not, but the {21} Mohammedans in Russia are treated exactly like other Russian subjects, and they know that in serving Russia they may attain28 the highest military positions, as did, for instance, General Ali Khanoff, and others of the same creed29.
Russia, as a whole, has an unlimited30 faith in victory. The Russian Emperor's New Year's address echoed far and wide, like a clarion31 call, through the ranks of the Imperial army and fleet. All doubts vanished beyond recall, for the utterance32 of the Sovereign was more decided33, definite and determined than any that had gone before. Here are words that must ring like a knell34 in the ears of exhausted35 Germany, trembling under the strain of her last efforts.
"A half-victory—an unfinished war"—this was the hideous36 phantom37 before which the hearts of our brave soldiers sank, and which, like a ceaseless nightmare, disturbed the rest, even of our most illiterate38 peasants. Far and wide, indeed, Russian hearts to-day thrill and respond to their beloved Emperor's call:
"Remember that without complete victory our dear Russia cannot ensure for herself and her people the independence that is her pride and her birthright, cannot enjoy and develop to the full the fruits of her labour and her natural wealth. Let your hearts be permeated39 with the consciousness that there can be no peace without victory. However great may be the sacrifice required of us, we must march onward40 unflinchingly, onward to triumph for our country and our cause."
The air vibrated with the echoes of these splendid {22} words—and the bereaved41 mothers, sisters, wives, weeping in the loneliness and despair of their broken hearts, look up and smile again, because Russia's blood has not been shed in vain. The news travelled on the wings of the wind, and over countless42 distant, unknown graves, it brought its message to our fallen heroes: "You shall be revenged, brave warriors43; your souls shall celebrate the moment of triumph, together with your living brothers!"
It is good also to know that we are not alone in our determination, that our Allies are with us, and share our views.
Therefore, if we assume that Germany's entire population numbers about seventy millions, the outside limit for the numerical strength of her army can in no circumstance exceed ten millions, this being already 14 per cent of the whole nation, and a completely unprecedented44 percentage of the nation's manhood. Such figures, indeed, represent an entire people in arms—a people, however, that has taken upon itself the impossible task of measuring its strength against that of three other mighty peoples, armed, also, to the teeth. In this uneven45 struggle, Germany must ultimately, in spite of Austrian, Bulgarian and Turkish help, meet her ruin, and bleed to death.
We, in Russia, look forward to the future without fear. We stand united as one man. All political strifes and disagreements are forgotten; there is no division of parties, no discussion of any affairs of State except those connected with the war. "War war, war, till victory, till triumph. There lies our future, and so shall it be." With these words our {23} Home Secretary, Monsieur Khvostoff, concluded his recent speech to the members of the Press Bureau. The same sentiments are echoed everywhere. We are determined and hopeful, and ready for every sacrifice, because, to quote our Empress Alexandra in her New Year's telegram to the Secretary of State, "A war that has been forced on us by our enemies, and that has attained46 dimensions unprecedented in history, naturally calls for immense sacrifices. But I know that the Russian people will not hesitate before these sacrifices, and will fight on nobly until the moment when God's blessing47 will bring to the glorious warriors who are shedding their blood for their fatherland and their Emperor, the peace that shall be bought by complete victory over our foes48."
By these words may English people discern the spirit of their Russian friends, their faith in victory.
The difference between 1876 and 1914 is our attitude towards Great Britain. Whereas forty years ago we suspected, even hated, her, now we see her in her true colours. She is doing for Belgium what we once did for Bulgaria, and from a sense of right and political honour. She could have remained neutral, safe in her sea defences, devoting her time to capturing the trade of the combatants. Instead of which she chose to risk all in honouring her pledge. This fact brought Russia very near to Great Britain, and I hope the years that are coming will see a better understanding in Great Britain of the Russian Spirit.
And now something about myself. In 1873 Baron49 Brunow, the Russian Ambassador in London, introduced me to Mr. Gladstone and {24} Mr. Disraeli in the same evening. The one was to become a dear friend who was to give powerful support to my efforts to bring Russia and England closer together, whilst the other a few years later was to confer upon me the honorary title of which I have always been so proud. "Madame Novikoff," he said, during the Bulgarian agitation50, when Mr. Gladstone and I were doing our utmost to negative his pro-Turkish activities, "I call Madame Novikoff the M.P. for Russia in England."
This remark was not intended to give me pleasure, although, now that my years of work have ended successfully, it may appear, as Mr. W. T. Stead said, "a flattering compliment."
At that time, however, Lord Beaconsfield was not feeling so cordial towards me as to frame graceful51 compliments, and he probably knew that, expert as he was in the art of flattery, nothing he could say would divert me from the path of antagonism52 towards his policy that I had chosen for myself.
