on as it is in elements. It has
accepted ready-made the methods of Greek, of Tatar, and of European;
but has assimilated none of them; and Russian civilization, with its
amazing quality, its bewildering variety of achievement in art,
literature, diplomacy, and in every field, is not a natural
development, but a monstrosity. The genius intended for a whole people
seems to have been crowded into a few narrow channels. Where have men
written with such tragic intensity? Where has there been music
suggesting such depths of sadness and of human passion? And who has
ever told upon canvas the story of the battlefield with such energy and
with such thrilling reality, as has Verestchagin?

The youngest among the civilizations, and herself still only partially
civilized, Russia is one of the most--if not the most--important factor
in the world-problem to-day, and the one with which the future seems
most seriously involved. She has only just commenced to draw upon her
vast stores of energy; energies which were accumulating during the ages
when the other nations were lavishly spending theirs. How will this
colossal force be used in the future? Moving silently and irresistibly
toward the East, and guided by a subtle and far-reaching policy, who
can foresee what will be the end, and what the ultimate destiny of the
Empire which had its beginning in a small Slavonic State upon the
Dnieper, and which, until a little more than a century ago, was too
much of a barbarian to be admitted into the fraternity of European
States.

The farthest removed from us in political ideals, Russia has in the
various crises in our national life always been America's truest
friend. When others apparently nearer have failed us, she has stood
steadfastly by us. We can never forget it. Owning a large portion of
the earth's surface, rich beyond calculation in all that makes for
national wealth and prosperity, with a peasantry the most confiding,
the most loyal, the most industrious in the world, with intellectual
power and genius in abundant measure, and with pride of race and a
patriotism profound and intense, what more does Russia need? Only
three things--that cruelty be abandoned; that she be made a homogeneous
nation; and that she be permitted to live under a government capable of
administering justice to her people. These she must have and do. In
the coming century there will be no place for barbarism. There will be
something in the air wh