I do not undertake to judge which of the two parties is right. In any case it seems worth while to sketch13 the Czar's personality, which is certainly an element in the fate of Russia and of Europe. The portrait is drawn14 from the reports of people who have had sufficient opportunity to form a conception of him from their personal observation. It is, of course, impossible for me to name my authorities, or to indicate them in any but the most distant way. It must suffice to say that among them were people who have known not only the present rulers, but also their parents and grandparents, from intimate association. I myself have seen the Czar only once. The current portraits of him are very good.[Pg 198] The only striking and noteworthy thing in the handsome and sympathetic face is the expression of melancholy16 resignation. One authority alone—whose statements on other matters I have found to be invariably careful and accurate—expressed doubts of the good-nature of the Czar, and accused him of designing and of rather petty malevolence17. All others, including Prince Ukhtomski, who had been the companion of the Czar for years, agree in emphasizing the extraordinary, almost childlike lovableness and kindliness18 of the Emperor, who is said to be actually fascinating in personal intercourse19. This agrees with the fact, which I know from one unquestionably trustworthy source, that the Czar is intentionally20 deaf to everything in the reports of his counsellors likely to disparage21 or cast suspicion upon a colleague, while he immediately listens and asks for details when he hears from one of his ministers a word favorable to the action of another. It is an absolute necessity for him to do good, and it is a constant source of fresh pain to him that he cannot prevent the great amount of existing evil. Again, while the single authority says he has found in the Czar indications of a subtle if not powerful intellect, the others, while they praise his goodness of heart, do not conceal23 the weakness of his judgment24, which, according to them, certainly has something pathological about it. Prince Ukhtomski alone speaks of the Emperor with invariable respect and sympathy, without[Pg 199] limiting each hearty25 statement with an immediate22 "but." All others, without exceptions, explain the Pr?torian rule of Plehve by the mental and moral helplessness of the Emperor, who is entirely uninformed, and is treated by those about him in the most abominable26 way—under cover of all outward signs of devotion. The things that people dare do to him, presuming upon this helplessness, border upon the inconceivable. That threatening letters can constantly be smuggled27 into the Czar's pockets, and even into his bed, without his finally hitting upon the idea of seizing his body-servant by the cravat28, is a very strong proof of his mental inactivity; the more so, incidentally, because he hears himself ridiculed29 outside his own door. This police canard30 is told, moreover, of Alexander III., who was a dreaded31 despot. The r?le, too, which Plehve played, although the Czar did not esteem32 him in the least, shows how successfully the latter has been intimidated33 and persuaded into the entirely mistaken belief that Plehve alone could avert34 the threatening revolution.
At the same time the Czar is said to be anything but confiding35 in regard to his nearest counsellors. When a report is made to him he sits in the shadow; the man who makes the report sits in the light. He tries to decipher the man's expression and to control him, a thing which is, of course, impossible, since a good Russian physiognomy is more impenetrable than a Russian iron-clad. His lack of[Pg 200] knowledge of affairs is as marked as his lack of judgment. I will give an instance of this. In the provinces a quarrel had broken out between the self-governing corporation, the "zemstvos," and the governors. This difference between self-government and autocracy was presented to the Czar as turning merely on the question of centralization or decentralization, and as if it were a matter for disagreement between the governors and the minister of the interior, the governors striving against the same full authority that is held by the ministers of the Czar. In this way the Czar was successfully deceived in regard to the nature of the quarrel; he did not learn at all that the provinces were making a demonstration36 against autocracy. The result of the deception37 was, of course, that the Czar declared himself for the ministry38 of the interior—that is, for Plehve, the increase of whose power he by no means wished.
The r?le which certain adventurers like the hypnotist Philippe and the promoter Bezobrazov are able to play at court is also certainly a notable symptom. The former was to suggest to the Czaritza the birth of a boy, while otherwise he carried through whatever he wished, since he used the spirit of Alexander III. to secure a hearing for his suggestions. His departure from court followed upon his impudently39 having the spirits recommend a specific firm of contractors40 for the building of a bridge. Bezobrazov, one of the agents who have[Pg 201] the Asiatic war on their consciences, is now living somewhere abroad, and does not dare return, at least while the war lasts.
Still more significant, it seems to me, is the authenticated41 statement that the Emperor has many times received publications upon the condition of his empire, has carefully read them, and has praised them, without taking the slightest step towards carrying out the reforms recommended to him; indeed, after the lapse42 of a few days, he has ceased even to refer in conversation to the suggestions. This would seem to indicate an almost abnormal weakness of will, which makes it easy for a gifted, inconsiderate, and self-confident reactionary like the Grand-Duke Alexander Mikhailovitch to carry out his own ideas in everything.
According to these statements, which come directly in every case from original sources, the Czar is to be regarded as a man upon the whole good-natured and lovable, who is, perhaps, too modest and too conscious of his insufficient43 knowledge to have the full courage of responsibility, without which an autocrat is the least able of leaders to endure his great burden. Inconsiderate and crafty44 people, who profit by his weakness, govern him, and he may even be glad of this. In his perplexity and helplessness, which are due to his human sympathy and modesty45, he is obliged to submit to others with whom he can at least leave the responsibility for affairs, which in general, as in the specific case[Pg 202] of the war in eastern Asia, go contrary to his wishes.
