home; and that I know
will appeal to my own countrymen when wondering what is likely to be his
policy and aim as a ruler of a vast empire.

A man can only _do_ what he _is_, whether he be in the highest or the
lowest positions in the world; and he always brings out, sooner or
later, what he is at heart. It must therefore be a very great source of
confidence to us all just now, when we believe that the providence of
GOD has brought the British and the Russian Empires together, not for
temporary, but for enduring objects, to know, as I feel we may consider
that we do know, that the Emperor of all the Russias is a man we can all
respect and trust, precisely as we respect and trust our own
Sovereign--as one whose ideals are those of domestic duty and family
life on the one hand, and the real interests and well-being of the
labouring and toiling millions of his people on the other.

A somewhat scandalous book was written last year which I won't mention
by name, lest curiosity should lead those who have not read it to do so,
which gave a most unfavourable impression of the Emperor and the
imperial family. It was not, however, written by an Englishman; and,
without questioning in any way the writer's _bona fides_, I am bound to
say, and very confidently and energetically, that I have never yet met
one of my own countrymen who has had to do with the Emperor of Russia,
financially, diplomatically, or in audience, who has not expressed
himself to me about him in the same appreciative terms as I have here
used myself.

Take, for instance, what Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace has written only a
few months ago.[8] "The antiquated idea that Tsars are always heartless
tyrants who devote much of their time in sending troublesome subjects
to Siberia, is now happily pretty well exploded, but the average
Englishman is still reluctant to admit that an avowedly autocratic
government may be, in certain circumstances, a useful institution. There
is no doubt, however, that in the gigantic work of raising Russia to her
present level of civilization, the Tsars have played a most important
part. As for the present Tsar, he has followed, in a humane spirit, the
best traditions of his ancestors. Any one who has had opportunities of
studying closely his character and aims, and who knows the difficulties
with which he has had to contend, can hardly fail to regard him with
sympathy and admiration. Among the qualities which would commend him to
English