"Ambassadors represent Governments, M.P.'s represent the people," Mr. Stead wrote, apropos53 Beaconsfield's remark, and I have always striven, however unworthily, to represent Russia, the most peace-loving nation in the world.
W. E. Gladstone (April 5, 1892)
W. E. Gladstone (April 5, 1892)
It was to the enjoyment54 of peace to my country that I first undertook my self-imposed work, the bringing of Great Britain and Russia to a better understanding that would result in their working together towards a common end—peace. It is a strange trick of fate that the two countries should eventually be brought together, not by peace but {25} by war; but the workings of Providence55 are inscrutable, and out of this great evil perhaps a still greater good may come.
By the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1908 the two countries became good friends, now they are allies. Britons are fighting in Russia under the Russian High Command, and it is no secret that British sailors are fighting ship by ship with Russian sailors in the Baltic; and with those who have fought together for a common cause, friendship and understanding are inevitable56.
It is strange to look back upon what have come to be known as the "jingo days," when in the streets and music-halls was sung a ditty in which Britons told each other—I quote from memory:
We don't want to fight; but, by jingo, if we do,
We've got the men, we've got the ships, we've got the money too.
and all this was levelled at Russia, because she chose to do what Great Britain to her everlasting57 honour is doing to-day, avenging58 a downtrodden, but uncrushed people.
There was one man who saw clearly and stood up fearlessly against the popular clamour, and that was Mr. Gladstone. For twenty years he worked with me loyally towards the end I had in view. He never faltered59 in his denunciations of the unspeakable Turk and all his ways. From 1876 to 1880 the crisis was acute, and at any time war between Great Britain and Russia was possible.
During the whole of this time Mr. Gladstone was doing his utmost to counteract60 the evils of the Disraeli policy, and he was always in close touch {26} and constant communication with me. His support and unflinching championship of what he thought to be the cause of right was to me a great comfort. I was a woman in a foreign land, fighting against the prejudices that I saw everywhere about me.
In the early part of 1876 ugly rumours61 were afloat as to wholesale62 massacres63 of Bulgarians by the Turks. On June the 23rd there appeared in The Daily News a letter from its Constantinople correspondent (Mr., now Sir, Edwin Pears), and the attention of the House of Commons was directed to the appalling64 allegations it contained. Mr. Disraeli, then Prime Minister, treated the whole matter with airy unconcern, but the members on both sides of the House were irritated rather than soothed65 by his manner.
With a caution that was infinitely66 to his credit, for I know from our talks how deeply he felt, Mr. Gladstone waited the report of Mr. Walter Baring, the British Commissioner67, which confirmed in all their revolting detail the rumours of the slaughter68 of harmless Bulgarians, men, women and children. Convinced that the evidence was uncontrovertible, Mr. Gladstone plunged69 into the fray70, first by publishing his pamphlet, The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East, and later by urging an understanding with Russia that would render this wholesale slaughter of a Christian people impossible in future.
In Russia there was only one thought in the people's minds—war, which no human power could have prevented. The nation insisted that they {27} should be allowed to stand beside their co-religionists and fight in defence of their freedom.
As for myself, those were busy days. I saw around me nothing but suspicion of Russia, perhaps even of myself: but I had a noble example set me, if one were needed, by Mr. Gladstone. Ours was a fight for Christianity and civilisation. Every hour of my day and sometimes far into the night was occupied. I rushed fearlessly into print, as I have done for the last forty years when I felt that my pen might serve the purpose I had in mind. In those days editors were less hospitable71 towards me than they have since become. Mine was an unpopular cause, I wrote as a Russian patriot72, which meant that I sometimes showed a tendency to injure British susceptibilities. "But what matter that?" I asked myself with Jesuitical satisfaction. "The end is good, and it is the end that matters." I think there are very few of my friends in England to-day who will not echo my words.
The day on which I write these words is the Russian Flag Day, the second since the war broke out. In the streets are English and Russian girls and women selling small flags, for the most exorbitant73 sum they can extract from the purchasers, "to help Russia."
When I look back upon those days of gloom, when Mr. Gladstone used to come and see "the Russian agent," "the M.P. for Russia in England," and talk anxiously about the near future, and whether the storm would pass or break, it is with gratitude74 and expressions of heartfelt thanks to the people who have so often shown me hospitality and {28} in time began to listen to my words. They must have found some difficulty in avoiding the words I showered upon them; for I frankly75 confess I lost no opportunity of "rushing into print."
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1
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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5
animating
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| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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entente
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| n.协定；有协定关系的各国 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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chivalry
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| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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subscriptions
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| n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助 | |
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animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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clarion
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| n.尖音小号声；尖音小号 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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knell
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| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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permeated
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| 弥漫( permeate的过去式和过去分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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bereaved
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| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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51
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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58
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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60
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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64
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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68
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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70
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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71
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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72
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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73
exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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74
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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75
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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