His timid temperament46 is shown especially in his relations with his mother, the dowager empress, who even now, supported by the reactionary members of the family, plays the part of the actual empress, and cruelly mortifies47 the young consort48 of the Czar. It is an open secret that the relations between the two women are anything but untroubled, a condition which reacts upon the relations of the imperial pair themselves. The dowager empress has renounced49 none of her prerogatives50 in favor of her daughter-in-law, who consequently feels herself in a very false position, and complains bitterly of it. People assured me, moreover, that according to Russian ideas none of the rights claimed by the young Czaritza belong to her so long as the empress-mother lives. Hence it vexes51 the Czaritza that she cannot curb52 her so-called ambition. The empress-mother, however, is not at all popular, at least in Liberal circles, where she is held responsible for the fact that her son cannot free himself from the evil traditions of his father, who was a strictly53 upright, but relentless54 and brutal55 despot. The young Czaritza was blamed among the common people because she had borne no prince in spite of the prayers of the archbishop John; she is blamed at court also because she does not conceal her English sympathies.
One old friend of the imperial family, however,[Pg 203] assured me that there is no more charming, upright, and affectionate woman living than this young Hessian princess. She is, he said, completely intimidated by the enemies who surround her and shows them a lowering face. Where she feels herself secure, however, her merry South-German nature comes to the top, and she can even now romp56 like a little child. It speaks for the innocence57 of her nature that she is prouder of nothing than of her potato-salad. For the rest, the same authority asserts, she has a mind of her own, and may be not always the most comfortable companion for a husband.
Among the other members of the family the Grand-Duke Constantine is called the poet. His interest in art and science is said to be sincere. He has also great personal attractiveness. In sharp contrast with him stands the Grand-Duke Sergius, governor-general of Moscow, and brother-in-law and uncle of the Czar. The things commonly reported of his private life are unsuitable for repetition here, since in general I avoid giving space to scandal in a chronicle of important matters. The things worthy15 of publicity58 and important for the weal or woe59 of population are the opinions and abilities of princes, not their liaisons60. It is difficult, however, not to speak of the passions of the Grand-Duke Sergius, since they form such a violent contrast to his former bigotry61. He is unanimously pronounced an unprincipled man with a black [Pg 204]record—a man whose pleasure consists in the sufferings of others. His influence at court is second only to that of the Grand-Duke Alexander Mikhailovitch.
I found in all Russia no trace of a dynastic sentiment. The loyalty62 to the House of the Hohenzollerns in Prussia, or to the House of the Hapsburgs in Austria has no counterpart in Russia. If the personal influence of the occupants of the throne may be estimated, the Czar means to the masses of the people the essence of temporal and spiritual power, to the intelligent class an element of fate. The grand-dukes are people who can aid and harm, and who are therefore persons of importance for all Russians. The bond of loyalty between dynasty and people, however, which in the West has assured the safe existence of the royal houses through all revolutionary convulsions, does not exist in Russia. On the contrary, people speak freely in private of the "Saltikov dynasty," in unmistakable allusion63 to the well-known first lover of the Empress Catherine II. Thus the many murders in the imperial house are received by the people without great excitement. Only the inhabitants of the Baltic provinces are faithful to the dynasty; the spirit of feudal64 loyalty runs in their German blood. Even there, however, it is being slowly but resolutely65 destroyed by the ruling anarchists66.
In contemporary opinion Alexander II. and Alexander III. still live, while Nicholas I. is practically[Pg 205] forgotten. Alexander II. is surrounded with the martyr's halo, and is thought of only as the emancipating67 Czar who was got out of the way before he could sign the liberty-giving bill for a constitution. Public opinion will not be dissuaded68 from finding the fact remarkable69 that the nihilists succeeded for the first time in reaching the Czar at the moment when all the privileges of the reigning oligarchy70 were threatened. Therefore people will not remember any traits in him except good ones, a thing not altogether consistent with the picture of him left by Kropotkin in his memoirs71. Of Alexander III., on the contrary, only evil is heard, which I, however, must doubt for many reasons. For I have been told little incidents of his most private life, incidents which I cannot repeat, out of consideration for the incognito72 of my informant, but which show a certain knightliness73 and uprightness, and a truly princely kindness to the weak. Another man is answerable for the pitilessness of his fatal policy—Pobydonostzev, the Torquemada of Russia. It is, however, inevitable74 that history should preserve only that picture which expresses the sum total of the effect of a personality. Therefore the memory of Alexander III. is certainly overloaded75 with sins of omission76.
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1
autocracy
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| n.独裁政治，独裁政府 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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functionary
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| n.官员；公职人员 | |
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aristocrat
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| n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物 | |
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banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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radicals
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| n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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reactionary
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| n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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disparage
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| v.贬抑，轻蔑 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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smuggled
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| 水货 | |
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cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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canard
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| n.虚报；谣言；v.流传 | |
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31
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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intimidated
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| v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的 | |
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avert
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| v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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impudently
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contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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41
authenticated
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| v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
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42
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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43
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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45
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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mortifies
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| v.使受辱( mortify的第三人称单数 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等） | |
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consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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49
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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50
prerogatives
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| n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭 | |
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51
vexes
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| v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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52
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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53
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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romp
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| n.欢闹；v.嬉闹玩笑 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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liaisons
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| n.联络( liaison的名词复数 )；联络人；（尤指一方或双方已婚的）私通；组织单位间的交流与合作 | |
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bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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64
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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anarchists
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| 无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 ) | |
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emancipating
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| v.解放某人（尤指摆脱政治、法律或社会的束缚）( emancipate的现在分词 ) | |
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dissuaded
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| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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oligarchy
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| n.寡头政治 | |
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memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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73
knightliness
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| 骑士的，勋爵士的，骑士似的 | |
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74
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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overloaded
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| a.超载的，超负荷的 | |
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omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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